Selling Isn't Telling but Asking

Successful selling - isn’t telling - but asking

Tim Connor

Why is it that few salespeople get it?  That effective selling isn’t about spewing out a plethora of information, personal opinions and prejudices and telling people what they need to buy and why and when and even how - from beginning to end.

People buy for their own personal reasons.  The role of effective selling is not to tell people what to buy or even get them to buy; it is simply to make the buying process easy and painless for the prospect.

Everyone has agendas.  Everyone wants something better.  Everyone wants life to be easy and void of pain, struggle and stress.  Buying, no matter what the economy, product or prospect’s personal situation is a challenging process especially today with the influence of technology.

Prospects often come to the table with more knowledge about the product or

service they are considering than the salespeople who are supposed to be the experts.  Add to this that every organization has competition and wants the business and you have a recipe for frustration, confusion and even a common but unnecessary stall on the part of the buyer.

The critical skill for enduring sales success is the ability to get information before you give information.  This at first might seem an easy task, but if it is so easy why do so few salespeople follow this template?  Simple.  They think that what people want is information.  Yes they want information but only that information that is relevant to their needs, fears, concerns or desires.  That’s it.

The average salesperson covers from 10-15 features during a typical presentation.  How many of these do you think the average person remembers 24 hours later?  Well, I’ve done the research and the number is ONE.  Which one?  The one that was most important to them.  Yes, you may have to cover other important points but if you don’t address the one of interest to the prospect you’ll get a no sale 99 percent of the time.

I could go on for pages about this critical skill but let me leave you with 3 simple questions.  Are you giving information before you get it?  Are you moving into your sales message or presentation too quickly before you have adequate information about the prospect?  Are your questions (if you are asking them) tailored to each prospect and their circumstances, needs or concerns?