You sell a product or service. Your prospects might want to know how your product or service works or what it does, so you often need to tell them what it does, how it does it, and what the prospect should know about the product or service if the prospect decides to own it.
But that is not selling. It is often part of selling, but it's not selling. Yet, many salespeople confuse "How a product works" with "how to sell."
If we picture the selling process as a pie chart, one segment, maybe the red one in the pie chart shown here, can and should be devoted to how the product works in many selling scenarios.
But rarely should a large portion of the sales interaction devoted to this subject (the green segment). Some demonstrations of product dominate the selling process (let's say a combination of green red and yellow segments) which is almost never called for. There are times where such action is necessary, for example when selling a technical product to a technically-oriented individual (such as an engineer) who often require elevated detail before making a purchasing decision. But engineers often make notoriously poor salespeople specifically because their technical orientation which can overlook the people orientation required to be successful in selling.
What are the other important segments of the selling interaction?
> Attention given to creating rapport, trust, and establishing viable communication methodologies.
> Attention given to understanding the prospect and their needs and desires (I would argue that, often, this should be the largest segment of the entire sales interaction). This includes effort at verification of the accuracy of information shared by the prospect, and the relative importance of such bits of information within the big picture.
> Prescribing products to match prospect needs.
> Adding value: during the sales interaction, when purchasing, and after the purchase.
> Understanding and handling the prospects' objections.
> Completing the transaction (closing the sale).
> Obtaining testimonials and referrals.
Don't overwhelm your prospect with technical and product information, or your thesis on how your product works. Instead, focus on how to successfully sell your product or service to your market.
If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment.Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training.
He works with companies that sell to consumers in
all B2C sectors to increase sales by realizing the buying potential of every prospect.
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