7 Ways to Kill Your Sales Deal
You need to sell your product or service and you’ve got a lot of competition. The Public Speaker outlines the 7 mistakes people make that kill the deal – plus, how to avoid them.
Lisa B. Marshall
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7 Ways to Kill Your Sales Deal
Brian is the Sales Manager for a small home inspection company. Unfortunately for him, home inspectors, like real estate agents, are around every corner. So how does he get and maintain customers? Excellence at what he does. Impeccable communication skills. And candy.
Brian buys giant glass jars, fills them with candy, and delivers them to the reception desks at the 5 largest brokerages in the area. When Brian returns to refill them (each week!), he takes out the old candy and replaces it with new colors and flavors, and as he does so he chats with the receptionist, the agents in the front offices, and anyone else who’s around. He genuinely cares for other people and they look forward to his visits.
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Candy gets Brian in the door and the quality of his inspectors keeps clients coming back. What does he know about selling his company to his clients that other people don’t? He knows what breaks a deal – and then he does exactly the opposite.
Here are 7 ways to be sure to kill your deal:
Deal Killer #1: Don’t Ask Questions
You’ve made so many pitches, you’ve heard it all; you’re too busy to ask questions ahead of time. You assume this prospect is just like others you’ve dealt with. However, before you can deliver a specific solution for this customer, you’ll need to first ask a lot of questions. How else will you understand this particular prospect’s challenges, problems and opportunities?
What does this customer want and need? What is their culture? How does this customer make decisions? What is your firm’s history with this client? How does this client view your industry in general? What might prevent them from buying now?
You’ll need to build rapport and develop relationships in order to find out. This means you’ll need to ask questions, a lot of questions, every time.
Deal Killer #2: Pitch Your Prospect With a One-Way Presentation
Once you gather as much information as you can, you need to use that information to drive your presentation. You need to continue the dialogue during the presentation. Ditch the standard pitch and switch instead to a collaborative, consultative conversation.
If you don’t customize your communication to the specific client sitting in front of you, you’ll lose them. Make sure everything you say and every point you make reflects the information you gathered, and make sure it does so across every piece of media that you use. Each slide, hand-out, or verbal point you offer needs to be about this client. It’s all about them.
Deal Killer #3: Don’t Emphasize Why You’re Unique
Do you have the most experience in your industry? Are you a high-quality, yet inexpensive solution? Is your customer service exceptional?
If you don’t tell them why you’re different from the rest, they won’t figure it out for themselves. It is critically important to communicate in a clear, concise, and compelling manner how your products and services uniquely solve the issues facing your prospect. Your potential client should find your products and services so valuable that the competition is irrelevant.
Be sure you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your competition. Dissuade your prospective client from any interest they might have in your competition by tailoring your strengths to their weaknesses, but be certain to never knock your competition.
Deal Killer #4: Act Like the Smartest Person in the Room
You probably know a lot about your prospective client’s product or industry. You might even know more about it than they do. You could impress them with statistics and stories that show you are the smartest person in the room. But trying to one-up your client will alienate rather than impress them. Share enough to demonstrate your expertise, but not in a way that would ever come across as ego-based. Again, it’s all about your client. This client. It’s never about you.
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Deal Killer #5: Respect Only One Side of the Room
Without a doubt, the CEO that shows up for your presentation is important. But don’t forget that equally important – and sometimes more important to your sale – is the CEO’s team. Remember Brian’s candy strategy? These gatekeepers are invaluable people to have on your side. CEOs are busy and often leave the decision-making to trusted employees. And these very important people have a shrewd sense of when you’re talking down to them.
Deal Killer #6: Be the Spin Doctor
With both your questions and answers, be straightforward and specific. If they ask questions you don’t know the answer to, don’t be cryptic. If your product can’t deliver something, say so. An honest answer will gain their trust.
And when it’s over, don’t forget to follow up. A sincere, “Did I answer your question?” makes your client feel heard, valued, and like they have an ally in solving the very problems you showed up to fix.
Deal Killer #7: Leave Out the Most Important Question
At the end of your conversation, you’ll need to ask for a commitment, Have them consider a recommendation, agree to meet again, or finalize the sale. Each time you meet with your customer you should be building your relationship and moving you one step further in the sales process.
By knowing how to keep from killing the deal, you’re 7 tips closer to knowing how to seal one.
And when it’s time to recommend and hire a home inspector, Brian’s job is already mostly done. He knows his client well. He’s trustworthy, he’s straightforward, respectfulh and professional. Customers know him and he really knows them. Plus, he takes candy requests during the holidays.
This is Lisa B. Marshall, Helping you maximize sales, manage perceptions, and enhance leadership through keynotes, workshops, books, and online courses. Passionate about communication; your success is my business. Join my newsletter get a free bonus!
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About the Author
Lisa B. Marshall Lisa holds masters with duel degrees in interpersonal/intercultural communication and organizational communication. She’s the author of Smart Talk: The Public Speaker’s Guide to Success in Every Situation, as well as Ace Your Interview, Powerful Presenter, and Expert Presenter. Her work has been featured in CBS Money Watch, Ragan.com, Woman’s Day, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and many others. Her institutional clients include Johns Hopkins Medicine, Harvard University, NY Academy of Science, University of Pennsylvania, Genentech, and Roche.