Why barista training won’t work….(part 4)..final chapter...

Part 4 of: Barista training just won’t cut it…

Everyone wants to have good relationships with lucrative prospects, in order to uncover needs, present solutions, and secure a commitment. Establishing mutual relationships with new prospects has grown increasingly more difficult, however, and just because a salesperson wants to ask questions, doesn’t mean their prospects and customers will want to respond.

What makes prospects and customers “want to” respond?

Salespeople must first earn the right to engage. What’s the key to building effective relationships? The answer is credibility. Now the question becomes: What are you doing different than your competitors to establish credibility in your targeted prospect accounts? Everyone claims to have the “best product,” which once again, makes you average.

Leveraging curiosity to fuel the sales process is another paradigm shift -- but it's one that makes absolute sense. If a prospective customer is not curious, then it becomes very difficult for a salesperson to secure their time or their attention. On the other hand, a curious prospect will want to engage in a conversation about their needs and your solutions to satisfy their curiosity. Now the question is. . .What are you doing to leverage curiosity in the sales process?

The main rule is: Never make a call to your prospect without having a goal in mind. When you hang up the telephone, what do you want to have accomplished? Do you want to gather information? Do you want the prospect to commit to some action? Do you want agreement on the next step in your sales process? Once you have your goal in mind you can then figure out the appropriate approach. (Hint: "I just called to see how things are going" is not it.)

Many reps fall into the common trap of asking questions that are self-serving. “What does your purchasing process look like?” is a mind numbing, self-serving question that doesn’t create new insights. Your customer hears these types of questions every day and they bring zero value to the dialogue.

Instead ask questions that get customers to stop and think. Ask questions they haven’t been asked before. Ask questions that get the customer to pause and say, “That’s a really good question.”

Remember…too many sales reps believe that their selling skills are better than they really are. When was the last time someone gave you honest feedback on your sales skills? A better question; when was the last time you asked for feedback?

Learn to be a great cab driver as well!! What??? Well, Cab drivers get tips, sales reps get commissions. There are more similarities than differences in how these two professions get compensated. If your livelihood depends on customers (and your job does), then you, your manager and your organization need to be committed to taking care of them.

I can promise you that if you don’t, someone else will! That someone else is me.

Next series….’Watch what the cabbie does….and learn!’