In football, you'd punt.
In hockey, you'd start a fight.
In life, you'd bluff.
In sales???????
I find if you stay quiet long enough your customer will give you enough information for more ideas than you have time to manage.
Asking leading questions only get you where you want to go and often tick off the customer.
Not asking questions and doing a FAB dump is even worse.
Listen first.
Pause.
Clarify if necessary.
Ask ONE question.
Listen for the response.
Get the idea?
Honestly, you can have all the value propositions in the world but unless you find out what really matters to your customer they mean nothing. It is akin to going on about the colour of a shirt to a blind guy; he really doesn't care what shade of blue it is, just that it fits him, his budget and his needs.
Everyone sells to everyone else. The difference is we admit we do it and have made it our profession.
When in doubt I circle back to my less than stellar experiences as a customer and draw on the lessons learned to prevent me from doing the same thing.
Long time ago I went into a Men's Store looking for a specific article. I had already determined the cost and even had the full amount in cash in my possession. However, I entered the store wearing shorts, t-shirt and flip flops.
As this is/was an 'upper' end store there was a certain attitude among the staff who studiously ignored me. After several minutes I went to the front of the store, reached into my pocket and withdrew a large wad of bills. I said; "I planned on leaving this here today but apparently none of you were interested enough in asking me what I wanted to get your share." So I left.
Seconds after my departure the owner approached me and apologized. I stated that I could afford to spend what he required to get what I wanted without a staff discount but people judged me on my appearance not my need and I am taking my business elsewhere.
Later, I was working at an automobile dealership. A high-end auto was celebrating a dubious birthday in the showroom and the Manager put a spiff on the sale of the vehicle to incentivize everyone. That Saturday late a gentleman entered wearing rubber boots with his overalls tucked inside, torn flannel shirt and a battered Kangol cap. I approached him immediately and asked him which of the vehicles on display interested him most? His express reason for coming in was to view the car that now had a spiff attached because it had not sold in a timely manner. We sat in it, discussed his preferences in vehicles and how much he liked the traditional colour. It matched the car he wanted to trade in.
The story ends with a cash sale and a highly desirable trade that sold within days. It turned out the gentleman was a Physician on his way to/from his hobby farm and he had reached a point where he felt he deserved the exact car we had.
I listened to what he said which gave me the ideas I needed to help him decide the vehicle was the best for him. I got the sale of the new vehicle, the trade and the spiff and a happy customer because I recalled how I felt when people assumed, based on my appearance, and chose not to ask me questions to get ideas to help me decide on what I wanted to buy.
You WILL run out of ideas! When you do, ask an open question, sit back, and let your customer give you new ones. Knowing what they want from listening to them makes the sale very personal and successful.
So, what is your perfect idea on how to proceed?
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