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How could you possibly sell anything by telling your prospects, do not buy from us, we are not a good fit?
Well the Sandler Sales Methodology has been implemented successfully for many years now and it's a funny one because it teaches us to do something which is completely the opposite from what our instincts tell us to do. More so to focus on the qualification of a prospect rather than the closing.
By using this tactic we find there to be a greater level of conversion and our time is better optimised by not flogging dead horses.
There are 7 key steps to this and it takes practice to sell against our instincts:
Rapport Building
Up-Front Contracts
Pain
Budget
Decision
Fulfilment
Post-Sell
People value their time more than your product
You should always ask your prospect if now is a good time to talk. Picking up the phone then quickly spitting your pitch at them before they can get a word in edge ways is not a successful sales strategy.
I always think it's important to understand not just your prospects' business but also their personality and tone so that we can adapt our manner to them to help us become more relatable. We can only do this by letting them speak first.
Build That Relationship
What challenges are you experiencing in business?
What are you focusing on right now?
How are you managing to overcome those challenges?
How are you developing your marketing strategy?
What successes are you seeing?
What markets are you targeting?
It doesn't really matter what that opening question is, as long as it is an OPEN question. Get your prospect talking, if there's one single thing all people have in common it's that we love to talk and especially about ourselves.
Another common ground that can be found in high level execs is their endless list of challenges and their ability to overcome them all. Get them talking about this.
Relate to this, explain how you have had a similar problem. A prospect can feel vulnerable once they have openly explained their weaknesses in their business so get back on their level by sharing yours. Without undermining your product!
Don't Waste People's Time
As the higher authority in any prospecting call you should evaluate your prospect and understand if there's a way you can help them.
Arabs do not need sand so don't try to sell it to them, speak to Eskimos instead.
From asking those initial questions without interrogating you should have identified their pain points. What is causing them problems, where they are looking to improve.
Understand their budget for fixing this problem, is it a million pound problem or is it more of an itch. What is the ROI of your product? What level of value would your product add to their business?
Pitch The Crap Out of Them
You now have their attention, you've shared your skeletons and arranged to kiss on that fist date. Now pitch the sh!t out of them.
Not really...
Does your product fit with their current problem? If it doesn't fit tell them why you think it's not a good fit, explain that although you can solve problem A you cannot solve problem B.
Your product might seem great to you but there are only a handful of its selling points that your prospect needs to know to understand the benefits and value.
Don't simply go in with your biggest selling point if it's not relevant to their pain points. Your biggest selling point is not always theirs.
If you sell square pegs to people that really need round ones they will not respect you for that.