Future Shock

I've done a few different sales jobs in my time (he says stroking his old salesman's beard) and the most difficult to get to grips with was the one which involved selling solutions that cost a lot, but offered little gain to the prospect's present position.

So, how can that be? Surely buyers only buy to gain on their current position? Stop and think - that's actually not correct. The situation was that the industry in which they worked was changing significantly. It was necessary for the prospects to invest heavily to, at best, maintain their current business avoid future loss. The pain/problem was in the future and they knew they had to do something about it.

There are 3 important points to make here:
1. When the pain/problem is in the future, it is not there to be inspected and studied by the prospect as a currently existing pain is. This means there is a good deal of flexibility in how you describe and help the prospect envision the issues they have to face, which means great opportunity for you to present the appropriate solution (i.e. yours).
2. When selling in this way, prospects often really don't want to know. They will be deep in denial. It's a case of "don't shoot the messenger...". The very best question for selling future pains/problems, "Let's say you decide to proceed as you currently are. What impact is (future pain/problem) likely to have had in X years time? And X years?"
3. The biggest challenge here is to get action and commitment now. Future pains/problems can struggle to motivate present investment.

Sales questions : Discovering buyer’s process

If you have ever had an opportunity stall for X months when your prospect tells you of some new board/procedure/process, you’ll know that having a good knowledge of their buying process is vital in helping you plan actions, forecast close and provide the appropriate support to your sponsor. Here are a few ways to ask your prospect about their processes.
• What happens from here? How do you go about coming to a decision?
• Do you have an internal process for making decisions on issues like this?
• Could you take me through what’s going to happen on your side from here?
• Can you run me through the process you would use to buy from us?
More questions for you to use in your selling coming soon. Bookmark/RSS SalesItch now…. And don’t forget to add a comment to share your favourite questions with the community!