Have you ever taken a buyer through the entire sales cycle, spent days, weeks or months with them, only to have them “put the project on hold” without giving you a reason?
I think every salesperson on the planet has been through this…
But WHY does this happen?
…Because one, or ALL, of these ingredients were missing:
- Decision Maker
- Wherewithal
- Solves a Problem
First things first…
1. You Weren’t Dealing With The Decision Maker
Every sales manager I’ve ever met has asked me the question “Who’s the decision maker on this deal?”
It seems simple enough to figure out who the decision maker is…you just ask the contact that you’re talking to!
There is just one PROBLEM with this…
People Lie!
Even though somebody may tell you they are the decision maker, doesn’t ACTUALLY mean that they are…
Here’s a quick tip on how to increase the chances that you are speaking with the true decision maker:
After you ask “Other than yourself, who would need to be involved in a decision on this type of project?”…
…And they tell you that THEY are the decision maker, you ask…
…“Ok, so nobody else would need to give their input or sign-off?”
You can’t close a deal unless you get a decision from the person that HAS THE POWER to make the decision!
2. They Truly Don’t Have The Money To Buy
I want to buy a jet. I’m the decision maker, and it solves a problem for me…
…the problem of having to sit next to somebody that doesn’t seem to see the invisible line that separates my knee space from theirs on a commercial flight!
There’s just one problem here…
I Don’t Have The Money!
This means that it doesn’t matter that I’m the decision maker and it solves a problem for me, I won’t be buying my own jet (yet).
Now, price is almost NEVER the real issue when you start getting price objections from a buyer, but sometimes this is a real issue…
If you’re asking someone to sign a $20k/mo contract for your services, but their business only brings in $10k/mo, this would be a real objection and prevent this deal from closing.
Here’s how to avoid this scenario ALMOST every time:
Give Price Upfront!
This is completely backwards from everything most salespeople are told, but this is actually have salespeople SHOULD operate!
Here’s 3 reasons why:
- You can’t close without giving a price
- They can’t buy unless they can find the money to do so
- Hiding your price lowers interest
It’s better to be fully transparent throughout the entire process than to wait until the close to find out that you just wasted the prospect’s and your time!
After all, time is money…
3. Your Product Doesn’t Solve Their Problem
When you really boil it down, most objections are tied back to your product not solving the prospect’s problem.
This is straight out of Cardone University!
I may write an article in this specifically, but if the buyer doesn’t think that your product or service solves their problem, they will give you an objection rather than tell you that your product sucks!
They do this for two reasons:
- They don’t want to tell you that your product sucks
- They want to avoid confrontation
By telling you the price is too high, they need to think about it, they need to talk to someone else, or they stop responding to you, they are REALLY telling you that…
You aren’t solving their problem!
This can be avoided by first uncovering their DBM (Dominant Buying Motive), which is the reason why they would buy anything.
The DBM is their problem…
Once you uncover their DBM, you can determine if you can EVEN HELP THEM…
…and you’ll also be able to craft your presentation around solving that problem!
This may require some creative questioning at times, so here are a few types of questions that you’ll want to ask at the beginning of the sales cycle:
- Why are they interested in your product NOW?
- Why WOULD they, or would they NOT, buy this product?
- What’s most important to them?
- What did they LIKE and DISLIKE in the last product they bought?
Make sense?
As a bonus I’m going to give you an AMAZING question that will help set up your negotiations in the close, and give you ammo against any smokescreen objections…
“If we could solve THIS problem for you, and the money made sense, would you give us your business?”
If they say “Yes”, then you start your presentation tailored to solving this problem for them and ask for the order!
If they say “No”, then you dig deeper to find the REAL problem(s).
Wrapping it Up
As you can see, if you’re missing any of these 3 things, you aren’t going to close the deal.
Closing is like a recipe…
You can’t close a deal unless you have all of the ingredients!
But get this right…
…and you will increase your closing rate to the top tier of all salespeople!
Get to Closing!
Jake Martincic
P.S. If you really want to become a MASTER salesperson, go to my homepage and request information and pricing on Cardone University.
JakeMartincic.com 