Selling Expectations
So do you have right expectations when you sell?
For most people involved in selling, the problem is not the competition, but the area between their right ear and left ear. It is the little voice in the brain that puts doubts and unrealistic expectations into their minds. If we had friends that talked to us in the same way that we talk to ourselves sometimes, we would not be friends for long, would we?
I have worked with many sales people with a wide variety of backgrounds and there is one thing we can say about every one of them. They are capable of a lot more than they are achieving. The same can be said for you.
You are capable of a lot more than you are achieving.
The best way to quiet that annoying little voice is to set your expectations correctly in regards to sales. I spoke to an entrepreneur who felt like a failure because he had made 20 phone calls to prospective clients and not one of them had purchased anything. His problem, however, was not that 20 people didn’t buy his product, the problem was that he had a warped expectation for the outcome of his phone calls. If you expect that you can call a stranger out of the blue (i.e., cold call) and sell them your product in the first conversation, then you might as well curl up under your desk in the fetal position right now.
Proper Expectations When Sales Prospecting
You need to have the right expectation and the right goal for each of your sales calls. It starts with proper understanding of who you are calling.
The proper goal for those twenty phone calls might have been to determine with each call if the prospect is truly a prospect. Setting a goal to close the deal before you know if the person on the other end of the phone has a problem you can solve. So set the goal of qualifying the prospect.
Now, if you are calling someone with whom you have already established they are qualified and have a problem you can help with, your goal might be to gain insight into their decision making process. Know who you are calling and goal set appropriately.
John Jantsch in his Duct Tape Marketing book describes the key to selling as getting prospective customers to know you, like you and finally trust you. Once you do that you will have sold them. Does that sound like something that can be done in one telephone call or one conversation?
Correct Selling Expectations
So here are some things you can do:
1. Set reasonable expectations for your sales calls.
2. Practice, practice, practice
3. Avoid rushing to sell – it will turn prospects off
4. Stop listening to that little voice!
Isn’t it time you had the proper expectations when you sell.