Hidden Sales Presssure: 7 Ways To Make It Go Away
Hidden Sales Presssure: 7 Ways To Make It Go Away
This one just came in from Julie in Atlanta, Georgia:
"Ari, I'm not a typical salesperson. I'm easy-going, I focus on client needs, and I do my best not to exert any sales pressure. But I still end up getting stuck in the cat-and-mouse sales game, and I don't understand why. I call a prospect, and, if they don't say 'no' right away, we have a pleasant conversation. They lead me to believe that they're interested in my service, but the next thing I know I find myself back in the 'chasing' game. Please help!"
Julie is echoing the hundreds of conversations that I have every week with people who tell me that they don't believe in old-style selling but still get "stuck" in the same negative cycle of sales frustration that thousands of people experience every day.
The answer lies in a hidden and quiet enemy called "sales pressure"-- not the typical, overt "salesperson" type of pressure, but subtle, beneath-the-surface, built-in sales pressure that can arise in our relationships with potential clients without us even realizing it.
This subtle type of sales pressure is triggered whenever you focus on the goal of getting an appointment or making a sale, coupled with communication that clearly says to potential clients, "I'm taking you through my sales process."
These two factors are red flags that make potential clients feel mistrustful because they feel that you're going to try to "sell them," and they respond by evading, withdrawing, and concealing the truth of their situation.
How can you eliminate this subtle form of sales pressure?
Here are 7 solutions:
*Stop carrying the burden of driving the sales process forward. Try to engage potential clients based on the problems they're facing rather than on the solution that you're trying to sell, no matter how much you believe in it. And, instead of asking questions intended to "extract" information that you can then use to move the sales process forward, listen for cues that tell you where potential clients want to take the conversation, so they feel understood. If you can let your conversation evolve to that point, they will move the sales process forward.
*Watch out for "sales"-type language. Statements like "When shall I follow up?," "Can I come by and show you what I have?" and "Do you still want to move forward?" are all examples of language that inevitably triggers sales pressure. Try to imagine that your potential client is a friend. How would your language change? I would bet that you'd communicate with spontaneous words and phrases that would spring out of you naturally and allow a trusting connection to emerge, in contrast to "me" language designed to make the sale.
*Become aware of your inner voice and what it's saying. So many thoughts run through our mind before we pick up the phone to call a potential client.: "I better have all the answers," "I'd better prepare myself for potential rejection," "I really hope I can get an appointment." These thoughts stem from traditional sales conditioning, which taught us that we always have to be prepared for disappointment and frustration. How about changing that inner voice to a more positive one that will not only make it easier for you to engage in conversations but will decrease your stress level as well? See how you feel when you tell yourself instead:
*
"I'm not going to make any assumptions that my product or service is a fit until we both determine that there's a problem to solve."
*
"Not being 'perfect' with a potential client isn't a sign of weakness but an indication that I'm human too."
*
"I don't need to fear rejection because I'll use an approach that won't trigger it."
* Don't look at sales as a "game" but as a mission to help those in need. If you shift the way you think about selling, you'll begin to experience the relief that comes with shedding the burden of the negative sales stereotype.
*Find new role models. Look around you for successful people who sell but don't exhibit traditional sales behavior and thinking. You can learn from their positive example. Pay attention to how they build trust, dialogue with potential clients the same way they would with friends, and always, always, keep their own agendas in check, so that potential clients feel that their own needs --not the salesperson's commission at the end of the sale -- are priority number one.
* Be open to a new approach. You may even still hit your sales goals if you stick with traditional sales thinking, but what toll will this take on your self-esteem? And you will never know what opportunities you lost along the way because you exerted subtle sales pressure on potential clients.
*Find new ways to build trust. You know how to build trust. You do it all the time in your personal life. So why is it so hard in selling? Because traditional sales thinking only shows you how to outsmart your potential clients--and that kind of approach is totally incompatible with building trust.
If you're skeptical about being able to eliminate subtle sales pressure, you're holding yourself
back from making a breakthrough in your sales life.
To Your Success,
Hidden Sales Presssure 7 Ways To Make It Go Away - To learn more about this author, visit Ari Galper's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Everyday, people from all over the world send me their selling challenges.
This one just came in from Julie in Atlanta, Georgia:
"Ari, I'm not a typical salesperson. I'm easy-going, I focus on client needs, and I do my best not to exert any sales pressure. But I still end up getting stuck in the cat-and-mouse sales game, and I don't understand why. I call a prospect, and, if they don't say 'no' right away, we have a pleasant conversation. They lead me to believe that they're interested in my service, but the next thing I know I find myself back in the 'chasing' game. Please help!"
Julie is echoing the hundreds of conversations that I have every week with people who tell me that they don't believe in old-style selling but still get "stuck" in the same negative cycle of sales frustration that thousands of people experience every day.
The answer lies in a hidden and quiet enemy called "sales pressure"-- not the typical, overt "salesperson" type of pressure, but subtle, beneath-the-surface, built-in sales pressure that can arise in our relationships with potential clients without us even realizing it.
This subtle type of sales pressure is triggered whenever you focus on the goal of getting an appointment or making a sale, coupled with communication that clearly says to potential clients, "I'm taking you through my sales process."
These two factors are red flags that make potential clients feel mistrustful because they feel that you're going to try to "sell them," and they respond by evading, withdrawing, and concealing the truth of their situation.
How can you eliminate this subtle form of sales pressure?
Here are 7 solutions:
*Stop carrying the burden of driving the sales process forward. Try to engage potential clients based on the problems they're facing rather than on the solution that you're trying to sell, no matter how much you believe in it. And, instead of asking questions intended to "extract" information that you can then use to move the sales process forward, listen for cues that tell you where potential clients want to take the conversation, so they feel understood. If you can let your conversation evolve to that point, they will move the sales process forward.
*Watch out for "sales"-type language. Statements like "When shall I follow up?," "Can I come by and show you what I have?" and "Do you still want to move forward?" are all examples of language that inevitably triggers sales pressure. Try to imagine that your potential client is a friend. How would your language change? I would bet that you'd communicate with spontaneous words and phrases that would spring out of you naturally and allow a trusting connection to emerge, in contrast to "me" language designed to make the sale.
*Become aware of your inner voice and what it's saying. So many thoughts run through our mind before we pick up the phone to call a potential client.: "I better have all the answers," "I'd better prepare myself for potential rejection," "I really hope I can get an appointment." These thoughts stem from traditional sales conditioning, which taught us that we always have to be prepared for disappointment and frustration. How about changing that inner voice to a more positive one that will not only make it easier for you to engage in conversations but will decrease your stress level as well? See how you feel when you tell yourself instead:
*
"I'm not going to make any assumptions that my product or service is a fit until we both determine that there's a problem to solve."
*
"Not being 'perfect' with a potential client isn't a sign of weakness but an indication that I'm human too."
*
"I don't need to fear rejection because I'll use an approach that won't trigger it."
* Don't look at sales as a "game" but as a mission to help those in need. If you shift the way you think about selling, you'll begin to experience the relief that comes with shedding the burden of the negative sales stereotype.
*Find new role models. Look around you for successful people who sell but don't exhibit traditional sales behavior and thinking. You can learn from their positive example. Pay attention to how they build trust, dialogue with potential clients the same way they would with friends, and always, always, keep their own agendas in check, so that potential clients feel that their own needs --not the salesperson's commission at the end of the sale -- are priority number one.
* Be open to a new approach. You may even still hit your sales goals if you stick with traditional sales thinking, but what toll will this take on your self-esteem? And you will never know what opportunities you lost along the way because you exerted subtle sales pressure on potential clients.
*Find new ways to build trust. You know how to build trust. You do it all the time in your personal life. So why is it so hard in selling? Because traditional sales thinking only shows you how to outsmart your potential clients--and that kind of approach is totally incompatible with building trust.
If you're skeptical about being able to eliminate subtle sales pressure, you're holding yourself
back from making a breakthrough in your sales life.
To Your Success,
Hidden Sales Presssure 7 Ways To Make It Go Away - To learn more about this author, visit Ari Galper'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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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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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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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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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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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle'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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