Salespeople are expected to do two things well. First, offer an expert opinion. Second, represent a company that provides an expert solution. If someone is going to buy from us, they should believe we understand their situation and can improve it.
But I think there is
an opportunity to create value even before they become our customer. In
customer value circles, we talk a lot about value being co-created with the
customer, not handed over at purchase. The sales conversation may be where that
starts. Before we even present our expertise. Before we even explain our
solution. We can create value by helping the potential customer recognize the
true significance of a problem they may have overlooked, learned to live with,
or assumed could not be solved. And we can improve the chances of them
realizing this, not by pointing it out to them, but by guiding them to find it
on their own, with our help, of course.
Questions Can Do More Than Diagnose
Consultative selling
has long emphasized asking questions. But many consultative sales questions are
still designed primarily to help the salesperson diagnose the buyer’s situation
and set up for the close. The salesperson asks. The buyer answers. The
salesperson gathers enough information to determine the problem and then recommends
the solution. Not unlike a doctor before prescribing a solution.
There is another way
to think about those questions. What if the questions are not primarily
designed to help the salesperson discover the problem? What if they are
designed to help the buyer discover it? There’s a difference there. It is
closer to what a good counselor does. A counselor does not simply announce,
“Here is your problem. And here is how we can fix it.” Instead, the counselor
asks questions that help someone examine their own situation, connect things
they may not have connected before, and reach conclusions through their own
thinking.
The Problem is Likely Already There
Many buyers are
living with problems they have never really identified as problems. Or, more
commonly, they know the problem exists but have decided it is not serious
enough to address, or they assume it is not addressable at all. They have
adapted to it. They have created workarounds. They have told themselves, “That
is just the way things are.” Psychology
gives us several ways to explain this, including status quo bias: our tendency
to prefer the familiar situation, even when it is less than ideal. Imagine a
business owner who spends several hours every week manually correcting mistakes
created by an inefficient process. She knows it is annoying. She knows it takes
time. But she has done it for so long that it has simply become part of running
the business.
The sales professional’s
challenge is to reframe the issue and get the buyer to simply look at the current
situation differently. Hence, the problem begins to feel more real and substantial.
Here are 7 questions that can provide illumination on the situation and possible
corrective actions.
→ What does your process look like?
→ Are you happy with it?
→ Are there any inefficiencies with it?
→ How much time does that usually take?
→ How often does it happen?
→ What else could you be doing during those hours?”
→ How much has that cost you over the last year?”
Awareness Creates Value
Note, the
salesperson has not introduced a solution. Yet, value begins to appear before
the sale is consummated. The buyer begins to recognize a problem that they have
had for years but have never dealt with it. They realize that a frustration
they had accepted now deserves immediate attention. That new awareness has
value. The salesperson has helped the buyer understand something important
about their own situation that they might otherwise have continued to overlook.
We haven’t even made
any recommendations yet. We have not said, “We can fix this.” We have simply guided
the buyer toward recognizing that a meaningful problem exists and that it
deserves attention.
What if the Prospect Says No?
Say our business
owner does the math. The problem costs her $2,000 a year and fixing it would
cost $10,000. She probably won't buy. Did the conversation fail? Not necessarily.
She knows exactly what the frustration is worth and can finally make a clear
decision about it. That’s perceived value. And she’ll surely remember who
helped her to see it.
We can call this a
transition from defensiveness to curiosity. Many sales conversations begin with
a subtle defensive posture. The buyer knows what’s coming. They know our job is
to sell. So, they sit back, figuratively cross their arms, and wait for the
pitch, prepared to say ‘no’. The salesperson begins explaining expertise. The
buyer begins evaluating claims. The salesperson tries to persuade. The buyer
looks for reasons to resist.
But it’s different
when the buyer arrives at the problem through their own thinking. Once they
recognize the significance of the issue, they naturally begin wondering what
can be done about it. Instead of “What are you trying to sell me?” They begin
leaning forward, thinking, “So what would you do about this?” Only now does the
salesperson’s expertise become especially valuable. And the buyer is ready to
hear it.
Creating Value Before the Solution
Demonstrating value
is an essential idea behind the N.I.C.E. sales framework (Notice, Illuminate, Cement, Exhale). Both parties know that a problem exists. But we need
to help the buyer find it themself. Rather than immediately announcing a
diagnosis, the sales pro uses sequential guiding questions to move the buyer
toward recognizing the urgency of the business situation and an effective and
efficient response.
In sum, the
described sales process creates awareness and clarity and builds trust. It creates
sound value before the seller even offers a realistic proposal. The irony is
that when we stop rushing to prove how much expertise we have, buyers are more
interested/intrigued with our sales message and become more likely to buy.
* Dr. Shane Smith is an entrepreneur, educator, and founder of The
Nice Guy Entrepreneur, where he helps business owners become more confident and
comfortable with the parts of entrepreneurship that don’t always come
naturally, especially selling. With more than 30 years of experience in
business and higher education, Shane combines real-world entrepreneurship with
an academic background in business, marketing, and consumer psychology. His
work focuses on understanding why people buy, how trust and customer value are
created, and how entrepreneurs can sell without becoming the stereotypical
salesperson they may dislike. He is the creator of the N.I.C.E. sales method
and the author of How to Sell When You Hate to Sell. You can reach out
to him at Shane@NiceGuy.biz or visit
www.niceguy.biz
