This week at the Thrivetime show all the business coach teams read Soft Selling in a Hard World by Jerry Vass. In Vass’s book, he breaks down selling into practical steps. I have read Soft Selling in a Hard World before and it increased my personal closing rate when I sell. Selling does not come naturally to people; you are only able to get better at selling by actually selling.
One of the many steps that helped me get better as a business coach and at selling is to ask probing questions. Solving someone else’s problem is all sales is. If a client is convinced that the product cannot solve their problem then ask questions, three out of four times the no turns into a yes. The yes came from finding a solution to an existing problem. If further questions weren’t asked after the first no then there wouldn’t be a rebuttal and I would forego a possible sell. Always ask probing questions.
Another step that has increased closing sales is always asking A or B when closing, I do not ask if the customer wants to or thinks they can, I always ask are we going with A or B today? Many people would prefer not to ask such a direct question when you are selling you always want to assume your sell. Asking if the customer thinks they can buy or if they want to buy is not an option, if the customer is in front of you and took up your no brainer offer to try your product then the customer is definitely interested in buying.
Selling does not come naturally to people; you are only able to get better at selling by actually selling.
This next step was not found in Vass’ book but is extremely helpful in selling and this step came from my own boss. The step is the power of confidence. Selling relies on confidence, when you are confident about what you are selling the customer will be confident in buying. Confidence is shown in our body language, dress, and most noticeably in how we express ourselves. Start out with a strong handshake and eye contact and this promotes confidence; whereas a slouched demeanor and little to no eye contact give an image that you aren’t confident at all. Steady words not filled with ums and uhs go a long way in adding confidence to what you are trying to convey. Another key factor is preparation, confidence comes largely from being prepared. Practice the pitch and the rebuttals over and over until you can confidently sell your product without any hesitation. Practicing the pitch and rebuttals also give you a chance to listen to how you sound, would I want to buy from myself? If the buyer can hear your enthusiasm and confidence about the product or service they are more likely to buy.
Selling is a game that takes practice to perfect and there is always room to make better. Remember to begin your sales call confidently with a strong handshake and eye contact. Steady your words so that you aren’t speaking a mile a minute. After the pitch and first rebuttal, we have come to our first rebuttal, to this ask probing questions. Remember you are solving a problem, your extra questions help find the issue and make your trial close. Jerry Vass calls an attempt to close a trial close, this is an attempt to close but the customer had a question and you attempt to close. Keep closing until the buyer cries buy or die.
Thank you to Jonathan Kelly and America’s #1 Business Coach Clay Clark.
