Don’t Sell – Get Prospects Buying in Two Calls or Less

How many of us have been on the receiving end of someone trying to sell something to us we didn’t want?

How did it make you feel?

It’s one of the main reasons business owners hate the idea of ‘selling’ to prospective customers (prospects).

However, what if you thought of every sales call not as a sales call but as an opportunity for you to solve the problem faced by the person you’re meeting?

Many years ago, I was trained in how to sell in a consultative way.

With consultative selling, you ascertain your customer’s specific needs or wants before offering affordable solutions. The method I was taught was based on the psychology of buying and is a simple four-step process.

Step 1 – Build trust and rapport. 

The most crucial step of the process is establishing rapport with your customer, as people are more likely to buy from someone they trust. There are many ways to build trust and rapport, such as being genuine, interested in what they have to say (especially listening to what they tell you), and respectful.

Step 2 – Establish what they specifically need or want. 

The customer needs to feel a need or want for your product or service before they will be motivated to buy it. You can do this by asking open-ended questions (questions that can’t be answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer) to get them to recognise their pain points and how your product or service can solve them. It is vital at this stage to find out how their problem is making them feel.

Step 3 – Offer a solution to the need or want. 

Once you have established a need or want, you will be in a position to offer a solution. The solution should not simply meet their needs; it should also be better than any alternatives that your competition may provide. This means being clear about the benefits of your product or service and why it is the best choice for the other person. You will want to highlight what is unique about your product or service or how you work with customers.

Step 4 – Ask them to buy

This is the thing that most people really don’t like. In my view, it’s not that they are not confident in what they’re offering – it’s the fear of rejection. The good news is, if you’ve followed the first three steps, you often won’t have to ask. People will want to buy!

Here are some tips for each of these steps:

Building trust and rapport:

• Be genuine and authentic. People can tell when you are fake, so be yourself and let your personality shine through.
• Be interested in the other person. Ask questions about their business, their goals, and their challenges.
• Be respectful. Listen attentively and avoid interrupting.

Establishing a need or want:

• Ask open-ended questions to get the other person talking about their pain points.
• Listen carefully to their answers and identify the underlying needs or wants.
• Quantify the pain points. This will help the other person see the financial and/or time savings they can achieve by solving their problem.

Offering a solution:

• Be clear about the benefits of your product or service.
• Compare your product or service to the alternatives and explain why it is the best choice.
• Use testimonials from satisfied customers to build credibility.

Asking them to buy:

• Be direct and ask the other person to buy.
• Be prepared to answer any objections they may have.
• Offer a guarantee or incentive to make the purchase more attractive.

By following these tips, you can increase your chances of getting someone to buy from you within two calls or less.

Remember, the psychology of buying is all about building trust, establishing a need, offering a solution, and asking for an order. If you can do these things effectively, you WILL win more business.