Sales is a very simple discipline, although few professionals ultimately emerge as true super stars. While some sales cycles are complex (the saying: “this stuff’s chess, not checkers” comes to mind), the ideas and principles behind successful selling are fairly simple. A long time ago, I discovered one of these simple concepts, labeled E + E = E.
Simply stated, Expertise plus Excitement equals the Enemy. Like many people, sales professionals love to talk. They’re typically passionate about their product or service, because that’s Rule #1 in Sales: You Gotta Drink the Kool-Aid (if you’re not passionate and excited about what it is you’re selling, how in the world will the customer ever get excited enough to make a positive decision and take action?). But, here’s the rub. Sales is about listening – two ears, one mouth; use them in that proportion.
But E + E = E is more than just listening. It’s at the core of many issues that sales representatives face in their customer engagements. You see, salespeople typically love to rattle off features and benefits. The good ones know their products backwards and forwards. But the great ones? They know how to leverage that information for progress in the sales cycle, not merely to demonstrate their speaking skills and product acumen.
The challenge for many sales professionals is they combine their Expertise (product knowledge and business acumen) with their Excitement and that spells the Enemy. They can’t stop themselves from rambling on and on. The prospect asks a question and their become like caffeinated rats rambling at 100 miles per hour.
Sales is not about being able to answer questions. Sure, customers expect you to know your product. But, your responsibility as a sales professional is to move the sales cycle forward. Successful selling is about leading with questions.
Stop responding so quickly to triggers for features and benefits; you may feel good about having premium information but that’s not where the pot of gold lies. The objective is to lead the customer forward in the sales process, not to necessarily educate them. Focus on the next step(s) in your sales process while empowering your prospect with the information they need to move forward in the sales process.
At Empowered Sales, we focus on the power of customer intimacy. Bear hug the customer and they’ll not only tell you what the winning hand needs to be, they’ll tell you when to play which cards.
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