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ARE YOUR PROSPECTS DISSATISFIED?

Written by: Wayne Berry

Article Overview: I hope they are, because it's only when your prospects are dissatisfied that they will buy!

ARE YOUR PROSPECTS DISSATISFIED?

I hope they are dissatisfied, because it's only when your prospects are dissatisfied that they will buy!

I see that a great many sales people who don't understand this basic principle of selling. These sales people come up to me at seminars and tell me they have a great product or service, the price is right, their prospects love it, but simply don't buy!

What can they do? Why won't these prospects buy?

The fact is that no matter how good a product or service is, a prospect generally will not buy if they are totally happy and comfortable with their current situation.

They will only be motivated to buy if they become dissatisfied with their current situation or supplier.

Play a waiting game?

So should we wait around until our prospects become dissatisfied? Or should we just keep knocking on doors and ringing telephones until we find dissatisfied prospects?

Well that's one way, and yes I do recommend that you keep up your prospecting, but there is a better way. It's called being professional.

Let me give you an example;

A few years ago I was speaking at a seminar for insurance sales people. There were some good sales people there too, and as good sales people will, a few prospected me for insurance. However I told them that they were wasting their time. I once believed in insurance, but I didn't any more. A pretty good objection I thought and it worked too.

Stopped them dead in their tracks.

Don't get me wrong, I don't like to break the hearts of sales people, but I really wasn't interested.

On day two however, a very creative sales person struck up a conversation with my business partner and instead of trying to sell insurance, he simply asked her a few harmless questions about our business. (Did I forget to mention that my business partner didn't believe in insurance either. She was even more adamant me!)

He was just being friendly and showing an interest in us I guess.

He began by asking her how busy was I making presentations and running training workshops all over the world?

Her answer was of course, "very busy"! (Still smiling at this stage.)

Next he asked what happens if Wayne gets the flu and can't present? She told him I was a Superman and never got sick. (Such faith in me!) "But what if he did get sick?" he asked. "How would that affect our business?"

She had to admit it was a disturbing thought and she didn't really have a good answer.

"If you had to cancel a presentation due to illness would that cost the business anything?"

The answer had to be "yes". "How much?" he asked.

She told him and he recoiled in horror - "How much!! (We call that “Hollywooding" it!) "And that's only for one day, if he missed just one day? What would it cost the company (and you) if he missed a week of presentations?" Again he gasped in disbelief - "That much!!!"

My business partner had gone from having a nice morning to feeling down right sick at the thought of me being sick. (Ah concern for my good health!)

He then asked her, "What would happen if Wayne had an accident and couldn't present for several months, or worse what if he died, how would that affect the business?"

How would that in turn affect her and her security and lifestyle?"

After considering for about 10 seconds whether our clients might accept listening to CD of me presenting at their conference, my business partner realised that such an event would be catastrophic.

Now the time was right.

Clearly she was disturbed, and it was then and only then, that he came to her rescue and said, 'Well the reason I asked this is because I have been able to help many business people like you and Wayne to protect themselves against loss of income due to accident or sickness and I can help you too. Would you like to know how?"

At that point, do you think her had her full attention?

Let me tell you that at the next break, my business partner told me that she had decided to take out income protection, disability cover, life insurance - everything.

Frankly I'm now worth more dead than alive. (A worrying thought at times!!!)

Here's the point I'm making

Your prospects will not really be interested in what you can do for them, until they are first disturbed about their current situation.

How can you achieve this?

Skilful use of well thought out questions.

I teach this incidentally in considerable detail in my workshop on Consultative Selling.

So you might like to consider what questions you can ask your prospects to disturb them BEFORE you make your next sales presentation.

Good questions are the real key to success in selling.

Have a great week – make it a great week.

Wayne Berry

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Article Tags: basic principle, business partner, creative sales, current situation, dead in their tracks, doors, hearts, insurance, insurance sales, objection, prospects, running training, sales person, seminars, telephones, waiting game



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Re: 4 Ways to Go From Employee to Entrepreneur - The situation that Wezi describes is more the norm than the exception. I have spoken to many "entrepreneurs-to-be" that have a desire to work for themselves but can't overcome the fear of making that critical leap. The truth of the matter is, if fear is preventing you from moving forward with your own business you need to overcome that fear first. To do this, try this exercise: 1. Write down as many detailed reasons why you are DISSATISFIED with remaining in your job until you retire. E.g., it won't let you achieve the lifestyle you desire; you are sick of commuting an hour each day; etc. 2. Write down in as much detail as possible your VISION of what your life will be like once you have your own business and you are fully engaged in it. Enjoy this step. 3. Create a list of the action steps you need to actually complete to get things rolling. What do you need to do first? Second? Third? Create a step by step plan. These three steps all work together to overcome any resistance you may feel towards making a major change in your career. If after these exercises, you are still too afraid, look at what you have written down. Chances are one of the three forces for change (dissatisfaction, vision, or first steps) are not yet strong enough to overcome your fear. Perhaps, once you really thought about it, things aren't really that bad in your current career, etc.... Hope this helps.


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