You don’t like a pushy salesperson, right?
You don’t like being told what to do, right?
You don’t like feeling backed into a corner, right?
I realize those questions are leading, and by even reading those questions you might have gotten a little defensive, perhaps thinking “where is this going?”
You probably feel like I’m trying to back you into a corner and try to take your money.
You might have even already taken a stance against whatever the words I would say are before I even finished those three questions!
Even if you didn’t feel like that, by now you know exactly the feeling I’m talking about.
It’s THAT feeling in a prospect that prevents salespeople from closing more deals.
And it’s that feeling that makes the prospect think you don’t care about them, but that you only care about taking their money.
As you can imagine that is NOT what you want your prospect thinking…
Give Control to Get Deals…Maybe
What if – and call me crazy – you actually answers the customer’s questions and gave more information than was even asked for?
Do you think your buyer would like that or hate it?
If they would like it! You are giving them exactly what they want, they would have no reason to hate it, right?
BUT…that would actually put you at the mercy of an irrational person (we are all irrational, FYI), and would not let you create a consistent income.
You might be thinking, “But Jake, what are you saying I’m supposed to do then? You’ve just discredited both scenarios!”
Yeah it definitely sounds like I’m saying that you shouldn’t try to take control, but you shouldn’t actually give full control either…
So what do you do?
Give Information to Be GIVEN Control
Think about how much more control you can attain if somebody gives you control rather than you taking it!
They do so willingly, so there is no defensiveness. They aren’t guarded because they have given up control, even if they don’t think they have.
How does this work?
Your not telling people what they need or how they should act.
Instead, you’re asking them what they want and why they want it so you can give them the exact information they want, and help them solve a problem that they already think they have.
As a buyer yourself, would you appreciate someone who is trying to sell you something and control what your next move should be…
…or would you appreciate more someone who is trying to help you buy something?
You already know the answer, and it should be obvious.
There’s Still One Problem
There’s still a problem with this idea…
What if the prospect doesn’t know if they have a problem yet, and you still need to build that initial interest?
Great question! And I’m going to save that for a future blog. 🙂
There’s a few mechanics to how you can get control by building interest, answering questions, giving information and handling objections to get to the truth.
My hope is at least that this blog plants the seed in your mind that the aggressive salesperson loses, and so does the completely passive salesperson.
It’s those that understand how to operate in the middle – under the radar – that rise to the top!
-Jake M
JakeMartincic.com 