Are You A Knower Or A Learner When Selling?
Are You A Knower Or A Learner When Selling?
When selling to a prospect do you assume that your products and services will solve their problem? Then, as soon as you can, you jump in and tell your prospect all about your products and services and what they will do for them. You feel that if you tell them enough, they will see how great your products and services are and that they will solve their problem.
Also when your prospect asks you any question, do you always give some sort of answer, even if you have to guess? You don't want them to think you don't know everything about your products and services because you feel you should know everything. You are afraid your image, in the eyes of your prospect, will be negatively impacted if you don't know the answers to their questions.
If you answered yes to either or both of these questions then you are a 'knower' when selling. Unfortunately being a knower when selling has several significant disadvantages as:
* a prospect automatically distrusts a knower. A prospect distrusts someone who tells them how they can solve their problem when they don't even know what their problem is. It's the same as you walking into a doctor's office and before you have even sat down in his chair or uttered a word, he hands you a prescription and says "Take this and you'll feel better." Would you trust the doctor or the prescription?
* when a prospect senses you are guessing when answering their questions they will distrust the answers you give. Plus they start to distrust everything you have said previously.
If you are a knower when selling, then trust will be low in your sales conversations. When trust is absent, the time and effort it takes to make a sale increases and the likelihood of actually making the sale decreases.
Are you a learner when selling?
When selling do you make no assumptions about whether you can help your prospect solve their problem? You ask lots of questions so you can understand what their problem is and whether you can help them. Only once you know they have a problem you can solve do you then tell them about your products and services.
Also, if your prospect asks you a question for which you don't know, or aren't sure of, the answer do you simply tell them that you don't know? You promise to find out and get back to them (which you of course do). You know that giving your prospect the correct answer is far more important than your knowing everything about your products and services and looking good.
If you answered yes to either or both of these questions then you are a 'learner' when selling. Being a learner when selling has several advantages as:
* people automatically tend to trust people who want to understand them and help them solve their problems.
* people have more trust in someone who will admit when they don't know something. Also when someone admits they don't know something, it adds credence to everything that they've said previously.
If you are a learner, then trust will be high in your sales conversations. When trust is high, the time and effort it takes to make a sale decreases and the likelihood of making the sale increases.
If you are not already a learner when selling then here are five simple tips you can apply so you become a learner in a sales conversation.
Tip #1: Bring no assumptions to the sales conversation about whether you can or cannot solve your prospects' problem with your products and services.
Tip #2: Bring wonder to the sales conversation. Just before you have a sales conversation, say to yourself, "I wonder what I am going to learn in this conversation" or "I wonder if I can help this person."
Tip #3: Be curious. Ask lots of questions from a place of genuine and sincere curiosity.
Tip #4: Listen actively so you can learn as much as you can about your prospect.
Tip #5: Learn and implement a sales process which leads with an understanding phase versus a telling phase.
Implement these five simple tips and you'll effortlessly become a learner versus a knower when selling. When you become a learner when selling you'll find the level of trust you have with your prospect will be increased, the time and effort it takes to make a sale will be decreased and you'll be making a lot more sales. Try it and see.
(c)Tessa Stowe, Sales Conversation, 2008. WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEBSITE? Yes, you can, provided you include the copyright statement above and the following by-line with it.
Are You A Knower Or A Learner When Selling - To learn more about this author, visit Tessa Stowe's Website.
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Are you a knower when selling?
When selling to a prospect do you assume that your products and services will solve their problem? Then, as soon as you can, you jump in and tell your prospect all about your products and services and what they will do for them. You feel that if you tell them enough, they will see how great your products and services are and that they will solve their problem.
Also when your prospect asks you any question, do you always give some sort of answer, even if you have to guess? You don't want them to think you don't know everything about your products and services because you feel you should know everything. You are afraid your image, in the eyes of your prospect, will be negatively impacted if you don't know the answers to their questions.
If you answered yes to either or both of these questions then you are a 'knower' when selling. Unfortunately being a knower when selling has several significant disadvantages as:
* a prospect automatically distrusts a knower. A prospect distrusts someone who tells them how they can solve their problem when they don't even know what their problem is. It's the same as you walking into a doctor's office and before you have even sat down in his chair or uttered a word, he hands you a prescription and says "Take this and you'll feel better." Would you trust the doctor or the prescription?
* when a prospect senses you are guessing when answering their questions they will distrust the answers you give. Plus they start to distrust everything you have said previously.
If you are a knower when selling, then trust will be low in your sales conversations. When trust is absent, the time and effort it takes to make a sale increases and the likelihood of actually making the sale decreases.
Are you a learner when selling?
When selling do you make no assumptions about whether you can help your prospect solve their problem? You ask lots of questions so you can understand what their problem is and whether you can help them. Only once you know they have a problem you can solve do you then tell them about your products and services.
Also, if your prospect asks you a question for which you don't know, or aren't sure of, the answer do you simply tell them that you don't know? You promise to find out and get back to them (which you of course do). You know that giving your prospect the correct answer is far more important than your knowing everything about your products and services and looking good.
If you answered yes to either or both of these questions then you are a 'learner' when selling. Being a learner when selling has several advantages as:
* people automatically tend to trust people who want to understand them and help them solve their problems.
* people have more trust in someone who will admit when they don't know something. Also when someone admits they don't know something, it adds credence to everything that they've said previously.
If you are a learner, then trust will be high in your sales conversations. When trust is high, the time and effort it takes to make a sale decreases and the likelihood of making the sale increases.
If you are not already a learner when selling then here are five simple tips you can apply so you become a learner in a sales conversation.
Tip #1: Bring no assumptions to the sales conversation about whether you can or cannot solve your prospects' problem with your products and services.
Tip #2: Bring wonder to the sales conversation. Just before you have a sales conversation, say to yourself, "I wonder what I am going to learn in this conversation" or "I wonder if I can help this person."
Tip #3: Be curious. Ask lots of questions from a place of genuine and sincere curiosity.
Tip #4: Listen actively so you can learn as much as you can about your prospect.
Tip #5: Learn and implement a sales process which leads with an understanding phase versus a telling phase.
Implement these five simple tips and you'll effortlessly become a learner versus a knower when selling. When you become a learner when selling you'll find the level of trust you have with your prospect will be increased, the time and effort it takes to make a sale will be decreased and you'll be making a lot more sales. Try it and see.
(c)Tessa Stowe, Sales Conversation, 2008. WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEBSITE? Yes, you can, provided you include the copyright statement above and the following by-line with it.
Are You A Knower Or A Learner When Selling - To learn more about this author, visit Tessa Stowe'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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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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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 PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
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Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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