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The Psychology of the Sales Cycle – Qualification

You made it through the first meeting with the prospect, rapport was established and he/she liked you enough to allow you to come back and continue the sales process. And you enjoyed the prospect enough to want to pursue the business. Now it’s time to determine if you can do business with the prospect. By that I mean, after you do your fact finding, you have to honestly assess whether or not what you have to offer can help him/her. On the flip side, you also want to figure out whether or not you want to pursue the prospect any further because not all business is good business. If you get sense that prospects’ demands will be more than you want to take on, or if you begin to get the feeling you might not like working with them, this is the time to politely back out of the process. Better to not take on a customer than to have to end up “firing” him/her.As you qualify the prospect through a series of well-planned questions the principle of consistency becomes very important. During the follow up meetings after the initial contact, you want to ask LOTS of questions. A rule of thumb is that a good salesperson should talk no more than 25%-30% of the time. That might be contrary to what you’ve experienced with salespeople in the past because a misperception about salespeople is they have to have “the gift of gab” to talk people into anything. Nothing could be further from the truth! Excellent salespeople talk so little because they ask good questions that allow the prospect to do most of the talking. Excellent salespeople are also good listeners because it doesn’t do any good to ask the right questions if they don’t care about the answers.Here are some benefits of asking good questions: They allow the prospect to feel in control of the situation.They help you gather information so you can understand the prospect’s needs.They will let you know whether or not you should go forward. If you can’t meet the prospect’s needs or requirements then be honest, remove yourself from the sales process and go work with prospects you can help.They help you tailor your presentation or demonstration.You will be able to tie back what you ultimately propose to what the prospect told you in earlier meetings. This is where consistency becomes a powerful principle to leverage the sale.  One more point about questions. Whether you win or lose an account, you should always try to understand why. Replicate your winning behaviors and change whatever led to you not making the sale. When you lose, you need to see if there’s a question or two you can add to your qualification process to avoid that from happening again. For example, if you find out the prospect’s brother-in-law works for the company the prospect is currently doing business with then add a question in your qualification process to uncover that next time. Refining your questions over time will make you more efficient and successful.Last, consider scarcity as you go through the qualification phase. People naturally want more of what they don’t have, can’t have or perceive as going away. By asking the right questions you can start to highlight what prospects might be missing currently and they’ll want it more. An example from insurance might be the following: Agent – “If you’re like most customers I work with you probably want to make sure your building is fully covered in the event of a total loss, correct?” Prospect – “Of course. I can’t get stuck paying tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket if the building burns or a tornado takes it down. That’s why I buy insurance.” Agent – “How about your employees? If your business was shut down for six months or longer would you want them to come back when you reopen? Prospect – “Sure. Without them I have no business.” Agent – “I thought so but right now you don’t have business income coverage. If you can’t pay them while the rebuilding is going on they’ll end up looking for other jobs so they can pay their bills and feed their families. Should I include this coverage in your quote?” Prospect – “I never thought about that. I couldn’t afford to hire new people, retrain them and do all the other stuff you have to do with new employees. Yea, include it so we can see what it will cost.”Tom Hopkins, a well-know sales trainer and author regularly tells audiences, “If you say it, they doubt it. When they say it, they believe it.” Telling prospects what they need is never as effective as them seeing the need themselves and verbalizing it. This comes about more easily when you know you product or service and ask the right questions.Next week we’ll delve into the presentation or demonstration with a prospect looking to leverage certain principles of influence that will help that go smoothly.Brian Ahearn, CMCT® Chief Influence Officer influencePEOPLE Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

Influencers from Around the World – Consensus + Scarcity = FAIL!

This month, our Influencers from Around the World guest post comes from Anthony McLean, a long-time contributor to Influence PEOPLE. Anthony is Australia’s one and only Cialdini Method Certified Trainer (CMCT®). He started the Social Consulting Group where he teaches people and organizations the principles of influence. Reach out to Anthony on LinkedIn and Twitter to learn more from him.Brian Ahearn, CMCT® Chief Influence Officer influencePEOPLE Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.Consensus + Scarcity = FAILRecently I have noticed a very interesting phenomenon. Consensus is failing to have the impact it is intended to have. In our time,  the cues to guide our behaviour are more prevalent and appreciated than ever before. For example, when I land on an online shopping page, the reviews, ratings, and testimonials provide me with vitally important information such as others like me have been here before; this vendor can be trusted; the products are as they are described; and so on.  In the traditional sense it is these cues that help me overcome my uncertainty and help me make a decision.  Therefore when I am not sure of what I should do, I look to the actions of others; especially in unknown and untested situations. And not just any others, I look to those most like me to guide my behaviour.  Rest assured my friends, Consensus is truly a principle that, when used well, saves time, promotes sales, and builds communities. It’s a cracker (Australian for really good, awesome, etc.)!What then, I hear you say, does the title of this post mean? Let me tell you, but first let me pose a mystery. Why would a leading publically listed company make a wrongheaded decision and turn away from the actions of others?In the delivery of the Principles of Persuasion Workshops, my keynotes and in my consulting and coaching, I continually stress to my audience that not all testimonials are same. We know that by distilling the testimonial data, drilling into the case studies, and sharing what people most like you are doing now or have done in the past, will have a great impact on your “persuadee’s” behaviour.However, recently I have been working in a space in which the products on offer between companies are very similar. Many industries have been through a phase in which they have competed on price. However to cut prices they must cut margin and then services and ultimately their perceived value. Those industries then got to a point where price was no longer a determining factor. While they could have continued to compete on price, at some point there needed to be platform based on value, relationships, and/or loyalty. The change had to come because buying customers through discounts was bringing about the wrong type of relationship, where every dollar was held tightly. Dishonesty between provider and customer was rife because of the perception that every dollar mattered and after all it was just a transactional relationship; those who got or saved the most money won!It is at this point a nuance of Consensus kicks in; the suppliers are all in the same industry, they offer similar products, they compete for the same customers, staff and leaders, but they do not see themselves as the same as each other. How do I know?  If you present to an organization evidence of what others in the industry are doing, rather than move toward your ideas, they immediately repel, back away and dismiss what others in their industry are doing. Showing them what many others in their industry are doing, creates a drive in initiative to be different and cut a new path, one less travelled, in an effort to attract disgruntled and disenfranchised customers looking to leave their current provider in search of something better. The competition is so great in this industry that the drive to be unique, to be something truly valuable, outweighs the power of Consensus.Now I am not saying Consensus will not work in this industry – quite the contrary. However, , Consensus can fail to influence behaviour because of Scarcity – if the competition is doing it we must do something different and  be seen as unique. We must have a clear USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and can’t be the same because then the consumer will not be able to tell us apart.  In this instance Scarcity was trumping Consensus.So what are you to do? Firstly don’t get caught up in labels and demographics. Just because Company A and Company B are in the same industry they may not see themselves as the same. Therefore ask the decision makers you are seeking to influence about their values, their vision and whom they think across the business world is most like them.  Then start to research, dig into those companies that your persuadee sees themselves like and show them what those companies are doing in similar situations.  Therefore why did a publically listed company turn away from the crowd and make a decision that seemed at odds with their industry? Because they did not see themselves as the same as others in their industry. They were different. They were unique. They were competitors. Therefore they would do things differently, cut new directions and be innovative – they wanted to be Apple. So we showed them what Apple did and low and behold they sat up and took notice.  By the way they were not in the same league as Apple but it didn’t matter – in their eyes – they were, so that’s what we showed them to change their thinking. Anthony McLean, CMCT®

The Psychology of the Sales Cycle – Initial Meeting

Congratulations! Your prospecting efforts have paid off and you’ve set up your first meeting with the prospective client. Now comes the fun part because you’re going to start building relationships, selling and enjoying success.First impressions matter and your initial contact will determine whether or not you go any further for several reasons:Judging the book by its cover. Growing up we were told never to judge a book by its cover, but we do. Sometimes we do it consciously and sometimes it’s subconscious, but we all do it. Your prospect will do it too so leave nothing to chance. How you dress, act and prepare can make all the difference for that initial impression which happens in less than 30 seconds.Do they want to do business? As you talk, beyond the initial judgment we just touched on, the prospect will be assessing many things as he/she decides whether or not to go forward.Do you want to do business? The prospect isn’t the only one making a decision. Not every prospect is a potential fit for you and you should be assessing whether or not this is an individual or company you can, or want, to do business with.There are two chief aims of this meeting: build rapport and ask enough questions to assess whether or not you can, or even want to, do business with this potential client.Sales trainer and author Jeffrey Gitomer is fond of saying, “All things being equal, people prefer to do business with their friends. All things being not so equal, people still prefer to do business with their friends.” This goes to the heart of the principle of liking, which says people prefer to say, “Yes” to those they know and like.Here’s a great example – ladies’ home parties. Whenever I ask an audience how many ladies have been to Tupperware, Mary Kay or Pampered Chef parties, nearly every female’s hand goes up. I can also tell by their reactions they don’t particularly want to go to those parties so I ask why they go. Inevitably they say, “Because a friend invited me.” They’d have no problem saying “No” to a stranger but when it’s a friend it’s hard to say “No.”The more you put someone at ease, the more you offer genuine compliments and the more you connect over what you have in common, the more the other person will come to like you. But wait, there’s more! As you employ this strategy you will come to like them too and when they sense you really like them everything changes!Another way to build rapport is to engage the principle of reciprocity. The reason this builds rapport is twofold. People feel positively towards those who give to them. Secondly, if what you give or share benefits them in some way they feel more positive towards and more indebted to return the favor. That’s effective use of this powerful principle of influence.Here’s an example. Someone who went through one of my Principles of Persuasion Workshops gave his copy of Influence Science and Practice to a client’s son who was just starting out in business. He was amazed at the look on both of their faces and knew what he’d just done was appreciated and would make a difference in their relationship going forward.Knowing what to give and what you can connect on or compliment requires some up front leg work. Doing a little research online and talking with people who know the prospect shouldn’t take much time and might be a goldmine of ideas on how to leverage both liking and reciprocity. Again, one major goal of the meeting is to have the opportunity to go to the next step in the sales process so building rapport is a must.Next time we’ll look at the qualification process where you really begin to understand the prospect, his/her business and needs. Two principles of influence are especially helpful in this phase of the sales cycle.Brian Ahearn, CMCT® Chief Influence Officer influencePEOPLE Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.