|
Wrong. Stalls and objections are both things you may hear after
you have asked for commitment, but an objection is a specific
reason not to buy. In a stall--"I need to think about it"--the
customer offers no particular reason for hesitating.
Almost all salespeople buy in to the stall. Very few ever get
the deal once they do.
What the stalling customer is really saying is this: "I'm not
quite sold yet. Sell me some more." Well then, by all means, do
some more selling. But do it right. Here's how:
Never challenge a stall. Since the customer offered no specific
reason for hesitating, don't force him to come up with one by
saying something like, "What is it that you need to think
about?" Challenging stalls creates conflict, not sales.
Don't try to manipulate the customer. If you've learned any
manipulative sales techniques, forget them. They do more harm
than good. The old "feel, felt, found" method rarely worked even
in its heyday, and it certainly doesn't work today.
Identify a Universal Stall Breaker. The USB is a capability of
your product or your company that minimizes the risk to the
customer who buys. Every company has one. Yours might be a
money-back guarantee, a no-hassle return policy, a try-and-buy
arrangement, extended terms, or an unusually comprehensive
warranty. Whatever this capability is, do not present it to the
customer up front. Hold the USB in reserve, in case you hear a
How to Overcome Sales Objections With Your B2B Lead Generation Sales LettersOne of the disadvantages of business-to-business direct mail lead generation letters is that you are selling on paper, not in person. That means you are unable to read your prospect s body language. Unable to hear and respond to his objections.
And yet one of the advantages of sales letters is that you are selling on paper, not in person. Face to face, a prospect can interrupt you and change the subject. But on paper, you control the sales pitch. As long as your prospective customer keeps reading, you control the sales process.
Another advantage of sales letters is that you can anticipate ob ..
stall when you ask for commitment.
When you do hear a stall, follow this procedure:
Say, "I understand."
Restate the product features the customer liked before the stall
arose.
Present the USB.
Ask for commitment again.
It works like this: "I understand. You like ____, _____, and
____ about our product. With our _____ policy (the USB), you can
try it with no risk at all. How does that sound? (Customer
responds.) Would you like to go ahead with it then?"
Far too many salespeople fail to ask for commitment even once in
a sales call. With this stall-breaking method, you are asking
twice. And you have followed the customer's lead by doing
exactly what the stall really asked you to do: "Sell me some
more."
Believe it, you will make more sales!
In The Field:
Nation Branding and Place Marketing - The Sales Force How should a country translate its intangible assets into dollars and cents (or euros)?
VI. The Sales Force and Marketing Implementation Oversight
How should a country translate its intangible assets into dollars and cents (or euros)?
Enter its Sales force and marketing intermediaries.
Even poor countries should allocate funds to train and maintain a skilled sales force and pay its wages, expenses, and perks. Salespeople are the human face of the country s promotion efforts. They tailor to individual listeners (potential customers) the message the country wishes to convey about ..
Equity Residential is the largest apartment leasing company in
the United States. In a tough economic climate, Equity decided
to invest in developing the selling skills of its leasing
consultants. Needless to say, these consultants often hear
stalls such as, "Let me think about it and I'll get back to you."
Equity has a Service Promise Guarantee that minimizes the risk
for customers who choose to rent. "But prior to the Action
Selling Sales Training Program, we presented our Service Promise
Guarantee as just another feature," said Jonakan O'Steen,
director of education and leadership development. With their
eyes opened to a new way of looking at stalls, Equity's
consultants quickly identified the guarantee as their Universal
Stall Breaker. That is now how they use it.
"It's easy to get stalled when working with rentals," O'Steen
said. Or, rather, it used to be.
About the author:
Duane Sparks is chairman and founder of The Sales Board, a
Minneapolis-based
href="http://www.thesalesboard.com?cpgn=568" title="sales
training, sales management training">Sales Training
company that has trained and certified more than 200,000
salespeople.
Duane SparksThe Sales Training Series: Dealing With Sales Objections and Stalls
|
