Sales Skills For Service Professionals Part 1
Sales Skills For Service Professionals Part 1
(1) The ability to ask provocative questions
(2) The ability to listen with total focus on the client
(3) The ability to relate moving stories and metaphors
Let’s focus on the first of these skills.
1. The ability to ask provocative questions. If you've found your prospective client (we'll call him or her a "prospect") backing away, it is likely that you have made the common mistake of cutting the questioning process short. You may have jumped to the solution you provide too early.
If you're like most professionals, before talking about your services, you ask informational questions--who, what, where, when, how and why. While you need this information to understand how you can help your prospect, it is more valuable to you than it is to him or her. The prospect already has this information.
Sometimes, your informational questions bring up a need, concern or problem--maybe even one that the prospect didn't know he or she had. Maybe the prospect is working with someone in your field and is having some problems with the relationship or the results he is getting.
Well, that's what we do, isn't it? We solve problems. And there they are.
As soon as you identify this little bit of trouble in Paradise, you pounce with your solution... and the prospect starts squirming and backing away. Here's an example of a conversation my client, Lisa, a financial advisor, had with a prospect who had been working with another advisor:
Lisa: So you haven't heard from him in over a year and he didn't return your call the last time you tried to reach him? He also hasn't explained any of these things we've been talking about today, right? It sounds like you're not getting the service you need from him. I can promise you that I'll check in with you once a quarter and I return my calls immediately. How about if we transfer these accounts . . .
Prospect: No. I've been working with him for eight years. I think I'll try to talk to him again first and, if he doesn't return my call, I'll get back to you.
The reason this conversation ended as it did, is that the problem Lisa identified is an implied one. Your prospects are always weighing whether their need for a change is explicit and urgent enough that it is worth their while to go through the fuss and bother of moving their accounts or changing their providers.
When there's only a vague sense of a problem, the scale tips in favor of leaving things as they are. To avoid running into a brick wall, you need to move from implied problems to explicit problems. You get your prospects to see the explicit need by asking provocative questions.
Here's how Lisa might sound after working with me, learning to ask better questions:
Lisa: So you haven't heard from him in over a year and he didn't return your call the last time you tried to reach him? He also hasn't explained any of these things we've been talking about today, right? How is this level of service affecting you?
Prospect: It's a little annoying that he can't return my call, but I guess I'm doing okay.
Lisa: Does it concern you that there's no one reassuring you about your retirement or explaining these things to you?
Prospect: Well, actually, that's the reason I agreed to sit down with you. I am concerned that there might be more I should be doing or that I need to change my strategy.
Lisa: And if you continue to get no service or you try him again and maybe he responds this time but doesn't respond next time, will you be okay with that?
Prospect: Well, no. I need to feel that someone is watching out for me. Maybe my account is just too small for him.
Lisa: What's at stake here?
Prospect: This is my life savings we're talking about!
Lisa: Yes, it is your life savings. Does it make more sense to you to wait and see--and worry about it all the time, or to try working with someone who is promising to be there for you?
Prospect: I really shouldn't wait for it to happen again. Tell me about how you work . . .
To get more clients, ask provocative questions.
Sales Skills For Service Professionals Part 1 - To learn more about this author, visit Sandy Schussel's Website.
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To be truly successful at getting clients, your passion for your firm's work must be accompanied by mastery of three skills:
(1) The ability to ask provocative questions
(2) The ability to listen with total focus on the client
(3) The ability to relate moving stories and metaphors
Let’s focus on the first of these skills.
1. The ability to ask provocative questions. If you've found your prospective client (we'll call him or her a "prospect") backing away, it is likely that you have made the common mistake of cutting the questioning process short. You may have jumped to the solution you provide too early.
If you're like most professionals, before talking about your services, you ask informational questions--who, what, where, when, how and why. While you need this information to understand how you can help your prospect, it is more valuable to you than it is to him or her. The prospect already has this information.
Sometimes, your informational questions bring up a need, concern or problem--maybe even one that the prospect didn't know he or she had. Maybe the prospect is working with someone in your field and is having some problems with the relationship or the results he is getting.
Well, that's what we do, isn't it? We solve problems. And there they are.
As soon as you identify this little bit of trouble in Paradise, you pounce with your solution... and the prospect starts squirming and backing away. Here's an example of a conversation my client, Lisa, a financial advisor, had with a prospect who had been working with another advisor:
Lisa: So you haven't heard from him in over a year and he didn't return your call the last time you tried to reach him? He also hasn't explained any of these things we've been talking about today, right? It sounds like you're not getting the service you need from him. I can promise you that I'll check in with you once a quarter and I return my calls immediately. How about if we transfer these accounts . . .
Prospect: No. I've been working with him for eight years. I think I'll try to talk to him again first and, if he doesn't return my call, I'll get back to you.
The reason this conversation ended as it did, is that the problem Lisa identified is an implied one. Your prospects are always weighing whether their need for a change is explicit and urgent enough that it is worth their while to go through the fuss and bother of moving their accounts or changing their providers.
When there's only a vague sense of a problem, the scale tips in favor of leaving things as they are. To avoid running into a brick wall, you need to move from implied problems to explicit problems. You get your prospects to see the explicit need by asking provocative questions.
Here's how Lisa might sound after working with me, learning to ask better questions:
Lisa: So you haven't heard from him in over a year and he didn't return your call the last time you tried to reach him? He also hasn't explained any of these things we've been talking about today, right? How is this level of service affecting you?
Prospect: It's a little annoying that he can't return my call, but I guess I'm doing okay.
Lisa: Does it concern you that there's no one reassuring you about your retirement or explaining these things to you?
Prospect: Well, actually, that's the reason I agreed to sit down with you. I am concerned that there might be more I should be doing or that I need to change my strategy.
Lisa: And if you continue to get no service or you try him again and maybe he responds this time but doesn't respond next time, will you be okay with that?
Prospect: Well, no. I need to feel that someone is watching out for me. Maybe my account is just too small for him.
Lisa: What's at stake here?
Prospect: This is my life savings we're talking about!
Lisa: Yes, it is your life savings. Does it make more sense to you to wait and see--and worry about it all the time, or to try working with someone who is promising to be there for you?
Prospect: I really shouldn't wait for it to happen again. Tell me about how you work . . .
To get more clients, ask provocative questions.
Sales Skills For Service Professionals Part 1 - To learn more about this author, visit Sandy Schussel's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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