You have a great product/service, of course you do, or why else would you be selling the product/service, but for some reason, you have been unable to get the traction that you thought you would have and you are now questioning whether it is really a good product/service. It may not be your product/service; it may be you.
I would like to share two real life examples. The scenario is the same. My wife wants to get a new vehicle and has started the process of finding a vehicle for herself. I tag along to see car salespeople in action hoping that the industry has changed. Unfortunately, some have not.
First example. We walk into a local Volkswagen dealership and first off she is bombarded by a few salespeople. One clearly wins the race for her and starts the whole transaction by bowing to her which right away made her feel uncomfortable. He did not come from a culture that bowing is the prevalent way to greet people. Knowing your prospect would be my first recommendation to this person.
Before my wife could even start to tell him what she wanted, he started telling her all about the cars in the showroom; none of which would meet her requirements. He then asked what we currently had and when she informed him that we had just purchased a brand new 2016 Dodge Journey for myself, he came back with a bunch of reasons why that was such a bad decision. He further compounded the blunder by stating that he hoped that we had not bought it from the local Dodge dealer and then goes off on a tirade about all sorts of personal problems that they were having as he previously worked there. My wife could not get out of there fast enough and as we were leaving, he started telling me once again what a poor decision I had made in getting the Journey. Lots of bonding a rapport here. Yes, I’m being facetious.
Second example. We then went to a Chevy dealer; first the salesperson left us to wander around the lot without approaching us right away. He gave us some time to check out the inventory and by just observing got a fairly good idea what we were looking for. After a good amount of time he came to introduce himself, shook our hands and asked if he could be of service. I stood back and watched as he asked my wife a few questions about what she needed the car for, what size was she looking for, what price range would be comfortable for her and what kind of accessories she would like. After gathering all the information, he took some time to look on his tablet and then stated that he had three vehicles to show her that would meet those parameters. We took one out for a test drive.
We did not buy this particular vehicle as my wife wanted to look at other manufacturers and there was no pressure whatsoever from the salesperson. However, if she wanted a car that day, which one would she buy? Yes, once again, being facetious.
Same product, but two completely different approaches. Which scenario are you falling into? Are you telling or listening? Are you asking the right questions or making assumptions? Do you know the ‘5 Step Selling Process’, which I have written about previously, or, simply launching into your pitch?
It could be as stated above: “It may be you.”