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Wrong. Stalls and objections are both things you may hear after
you have asked for commitment, but an objection is a specific
reason not to buy. In a stall--"I need to think about it"--the
customer offers no particular reason for hesitating.
Almost all salespeople buy in to the stall. Very few ever get
the deal once they do.
What the stalling customer is really saying is this: "I'm not
quite sold yet. Sell me some more." Well then, by all means, do
some more selling. But do it right. Here's how:
Never challenge a stall. Since the customer offered no specific
reason for hesitating, don't force him to come up with one by
saying something like, "What is it that you need to think
about?" Challenging stalls creates conflict, not sales.
Don't try to manipulate the customer. If you've learned any
manipulative sales techniques, forget them. They do more harm
than good. The old "feel, felt, found" method rarely worked even
in its heyday, and it certainly doesn't work today.
Identify a Universal Stall Breaker. The USB is a capability of
your product or your company that minimizes the risk to the
customer who buys. Every company has one. Yours might be a
money-back guarantee, a no-hassle return policy, a try-and-buy
arrangement, extended terms, or an unusually comprehensive
warranty. Whatever this capability is, do not present it to the
customer up front. Hold the USB in reserve, in case you hear a
The Sales Training Series: Never Wing It Research shows that salespeople will never reach their
performance potential without a well-defined sales-call
procedure that they can follow and learn from. Winging it on
sales calls has grim consequences - lost sales, extended sell
cycles, margin erosion and no clear path to improvement. Bottom
line: Your entire sales career can be mediocre if you wing it.
Performance improves by as much as 50% when salespeople have a
consistent game plan for their sales calls.
Most salespeople make the same mistakes over and over without
realizing it. Without a logical sales process to follow ..
stall when you ask for commitment.
When you do hear a stall, follow this procedure:
Say, "I understand."
Restate the product features the customer liked before the stall
arose.
Present the USB.
Ask for commitment again.
It works like this: "I understand. You like ____, _____, and
____ about our product. With our _____ policy (the USB), you can
try it with no risk at all. How does that sound? (Customer
responds.) Would you like to go ahead with it then?"
Far too many salespeople fail to ask for commitment even once in
a sales call. With this stall-breaking method, you are asking
twice. And you have followed the customer's lead by doing
exactly what the stall really asked you to do: "Sell me some
more."
Believe it, you will make more sales!
In The Field:
The Sales Training Series: Gaining Commitment
Employers value salespeople based on their ability to Gain a Sales Commitment. Improving this sales skill has never been more important than it is today. So, what are you doing to get better?
Here are several ideas on how you can improve your sales effectiveness at gaining customer commitments.
Always Have a Commitment Objective!
Our recent research shows that nearly 80% of salespeople do not understand what their primary purpose is. Your principle mission in sales is to Gain Commitment. The confusion stems from the variety of tasks we as salespeople are asked to perfor ..
Equity Residential is the largest apartment leasing company in
the United States. In a tough economic climate, Equity decided
to invest in developing the selling skills of its leasing
consultants. Needless to say, these consultants often hear
stalls such as, "Let me think about it and I'll get back to you."
Equity has a Service Promise Guarantee that minimizes the risk
for customers who choose to rent. "But prior to the Action
Selling Sales Training Program, we presented our Service Promise
Guarantee as just another feature," said Jonakan O'Steen,
director of education and leadership development. With their
eyes opened to a new way of looking at stalls, Equity's
consultants quickly identified the guarantee as their Universal
Stall Breaker. That is now how they use it.
"It's easy to get stalled when working with rentals," O'Steen
said. Or, rather, it used to be.
About the author:
Duane Sparks is chairman and founder of The Sales Board, a
Minneapolis-based
href="http://www.thesalesboard.com?cpgn=568" title="sales
training, sales management training">Sales Training
company that has trained and certified more than 200,000
salespeople.
Duane SparksThe Sales Training Series: Dealing With Sales Objections and Stalls
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