Selling 101
by Andrew Shedden
When putting together sales training workshops or sales programs for clients I often ask them what they consider to be the most important aspect of selling. Their answers are unfailingly predictable; product knowledge, presentation skills, excellent prices, excellent Power Point skills, and beautifully designed expensive marketing materials. While all of these are widely used selling components they are not particularly relevant to sales success. In fact many of them are irrelevant.
At the risk of repeating myself, I’m going to repeat myself
The amount of time spent by salespeople memorizing esoteric product statistics, buying signals, and the 243 closing techniques guaranteed to “never fail” is both time consuming and counterproductive. The single most important skill for sales success is the ability to skillfully ask questions and actively LISTEN to the answers. Once you have ascertained the concerns of your prospect it becomes very easy to address these concerns and tie them to the specific BENEFITS offered by your product or service.
The following list is everything you need to know about sales
People hate being sold but love to buy.
People love to be listened to.
The best salespeople talk the least in any sales transaction.
People don’t buy products and services for what they are but for what they do.
People buy emotionally and justify logically.
Technical features are of great interest (To engineers).
Features tell but benefits sell.
There’s an old saying that you don’t have to be an electrician to turn on the lights. I believe that every salesperson in the world should carry this saying in their briefcases. They should read it on a daily basis and be sure that it becomes part of their subconscious minds.
A trip to the dealer
I had to take my Ferrari to the dealer to have a new crankshaft installed and was most annoyed. (Actually, my wife’s Honda needed to be taken to the dealer to have a new ignition switch installed.) While I was waiting for her to arrive I decided to spend some time in the showroom looking at the 2003 models.
It’s no surprise that Honda has done as well as they have. They manufacture a state of the art vehicle and everything about their operation demonstrates excellence. The dealership I was visiting was spotless and professionally run. While I was hanging around waiting I was thinking about the millions of dollars Honda spends on marketing their cars in a successful effort to entice people into their showrooms. I was also thinking about the sales training received by their salespeople in order to keep Honda’s market share.
Unfortunately, by the time I left I had reaffirmed my personal belief that most companies-even excellent companies-could add 25% to their revenue at no additional cost by simply improving their sales practices.
A tale of the valve train
I overheard a salesperson trying to sell a Honda CRV to a man who must have been about 80 years old. I was hoping to hear something new but alas it was the same as ever. The salesperson talked, and talked, and talked, and the prospect attempted to comprehend the deluge of words. This snippet of conversation is indicative.
“The camshaft is designed to offset the valves by fifty thousandths of an inch at high revs. This makes the engine scavenge better and increases the output. A lot of people don’t know that the CRV has the same engine in it as the base model Accord. Look at the engineering under the hood.”
“What kind of mileage can I expect from the CRV?”
“The CRV has a bumper to bumper extended warranty package. It covers everything except light bulbs. Honda has won four awards for engineering. All Hondas are solidly built and have a very high resale value”
Well I’m sure you get the picture. The salesperson was able to spout off the features by rote and ignored the real concerns of the prospect. I watched as the sale slowly disintegrated. The prospect left the building and the salesperson was left wondering why.
A tale of the sale
If the salesperson had taken the time to ask a few simple questions he would have finished the day with a commission cheque.
“Mr. Prospect, could you please tell me why are you interested in the four wheel drive CRV? Have you looked at the Civic or the Accord?”
“The Civic and the Accord don’t offer four wheel drive. You know, I’m getting a little older and I live on a farm with a long lane. I’m worried about not being able to get in or out when the snow gets heavy.
“I can certainly understand that. Have you looked at any other four wheel drive vehicles like the Jeep Cherokee?”
“Yes I have. They are pretty expensive to buy and they don’t get very good gas mileage.”
“So to be sure I understand you correctly, what you are telling me is the three main areas of interest to you are getting in and out of your lane in bad weather, not paying a high price for a new vehicle, and getting the best gas mileage possible?”
“That’s pretty much it.”
“Mr. Prospect, the Honda CRV offers you the kind of performance you need to get in and out of your lane under the worst conditions. It has a full time four wheel drive option that senses the traction conditions. This means you won’t have to worry about getting stuck in the snow.
The CRV is priced approximately 5% lower than its nearest competitor. Whether you choose to finance, lease, or pay cash on the nail, you will save yourself at least $1,000 by buying a Honda.
The CRV also offers the best mileage in its class. You can be totally confident your operating costs will be as low as you can get. What other concerns do you have?”
Keep asking questions and carefully listen to the answers. When you state a feature make sure you add in the attendant benefit. Say less, work less, memorize less, and make more money.
