Just looking to compile a list of the sage wisdom here.
Here's mine:
An old sales manager once told me that it was good to make a logical argument, but even better to also learn how to make an emotional one. He said people buy on emotion and justify with logic/reason.
1. People make decision based upon fear or greed.
2. If you can’t add value, you probably won’t make the sale.
Qualify quickly, honestly and be willing to walk away from an opportunity that isn’t a good fit. Otherwise you end up wasting your time with people who will never buy when you could be spending it on people who you actually have a chance at closing.
As a prospect, it is SO refreshing when sellers do this. Removes all the pressure.
Understand the buyer and look for two aspects
1. Interest: how interested is the person in what you offer?
2. Authority: How much authority does the person have in making the buying decision. If the person does not have the right authority, you explore and incorporate the authoritative person in your conversation as well.
BE CURIOUS. This is from the brilliant Lee Millstone, now Director of Sales at QuotaPath:
“The worst salespeople are just like, ‘Here’s what my thing does, do you need it?’ The best salespeople should be really trying to understand their customer, their process, their pain, what’s going on in their world, so you can tailor the conversation to them. So if you’re not genuinely curious, how do you even know they need the tool?”
Discovery is underrated.