The Pivotal Concept That Governs All Sales Actions
Of all the concepts that we teach in our sales development firm, this has had the highest impact on people’s results and confidence.
We start sales training classes with a very simple question: “What is the intent of a salesperson?” Almost everyone misses it. They say:
- “It’s to sell.”
- “It’s to get the deal.”
- “It’s to be credible.”
- “It’s to make money.”
- “It’s to make quota.”
Our next response leaves them gasping for air…
Your intent is no longer to go out and get deals. Your intent should be to help the prospect identify, reveal and fix his/her problem, even if he/she decides not to use you to get it fixed.
Intent causes an effect.
If your intent is to sell your prospect no matter what, that intent will come across to the prospect. And what do you suppose he’ll do? You guessed it. He’ll stall, lie, object, delay and do everything else that his internal voices are screaming at him to do.
To avoid being average, stay away from the wrong intent.
Begin looking for ways to solve the problems of your prospect, not just to sell him something that’s not directed to his specific problems.
Bill – To take this concept into my sales context, one key (of which I have learned the hard way..) is to convey how my product/service solves a prospect’s business problem – but, as a solution that is honestly and tangibly superior to their status-quo way of doing things – very often, the money they spend on my competitors’ solutions. It’s a touchy subject, but if done properly, creates many more “win-wins”. Thoughts?