The 25 Sales Habits of Highly Successful Salespeople by Stephan Schiffman

Author:Stephan Schiffman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: epub, ebook
Publisher: F+W Media, Inc.

HABIT #14

Create a Plan with Each New Prospect

I go through a little monologue each time I meet a new prospect. I say, “Here's someone new. Here's someone I've never met before. What am I going to do that will be a little different with this person?”

It may be routine for you, but the prospect you're dealing with has never gone through the sales cycle with you before. One of the best ways to combat that “here I go again” sensation is to produce a customized, written plan for your prospect. This should be based on the material you gather in your notes during the first and subsequent meetings. After a while, you become familiar with certain objections or problems. And it's all too easy to pigeonhole your prospect. “I know that one; that's just like the problem the guy at ABC Company had.” Well, it is and it isn't. It is not like the ABC problem in that the person who just outlined it has nothing to do with ABC Company, and he probably faces a number of different challenges.

A prospect who offers an objection is really making a gesture of good faith. By taking the time to share a concern or problem, your prospect is passing along important information on the way your product or service needs to be adapted. Listening is the first part of the secret, and identifying the mutually accepted solutions is the second.

Find out what those challenges are, and discover the unique circumstances or background your prospect may face. Then commit the solutions to paper, working with your prospect to determine the outline of the plan that will make the most sense in the current situation.

Doctor, doctor …

If you go to the doctor because you have a stomachache, you don't care if he's seen thousands of other people with stomachaches. The last thing you want is for him to rush in the room, look you up and down, mumble some technical phrase, and scratch something on a prescription pad before hustling away again.

No. You want him to ask how you feel, how long you've felt that way, whether you've ever felt that way before, exactly where it hurts, and any other pertinent questions. If a doctor does all that, you're likely to be a better patient — and you'll probably have a better attitude about coming to see him next time.

As a salesperson, you're a doctor. It doesn't matter how many patients you've seen before. This one is the only one you're seeing now. Include the patient in your diagnosis and treatment. Doing so not only makes for a better working atmosphere, it also increases the likelihood that your patient will have the positive attitude that is really the driving force behind so many dramatic recoveries!

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