Allow Clients to Realise they want your Sale

You are in the middle of a call and you are leading them to their desire to their water but the problem is you can not get them to drink it. In sales training courses we explain to participants that you do not need to make them drink the water you simply want them to realise for themselves that they are thirsty.

How can you guide people into realising that this is what they want? The fundamental truth is to ask the right questions. On a recent sales training course I noticed that so many of the participants were actually creating more objections than was originally there because they were talking too much. However the fact is that we sell more by asking questions and listening to the answers rather than making statements.

Have you ever noticed that people are more susceptible to rejecting someone else's ideas rather than their own? Well by asking prospective clients questions you can get them to feel that the idea and end result was theirs to begin with anyway. You need to be careful that you do not tell them that they are wrong in some shape or form or they will unstintingly act negatively towards you.

In sales training the trick is to use questions that will put the prospective in the frame of mind of painting a picture that will indicate the pain or problem that they are experiencing. We want them to picture a need, want or desire for that something that they do not have. The idea behind this is that the client will be more receptive to hear how it can be fixed.

The best way to create this desire is to ask broad questions to begin with and narrow them down as you go, picture a triangle upside down, it is wide at first but then gets straight to the point. For example asking a colleague if they want to go to lunch you start by saying "are you hungry?" then "do you like spicy foods" then "do you like Chinese" then "will we go for a Chinese so?". You have got your client thinking about food then thinking about Chinese and then wanting it.

In sales training courses we always use a pre call plan. In this plan it is vital to ask yourself the questions first, such as

• What information do you need? Do we the information from the buyer?
• What is your objective? What do you want them o do?
• In order for them to do this what do they need to know, believe and feel?
• How do I get them to believe?

The answer to these questions is through questioning. Ask questions that will help them reach their conclusion alone. The key helping people buy through selling is to dig deeper by asking the right questions then listen to their answers so that you can help provide their desire.