by: Ari Galper
Sean works for a major telecom company.
During one of our coaching sessions, he told me, "I've been diligent about following the sales process that my company believes is required to make a sale but, for some strange reason, my prospects don't want to fit into that process.
What am I doing wrong?"
Sean's comment struck me because it spoke to years of traditional selling programs that promote linear selling moving prospects along from one step to another until they say yes as a "guarantee" of sales success.
But there's an inherent conflict here.
Linear selling says that you have to impose a predetermined structure on building a relationship but that's by definition an unstructured process!
Suppose that the "next step" isn't what the prospect wants?
"Wait a minute," you might say. "What matters most is that I put as many prospects as possible into my sales process, and hopefully some of them will turn into sales."
If you're thinking that way, it's definitely time for you to consider a different way of thinking.
Of course you can make sales using linear selling but you'll never know how many sales you're losing week after week because you're wearing the "blinders" of traditional selling.
If we fail to tune in to the natural rhythm of trust-building when two strangers become involved in developing a relationship...or if we try to force prospects into our process, we make the relationship about us and not them, whether we intend to or not.
And prospects sense that and pull back, because structured, linear sales processes don't recognize the human elements required to build the relationships that ultimately lead to sales.
Before a sale can happen, prospects need to feel that you're comfortable moving at their pace and their process.
If you try to force changes in that process, you'll only set off alarms that will pigeonhole you with the negative stereotype of "salesperson."
That's why I advised Sean to work on becoming aware of the milestones that prospects set and that will guide his path to a sale.
He needed to learn to build enough trust with prospects that they would feel comfortable telling him the truth of their process and their decision making path.
"I totally accept the principles behind what you're saying," Sean then told me, "but I need to know more specifics about what to say and do in a sales situation." Here are some suggestions I gave him:
Consider these ideas, and try these practical suggestions. They helped Sean feel better about letting go of the old ideas he'd been taught.
Maybe they'll do the same for you.