No Pain, No Gain: Avoiding Stalls and Delayed Closes
Having analyzed successful sales practices at more than 250 firms over the last 20 years, we’ve seen one key practice that differentiates average sales performers from great ones–their ability to uncover and then magnify prospect/client pain (needs) to avoid sales stalls and motivate action. Indeed, any decent salesperson can sell within the customer’s time frame, educate them about their products and answer questions. But great sales performers accelerate their prospect’s buying process by resisting the temptation to talk about their products or services until they are convinced the prospect has a pressing need for them and has a clear picture of both the financial payoffs and intangible benefits.
Sales Stalls and Client Pain
In one study, prospective customers met with three salespeople selling similar products. The majority bought from the salesperson who waited the longest to discuss his or her product and and who explained how specific product features addressed major sources of client pain. Judging by the tendency salespeople have to quickly engage in product conversations, many must believe the opposite–that customers buy more often from sellers who appear anxious to talk about their product and to close a “deal.” This notion is rarely true and often leads to sales stalls. In short, people generally feel most comfortable and trusting of those who have listened to them and understand their needs prior to recommending products and services. An anxiousness to “get the sale” may give the appearance that the salesperson or vendor may be hard up for sales or is trying to achieve their own goals without placing a high priority on satisfying each and every important customer need.
Sales stalls occur, in part, due to people resisting change and avoiding negative consequences. Great salespeople help clients reduce pain and become excited by change. But this strategy is not possible when clients don’t perceive they have significant needs, and sales stalls are likely to occur. Evidence of sales stalls includes clients saying “let me think about it” or not returning calls after seeing product information or demonstrations. Fearing that the product or service may cost them rather than save them money, sales stalls occur and customers behave cautiously and negotiate more. So, what’s the bottom line? In sales, like in any exercise or sport, NO PAIN = NO GAIN !!!
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Generating Incremental Sales via Customer Service Teams
Companies facing sales challenges are finding innovative ways of boosting sales without significantly increasing their costs or staffing levels–how? They’re developing customer service sales training programs that allow their customer service and technical support teams to identify needs and leads, cross-sell, up-sell and help close key accounts.
To pave the way for success, these companies usually provide their service people, who are always looking for ways to boost their earnings, with both sales training and incentives. A survey by Inc. Magazine supports this trend toward sales by non-salespeople. More than 54 percent of the companies polled said that they “reward non-sales employees for their role in sales.” Another study, conducted by Xerox, also showed that non-sales professionals trained in sales techniques often achieve impressive results.
But, a word of caution is needed. We’ve found that a number of service people are resistant to sales initiatives because they don’t like the idea of selling (after all, that’s why they’ve chosen a service rather than a sales role). To address this reality, we’ve developed a comprehensive program that first helps motivate service people to sell and then provides them with appropriate “soft sell” skills and tools.
Smart companies look for opportunities to capitalize on each and every customer interaction, regardless of whether the employees involved are in a professional sales role. If you’re looking for ideas on how to boost sales and motivate non-sales employees to sell for you, please contact us for a complimentary customer service sales consultation.
All Rights Reserved. The Sales Alliance Inc. San Diego, CA
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