The No Selling Sales Conversation

Posted by AndyM on February 24, 2010 under Business Growth | 2 Comments to Read

Do you dread going into a “sales call?”  It takes a certain kind of individual to get excited about such a meeting — to truly relish it.  Well, that’s not me.  Some days I wish I was “that guy,” but I’m not.  Nevertheless, I have (if I do say so myself) a tremendous amount of value to offer, and it takes money to get it from me…somewhere in there a sales conversation HAS to happen, right?

The answer is “yes” and “no.”  Yes, a sales conversation takes place, but no — it’s not the dog and pony show that one thinks of as a sales meeting.  From my perspective, a typical sales meeting is setup for everyone to fail.  The prospective client wants to get as much information as possible about the product or service being offered, while revealing only as much as necessary about their business or problem.  They are usually dreading the meeting and just hope they can learn what they need to learn to make a decision without getting pinned down about timing or budget from an aggressive sales person. 

The sales person, on the other hand, wants the prospect to reveal as much as possible about their situation so as to suggest the winning combination of products or services to meet their needs and budget.  Sounds o.k., right?  But they worry about getting caught revealing too much — giving away the answer to the prospect’s problem without getting paid for it.

So what happens?  Well, there is great likelihood of an elaborate dance, and only a moderate chance of a highly productive meeting.  Here is a suggestion for going against the grain to improve your sales meeting experience, and win more deals.  I call it a no-selling sales conversation:

• Let your prospect know in advance that you will not use more than a few minutes of the upcoming meeting to describe your products or services.  Instead, you want to use the time as a true consultation to help them better understand the problem they are facing and the options for solving it.
• Send them questions in advance that will help you both understand their circumstance better and ask them to have answers available at your meeting.
• Put them at ease by letting them know that you will not be proposing a next step or recommending a product or service of yours for them to consider purchasing.  They will have to ask you for information about how to work with you or buy your product.

When it comes to the day of the meeting, here is a good agenda to follow:

• After some small talk to establish a connection, open with just a few comments about your background, service or product you offer, and some of what your happy clients have experienced.
• After these few minutes, switch gears to ask about your prospect’s current circumstance.  Use the questions you sent in advance as your guide.  Your prospect will already have let their guard down after realizing that you meant what you said — you indeed would not be torturing them with a typical sales pitch!  Be sure to ask clarifying questions about their current challenges — when did the problem start?  what solutions have they tried so far?
• After you have a good picture of their current situation, ask them what a completely resolved state would look like.  Getting them to envision a future without this problem or limitation will help them realize how much they really want it. 
• Next, ask them to think about what stands between their current state and the future they want.  You may only be able to offer part of a solution to that problem.  Resist the urge to tout your solution.  All you really need to accomplish at this point is helping them truly see what needs to be done. 
• Next, ask them to describe how important it is to reach the desired state.  Is it something they are willing to invest in to accomplish?
• Finally, simply ask them if they would like you to describe how you work with clients that face similar challenges.  “No thank you” is a perfectly acceptable answer, but not one you will get often with this sales approach!

Your sales task is not to get your product or service into their hands.  Your task is to help them realize the benefits they are seeking — actually reach the desired state they want.  By presenting yourself as someone truly interested in helping them get there, you will set yourself apart and have prospects eagerly asking you to share how they could work with you!