According to Neil Rackham, author of SPIN Selling, one of the hardest things for many traditional sellers is to stop acting like a seller and instead see the world from the buyer’s perspective. Now, this does not mean trying to manipulate the buyer by seeing things from his point of view. What it means is a change of perspective. It means abandoning the old views of buyer vs. seller and instead; should share the buyer’s concerns. It means changing your way of thinking in two aspects.
* Go from persuading to understanding
* Shift from a product focus to a buyer focus
The best salespeople see the world from the buyer’s point of view. This helps them understand the buyer’s needs. So instead of worrying about persuading, they seek to understand. This leads to a natural tendency to ask more questions and thus discover more needs. As a result, the best salespeople don’t prematurely talk about the product. Their clients see them as sincere, which breaks down many of the walls we face when trying to persuade clients before they understand their situation.
Think of a bridge connecting products with consumers. You are that bridge. As a result, you must understand both the product and the customer. Which end is the most important?
* Most sellers feel more comfortable and competent in understanding their products than in understanding buyers.
* Very successful salespeople have adequate product knowledge, but superior customer knowledge.
* Salespeople with the most product knowledge don’t make the most sales.
* If forced to choose, buyers are more likely to deal with those who best understand their needs than with those who best understand the products or services.
How to achieve a better understanding of your customers?
* Stay up to date with business and industry trends that affect your customers.
* Read current trade journals as well as product manuals.
* Be genuinely curious about what’s going on inside the buyer’s world and ask lots of questions about the changes in their lives, as well as their hopes and dreams.
From SPIN Selling Chapter 12, “Hone Your Skills”
“Why do we never get an answer when we knock on the door? – The Moody Blues
It could be because we’re knocking on the wrong door. Or are we calling too loud? SPIN is an acronym for a type of query/profile used by top marketers. S stands for “Location”; P for “Problem”; I for “Participation” and N for “Need to pay”.
First let’s take a look at the “Location” questions. These are the kinds of questions that are essential early in the sales process. If this is your first time meeting the prospect, you obviously need joint information. These are also the kind of questions most new salespeople are comfortable with. They are generally non-threatening to the client, but there are some risks associated with a “laundry list” approach to profiling with questions like, where do you work? Do you own a home? Do you have a checking account? The problem with this “checklist” style of questioning is that the prospect will get bored if he asks too many questions. What separates the successful salesperson from the rest of the pack is how they listen to the answers to these questions and how they limit the number of questions at any given time. As they collect information, they move in the direction of a perceived problem.
If your customer or prospect can’t understand the reasons behind the questions you’re asking, they’ll quickly get bored and the likelihood of an up-sell or cross-sell opportunity will quickly die. Let’s look at the difference between situation questions and problem questions.
situation questions
Problem Questions
Do you have an investment account?
Are you satisfied with the performance of your investments?
Do you have a current account in another bank?
What checking account features does your other bank that maintains your business offer?
Do you own a home?
Are you satisfied with your mortgage loan rate?
Are you interested in looking for alternatives to your CD?
What is the purpose of the funds in your CD account? Is it long term or short term?
Where are you employed? How long have you been there?
Does your employer offer a 401(k) or other retirement plan?
As you can see, the Situation questions will gather the facts. Problem questions can gather the same type of information, but they take you into a relationship mode where the prospect sees you as a problem solver.
“One of the greatest pieces of economic wisdom is knowing what you don’t know.” -John Kenneth Galbraith
By now we should have a clear picture of how to discover our customers’ problems by asking questions in a way that reveals them. As difficult as it can be at times, we also find that we shouldn’t offer solutions until we know what the problem is. This is accomplished through a combination of situation questions and problem questions. We can then develop the customer’s need with Involvement and Need-Pay questions. If we employ this strategy with all of our clients, we should hear far fewer objections and close more sales.
If you find that you’re hearing more objections than you’d like, chances are you’re offering solutions before you discover the problem. Many times we are the ones who cause all the objections. A recent television commercial for a health care provider discussed the phenomena called “true purpose of the visit” or RPV. Physicians have to ask a lot of questions to uncover PVR because patients, as well as current and potential clients, will reluctantly abandon the real problem they need help with. Just as a doctor can be held liable for malpractice if he or she prescribes a drug without understanding the problem, so can a financial advisor for offering a solution before understanding the need.
Think of the typical CD client. Given the surprisingly low interest rate environment we are experiencing, it may seem that more of our CD members are not flocking to the branches to meet with our Financial Consultants to take advantage of better investment alternatives. So when you call them over the course of your Block Time for the day, you’ll probably be frustrated by their resistance to your big ideas.
Keep in mind; you’re not going to sell anything over the phone. Your goal is to get a date. When it comes to people and their money, they want to have a trusting relationship with the person giving them financial advice. So if you haven’t discovered a need, you’re not going to get a date. And let’s face it, there are some CD clients out there that just won’t budget despite the great work you do. Let’s look at two ways to avoid unnecessary objections.
1. Objections at the beginning of the call. Research by Neil Rackham, author of SPIN Selling, shows that customers generally don’t object to questions unless it becomes rude or offensive. Most of the time objections stem from solutions that do not fit the member’s needs. If he finds that he’s getting a lot of objections early in the call, it means that instead of asking questions, he’s been offering solutions and features. He tries not to offer solutions until he discovers the real need.
2. Objections about value. If your members don’t see the value of what you’re suggesting, you’ll get objections. It is a sign that you are not developing the need strongly enough. For example, the CD customer raises the NCUA insurance concern. He immediately starts an argument about how his $300,000 won’t be 100% insured anyway and the NCUA could go out of business like any insurance company. You tell them that the fixed annuity is safe and pays more interest than their certificate of deposit, blah blah blah. You notice that your prospect is even more determined and throw a series of objections and discover that your sale is slipping away. What the member is really telling you is that he has not shown value with his proposed solution. His concern is security because they need that money for long-term care.
A better approach would be to confirm your security concern. Then proceed to discover the need for that CD (long term care) money and discuss how your solution addresses both needs by demonstrating how your proposed solution addresses both needs. Reduce the use of functions and focus on the use of questions about the problem, participation and the need for payment.
Four stages of a sales call
1. Getting Commitment begins before the discussion by setting goals that will lead to realistic commitment.
2. Obtaining commitment is easier if you have developed strong needs in the research stage and have demonstrated the ability to satisfy them.
3. Obtaining Commitment consists of three steps:
* Check that you have addressed key concerns
* Summarize benefits
* Proposes a realistic commitment
