Lies? The buyer is lying? To me?
So that sounds mean, slightly awkward, and completely at odds with conventional wisdom.
Wouldn’t it make the most sense that buyers would tell you exactly what they want?
Down to the tiniest detail?
Yeah. It doesn’t work that way.
Buyers don’t know what the truth is.
Not in an ugly manipulative sense. Heck, they don’t know what they don’t know.
And for some reason, we tend to over-analyze every darn thing they say.
Stop thinking that you need to deliver exactly what you buyer tells you he wants.
You don’t.
You just need to listen to what they are saying to you.
And what they’re not saying to you…
That’s right. If you let a prospect do a little talking, they will tell you everything that you need to know to provide them a winning solution.
Especially what they don’t say.
Sure, they may not know all the details and possibilities of the leading tools and solutions that you are offering. And, of course they won’t know all the reasons that your services are better than your competitors or all seventeen advantages to choosing your “industry leading” solution.
But they will share with you what they envision as a remedy to their problem. And when they do, you just need to listen.
Listen to the tone, the urgency, the range, the excitement, the pronunciation of each word that your prospect speaks.
Listen. Learn.
And then throw it all away.
Pay attention to what they didn’t ever say.
Did they really say:
- That you “had the deal”…
- That you “were their leading choice”…
- That you were “exactly what they were looking for”…
Did they?
Or is that what you heard?
You know enough to insert your services or solution into the discussion using your buyer’s own words.
You know enough to:
- Not use jargon.
- Use your buyer’s pain.
- Not use “talking points”.
- Use empathy and imagination.
But are you creating a solution for what your prospect hasn’t even talked about?
Because that’s what your prospect was really talking about in the first place.
By the way, here’s a powerful truth about business: “It’s always what it’s not…”. What you see and hear and feel are NOT the real reasons behind the excuse that you are getting.
If you hear yourself saying things like “But that’s what Mr. Buyer said…” you know that you are being hooked into a potential lie your buyer is telling you.
Now don’t go get all offended and start calling your buyer names.
Separate what the buyers says from the person saying it.
Think about what you do when you feel trapped or want to back out of something without coming across as a jerk. You make a completely illogical, socially-acceptable excuse.
You get away with it because everyone around you is too nice to gently coax the truth out of you. Right?
If you going to be a high achiever and an efficient seller then you have to master the art of finding out the reason behind what your buyer is saying to you.
Want a few secrets?
Try replying “What makes you say that?” to anything that you hear from your prospect.
And do it back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back. Do it until you find out the real reason.
You won’t find yourself slipping back into sales doldrums when you manically focus on providing your buyer what they really need, even if you have to pry it slowly and professionally out of them.
After all, isn’t that what you really wanted to do in the first place?
To be an all-star.
