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Discovery Questions
Why Discovery is the Most Important Part of the Sales Process
This month, we are focusing on Asking Discovery Questions That Matter because discovery is the most critical step in the sales process.
The point of asking Discovery Questions is to learn what is important to the buyer, to understand more about them and their buying process, and to understand where they are in that process.
Too often, salespeople rush to solutions before they fully understand the customer.
Strong discovery slows the process down in the best possible way.
Discovery Questions …
Take the Actions That Create Appointments
Actions are the only things that produce results. When appointments are the target, there are specific actions to take, in a sequence, that will get them on the calendar, get them accepted via invitation, and get the result intended – namely, the sale. Here they are in chronological order:
- Organize your calendar to schedule 8-10 appointments per week – at times YOU set.
- Enter EACH customer interaction INTENDING to accomplish a sale or an appointment.
- Recognize when an appointment WILL be …
Sell it or Schedule it: Your Operating System
To recap: The flrst level of Sell it or Schedule it as a sales manager is to be able to demonstrate the process and to produce a sale or an appointment.
The second level is to be able to train and coach the process with the sales team to improve results.
The last level is to use Sell it or Schedule it as your operating system with the sales team. This puts the understanding and execution of the process in a full circle.
Let me explain by asking a few questions…
Let me explain by asking a few questions…
How are you using voice and bod…
June is…the beginning of a new season.
It’s summer…and summer traffic is often unpredictable, and customers/clients can be distracted by vacation plans and being away from home.
You might have vacation plans scheduled, too…which means you need to make goal in LESS time.
What? Yes.
And as we discussed in an earlier post, it’s about the strategy…what is the number you have to hit? How many sales do you have to make at what average sale? And what actions are needed to achieve those sales?
You do this by taking the actions that incr…
The Final PR Word
P R
For Sales Professionals, everywhere…..
This is the last of four blogs in the series on PR words. How did the last blog about the buyer’s PRocess impact what you know about where your client/customer is in their decision making…and what you are able to complete and achieve with them today? Our final P R word is….
PRoduct(s)
- Based on what we have learned about their problem, what matters most to them, and where they are in their process, what are the best product solutions for them?
- H…
The Third PR Word
This is the third of a series of four blogs. What did you get from the last blog learning about the PRiorities that your client/customer is trying to satisfy? Our next P R word is….
PRocess
- Where are they in their decision-making process….and how are you going to find out?
- Are they expecting or able to decide today…or will another meeting be necessary to complete this process?
- What do they already know or are using as a measure of comparison?
- How will you ‘forward the sale’ and move …
The Second PR Word
This is the second in a series of four blogs about P R words. What did you gain from the last blog to learn more about the PRoblem that your client/customer is facing? Let’s keep looking at our next P R word….
PRiority
- What matters MOST to them NOW?
- What are the key and essential elements of the problem they are trying to solve or the vision they are trying to realize?
- What are the motivating aspects of this process and decision that is driving them now?
This part of the sales i…
Calling After Delivery
In home furnishings retail showrooms, we have done a poor job with this area; it is an industry shortcoming!
We even have a name for this action: a can of worms that shouldn’t be opened. Seriously. We treat it as something to be avoided at all costs.
And yet, I assert that we could raise our revenues by 10-15% with this action ALONE. And to do that, we need to align our expectations with what is likely to happen and upgrade our skill of managing it when it does.
What does that mean?
Ex…
Guardrails #2
To continue with the guardrail conversation… setting boundaries.
A boundary that helps guide the conversation is the ability to say “No.”
Say NO when the client/customer asks for things that cannot be done – either within the current budget or timeframe.
Say NO when the client/customer asks for additions without adding to what they are paying for it.
Say NO when the client/customer asks you to ‘take it out of your commission’.
Say NO when the client/customer asks you to do something that you know is…
Guardrails #1
In the very simplest of terms, as a sales professional, our job is to make it easy for our customers/clients to say yes… and to buy from us.
To do that, we need to truly be responsible for the entire sales interaction and how it goes, and where it ends up.
Guardrails help that.
By guardrails, I mean guiding the conversation so that it doesn’t veer off course and stays in the lane for the intended outcome. Guardrails include asking questions that will direct the discussion and get the answer…
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