Salespeople Bore Me
Jeb Blount teaches you how to keep your prospects interested and engaged.
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Salespeople Bore Me
Do you bore your prospects and customers? Are you losing their attention on calls? These are questions every sales professional should be asking, because if your prospects are not engaged in the sales call with you, your sale is going nowhere.
An Outsider’s Perspective on Sales Professionals
Last month I was at a hotel bar in Washington DC having a conversation with a corporate buyer who was in town for a seminar. I love meeting buyers on neutral turf because it gives me the opportunity to pick their brains on buying strategies and their interactions with salespeople. After some small talk I told him about my website, www.SalesGravy.com, and asked him what he thought of the sales profession in general. His response was not at all what I was expecting. He just looked down at his drink and matter-of-factly said, “Salespeople bore me.” His comment caught me so off guard that at first I was speechless. After a moment, though, I regained my composure and said, “That wasn’t exactly what I was expecting you would say. Could you tell me what you mean?”
He said, “Look, I get paid to talk to salespeople and basically that is what I do all day. Now there are some salespeople who I really like working with, but the vast majority bore me to death. They come in, sit down, insincerely ask me how I’m doing, make a comment about something in my office, talk about their company or product, tell me that they are best, ask me to give them my business, and are usually flabbergasted when I don’t. It’s like they are all cut from the same mold.”
Selling Doesn’t Just Mean Talking
I asked him a few more clarifying questions but what it came down to was most salespeople he dealt with just couldn’t keep his attention because all they talked about was themselves.
It was really a harsh indictment of the sales profession. You would think that after all of the training salespeople get– the books, audio programs, and podcasts like this– we would understand that focusing on and solving our prospects’ problems is what sales is all about.
In a recent article, sales expert and author Kelly Robertson wrote, “It may sound simple but most sales people don’t get it. They still believe that selling means talking at great length about their company, their product or their service. However, truly effective salesmanship is all about asking the prospect the right questions and demonstrating that you can help them solve a particular problem or issue. That means you need to direct ALL of your attention on their situation and resist the opportunity to talk about your company or your offering.”
Focus Attention on the Prospect
I don’t think I could have said it any better. The difference between sales professionals who capture and maintain the attention of their customers and prospects and those who bore them to tears is the self-discipline to remain focused on the prospect. I say self-discipline because to truly focus on another person and give them your undivided attention requires discipline.
Look, we spend about 95% of our time thinking about ourselves, our wants, and our needs. And the only time we are not thinking about ourselves is when we are focused on getting something out of the way so we can go back to thinking about ourselves. It is just human nature. And when we meet another human being ,our first reaction is to tell him or her all about ourselves, our wants, and our needs. Now think about what it feels like to be on the other end of that conversation in which someone is just talking about themselves — it is boring. That is how buyers feel when salespeople pitch instead of ask questions.
Intuitively most salespeople know that they should show interest in their prospects. But frankly, it is easier to give a dissertation on our company, product, or service than to ask questions and be attentive and interested. And since it is also human nature to take the easy way out, this is what most salespeople do.
Practice, Practice, Practice
So how do you develop the discipline to focus on your prospects’ needs and wants? The answer is practice, practice, practice. Before every call, make the conscious decision to focus your attention on your prospect. Tell yourself to listen instead of pitch. Make a commitment to slow down and ask questions, really listen to the answers, and ask relevant follow-up questions. After each call, access your performance and think about where you failed and what you did well. When you do this consistently before and after every call, over time, you will learn how to turn your focus from yourself and toward another person. You will also develop the self-discipline to listen instead of pitch. Soon your interpersonal skills will improve, your relationships with your buyers will grow stronger, and you will become one of the elite sales professionals in your company or industry.
If you want to take your sales career to the next level be sure to get my new audio book, 7 Rules For Outselling The Recession. In this economic crisis you can get the success you deserve. Sales Guy’s 7 Rules For Outselling The Recession tells you exactly what you must do right now to increase sales. My seven rules will help you adapt, change, innovate, and use this recession as an opening to build stronger business relationships and close new deals that will benefit you for years to come.
This is Jeb Blount, the Sales Guy.
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