Many of our coaching clients are CEO’s with limited or no sales background and a question we are often asked is what sales tactics should be learned to close more business. My response is not what you might expect.
Rather than quoting sacred sales theories or the latest and hottest sales training, I suggest not learning any sales tactics at all.
Counter-intuitive? Yes, but it works and it generates more business than sales hooks and closing techniques.
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People don’t like to be sold. This is especially true in the Internet age where people tend to prefer researching and buying over being sold.
So I advise my clients not to sell. Have conversations with prospects. Learn about them and their goals. Talk about requirements, challenges, who they plan to solve their problems, what alternatives they are considering, who makes the decisions and how. Describe your business in the context of their goals. Share your passion for your trade and insight about how you’ve helped your customers. Establish a relationship of trust and mutual interest with your prospects and customers. Take a sincere interest in their well being. Help them first and they will help you.
Create conditions that compel prospects to want your offering and let them buy.
If you avoid trying to sell, you will likely find you close more business.
To your success!
Eliot
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Good advice. Unfortunately, most CEO’s that I’m met go into auto-sales mode whenever they start talking about their company.
Letting your eyes glaze over and having a bit of spittle drip from your sagging lips doesn’t seem to alert the other person that you’re bored.
While knowing a bit about professional selling can be a bit dangerous as Eliot mentions, it can also give the CEO a benchmark by which to gauge their performance. Knowing what to watch for can sometimes stop a situation before it becomes a problem.
Brian – you are absolutely right that a little sales training can go a long way and I would highly recommend any CEO get sales training. I am speaking to the CEO’s who get stressed out by the notion of “selling” and what I like to get my clients to do is focus on the customer rather than trying to hook or manipulate their way to deals. Thanks for your great clarification. Eliot.