From the first day I started selling, I was told that I should never, ever assume – that it would only lead to failure. Instead, I was supposed to be consultative, learning about a prospect’s situation before I made any definitive recommendations or pronouncements.
Well, today things are different. To be effective in today’s business environment, you need to assume. Why? Because it makes you sound like you know what’s going on. Let me show you what I mean.
Non-Assumptive Approach
If you were non-assumptive, your first sales conversation with a prospect might go like this:
“Hi Pat. I’m Jill Konrath with Leapfrog Strategies. We specialize in state of the art solutions for companies like yours. I’d like to meet with you to find about how you’re handling your needs in this area and show you how we can help.”
A crazy-busy prospect wouldn’t waste one second with you.
Assumptive Approach
But if you said this, the reaction you get would be fundamentally different:
“Pat. Jill Konrath here. I know much the economy is having an impact on manufacturing companies like yours. We’ve found that way too many organizations are paying too much on their software licenses. We’ve been able to trim their expenses by up to 22.7% in the first year. Let’s set up a time to talk about how we can impact your company.”
See the difference? When you assume your prospects have similar issues and concerns, you can frame your sales conversations to showcase your expertise. So start assuming today!
