The Members of one of our TAB Denver West TAB Boards indicated a desire to learn about sales in their board meeting. Dean Isaacs, owner of Vantage Group, shared the following and it was a major “take-away” by all members of his TAB Board.
Moving Through the Discovery Process
Many of us are guilty of selling to the stated need or are too quick to move on to the next step in the sales process. Then, we wonder why the prospect does not move forward with our offer. We don’t probe for more information about the current problem, its business (and personal impact), the underlying cause of the problem and the desired goals or outcomes. Our value proposition is targeted to solve the stated need, which is often not the actual problem that needs to be solved. Salespeople often bail out of the discovery process too soon.
Consider this as you move through the discovery process and establish your expertise with the prospect:
- If you are not liked and don’t offer value, you will not get the deal.
- If you are liked, but offer no value, you will also not get the deal. At best you’ll eventually get a soft “no.”
- If you’ve established your expertise, even if you are not liked, but offer real value, you’ll get some business.
- If you’ve established your expertise, are liked and offer value, you’ll get the business and will have built the foundation for a long-lasting relationship.
How Do We Offer Value?
To offer value, you need to probe and ask questions to learn, and have the prospect hear him/herself state where they are (their problem) and where they’d like to be (their specific goal). Consider the following types of questions:
1. What is the current problem?
Ask about the details of that problem, get specific, ask industry related questions if you can. For example: “Share with me why you are having to discount your offering and why you can’t change that.”
2. What is the impact of the current problem?
How do you go about dealing with the problem? How does that impact your financial condition, profitability, culture, personal goals, etc.? For example: “How does shaving your margins by 50% impact cashflow, ability to invest in new capacity, retain employees, and/or grow the business?”
3. What is the underlying reason this problem exists?
What do you think is causing this to happen? Why does this reoccur and what have you done to try to fix it? How has that worked? For example: “What do you think would be the benefits of eliminating that problem from occurring in the future?”
4. Confirm what you have heard.
This will help the prospect grasp the problem, the impact, the root causes and the benefits of your offering (which you have not yet stated). You may also hear additional issues, challenges, causes or benefits by doing this.
Next Steps
Now, when it comes time to suggest a next step, you have clarified the real need and goals in the situation. When and if you can satisfy their need and help them achieve their goal, you have offered real value. You have removed the ambiguity from the opportunity. It is clearer to the prospect where the real value is.
TAB helps members with this kind of sharing in each TAB Board Meeting. If you are interested or have questions about joining a business advisory group, please contact us today.
