The key challenge or problem with the hard way is that it often involves changing a whole lot of things, usually all at once, and with all the things sales people have to juggle, sudden and major changes are often disruptive, and quickly abandoned. 

The easy way also involves change, but it will involve changing just one thing, so it is manageable, productive, and rewarding.  Ok, ok, I’m not going to string you along, the easy way is to get a hold of your time.  How you allocate your time has the most dramatic impact on you selling success.  I’m making the assumption that you all know how to sell, so if you could practice your craft more, then you will realize more success. 

Now if you think this is too simplistic, think again.  There a re number of studies that suggest that sales people engage in actual selling or activities directly related to selling less than 50% of their time, so if you can take proactive steps to increase the amount of time you sell, you will sell more.  Start the by examining what you need to do to succeed with what you sell.  Just look at how much, percentage wise, you should allocate to each activity needed to close deals. Once you have done that just focus on managing the activities in the time allocated.  Also look at all the crap you do in the course of the day, things like surfing the web, updating your Facebook, getting coffee down the block, talking to your buds, planning the weekend, etc.  Now I am not saying get rid of all the crap, crap is good, I do it, but just make sure that you do a bit less of it. 

Once you do that, you just do the sales related things you always did, in the same proportions, but now you have more to portion it into.

Another thing you need to do is embrace the tools available to you.  Once you get past the neon lights, the real appeal of Sales 2.0 is the ability to reclaim time.  Marketing automation, lead sourcing and nurturing, process automation.  They help you do the “must do” things in a more efficient way, the bottom line is that you can do it with less effort and better.  Looked at differently, these tools free up your time from previously time consuming tedious “must do” things, and allow you to use your time and skills for other, important selling activities.

The frustrating thing, is that often when these productivity tools are introduced, many use the time gained to do more crap.  “Hey, those leads coming in means I don’t have to do that three hours a week, cool, now I can work a bit more on the office football pool, maybe I’ll win now that I can focus.”

Now if you want to take it to the next level, you could take on some skills training, formal training or on your own.  So let say you go out and read a few sales books a year, say three books.  Doesn’t sound like much, but it is said that the average sales person, (I know you are not average), reads at best one sales book a year; read three and you can like Superman, better yet, Lex Luthor.  Now take this newly acquired knowledge, (the headaches will pass), and apply them “more” in the time you gain by making full use of the tools available to you and cutting out some, not all, crap.

So it’s up to you, you can go out and take on big things, change this, change that, hope that the new way doesn’t take too long to stick, cause if it does, that is time you can’t get back, ever, (talk about crap, ha).  Or you can step back, and free up some time to do more of what you already do well.  And hey, you can start this weekend when we play with our clocks anyways, make use of it.

Before traveling into the why, one important word in the first paragraph is “asking” or better yet ask.  Many people believe they know the meaning of the words. Yet, I have discovered this I know that already (IKTA) creates confusion.

Webster’s New World Dictionary indicates the ask is an Anglo Saxon word of ascian.  Its first definition is

• “to use words in seeking the answer to (a question); inquire about. The first intent of this word is further understanding of an existing question.”

What this suggests if you do not know the existing question, you will have trouble asking. How many times in the buying/selling process do sales professionals fail to do their research (think homework)?  This keeps them from being able to seek the real answers from their potential customers (a.k.a. prospects).

Now returning to the question at hand, “How do you sell more?”  What would happen if you asked yourself this question “How can I help my customers buy more?”  Does restating this query provide a different perspective?  Would your behaviors be a little to dramatically different?

Years ago, there was a small little book called the QBQ! The Question Behind the Question by John G. Miller.  Even though this book addressed personal accountability, the author presents three (3) guidelines to better understand the question behind the question.

The first guideline is to begin with the word What or How.  Questions starting with Why, When and Who fail because the focus is on someone else or something else and not on you, your decisions or your behaviors.  After all to achieve the goal to increase sales begins with you, the decisions you make and the behaviors you demonstrate. How many times have we heard “When is the economy going to get better?” or similar such statements as the reason for not selling more?

Next, remove any of these words, they, them, we or you.  Your QBQ needs to have the letter I.  Are you beginning to see a pattern here? For sales is all about personal accountability, doing what you need to do to get to where you want to be. So what does personal accountability mean?  The definition I use is from Innermetrix Attribute Index and it is:

“The ability to be responsible for the consequences of one’s own decisions and actions; taking responsibility for these decisions, and not shifting focus for blame or poor performance somewhere else or on others. This derives from an internal responsibility to one’s self to be accountable and this internal willingness to own up will tend to be exhibited outside in one one’s actions.”

Personal accountability is directly connected to your decision making process and begins from the inside. If the goal is to how to sell more, personal accountability is a definite talent.  How many times have you heard sales people blame the customer, the competition even their own organization before they look at their own actions? Sales Coaching Tip: What I have discovered is many engaged in selling do not have a strong talent or strength when it comes to personal accountability.

Finally, the third step is to focus on action. Until action is taken, no change happens. Of course as Alan Deutschman in his book Change or Die revealed that only 1 out of 10 people will change.  This statistic is confirmed by ongoing sales research that suggests over 50% of all sales leads are left hanging on the vine and 10-20% of all sales people earn 90-80% of the sales. There is a lot of failed personal accountability within this profession.

Another book that I truly enjoy is the Questions that Sell by Paul Cherry.  He provides a very simple process to move the “how two sell” more along.

Spin Selling Fieldbook is another great resource to help any sales professional sell more. The vignettes that Rackham provides are real examples to help apply the practical advice he offers.

There are many other books that help sales professionals learn to create better asking questions when engaging with their potential customers (a.k.a. qualified prospects). And if you do not like books, you can peruse blogs such as this one to the numerous websites devoted to “how to sell more.”  Bottom line is when salespersons learn to ask better questions of themselves then they will realize their goals be it to increase sales, receive more referrals or just getting more clients.

We asked for one particular cheese at the first vendor we visited and were told that they did not carry it. No effort was made to recommend anything else and we left without making a purchase.

As we walked through the market, I noticed the cheese we wanted at another vendor. After tasting it and several others, we selected two cheeses. Total sale: $17

A few moments later we ventured across yet another cheese vendor. As we looked at their selection, an employee asked if she could help us. We told her that we were looking for some cheeses to serve at an upcoming dinner. She immediately asked us what we had already selected then made several suggestions and gave us the opportunity to sample them. However, instead of providing the sample on a toothpick like the second vendor, she placed each cheese on a cracker. And, as she handed the first sample to us, she pointed out where the crackers were stocked. As the conversation continued she asked us several more questions and recommended several other cheeses which we purchased.

When we had finished selecting our cheeses, my wife stated that she was interested in buying some of their fresh olives. The sales person got us started by suggesting her favorites, encouraged us to sample the variety of olives she had on display, then left us alone while she took care of other customers. A few minutes later she returned, portioned out my wife’s choice and suggested that we come into the stall to look at fresh dips and spreads. She followed this by stating that she had put our purchases in a basket and would help us with them we were ready to leave. How could we refuse?

Of course, once in the “store” we spotted some additional items that would complement our meal. When we advised her a few minutes later that we were finished she took the basket with our purchases to the cashier and wished us a great day. Total sale: $70.

There is no doubt in my mind that this particular vendor generates a lot more revenue than her nearby competitors. Not to mention the repeat business she’ll get from in the future. And she did it without really trying.

First, she took interest in our particular situation. Her approach to the sales process and desire to help us select the best cheeses for our dinner helped her stand out from her competitors. Zig Ziglar once said, “You can get anything in life you want if you just help enough other people get what they want.” Her attention made us feel special and prompted us to spend more money.

Second, she asked us a few questions. Unlike the first two cheese vendors, she found out what we liked, what we had already bought, when we were planning to serve the cheese (after dinner versus before dinner), and what types of cheeses we liked. Although virtually everyone in sales is told to ask questions, my experience has taught me that most people, especially retail staff, have a tendency to skip this step. However, a few key questions can help you uncover vital pieces of information that will help you make more appropriate suggestions or recommendations to your prospect, customer or client. Remember, you don’t have to conduct an interrogation—you just want to learn a bit more about your customer’s wants, needs and particular situation. And depending on what you sell, this can expand to their likes and dislikes.

Third, she increased the size of the sale by pointing out additional items such as the crackers. Plus, when she did the samplings, she used these products which gave us the opportunity to try them with zero risk. Now, I’m not suggesting that you give every customer a free sample of your product—that’s not realistic in many situations. However, think of how you can reduce the risk of doing business with you especially if you are dealing with a first time customer or client.

Fourth, she dealt with, and took care of, multiple people at the same time. Although she invested some time dealing directly with us, she did excuse herself to help other customers several times. And my wife and I certainly didn’t take offense to this because we knew she’d return to help us.

Regardless of what you sell and to whom, you can probably make some changes to your approach to stand out from your competition and make it easier for people to buy from. When you do this you can sell more without even trying.

One of the companies I’m an advisor for is VendorRate.com – They take the risk out of buying technology. One day Rick, the CEO, and I had this conversation about selling and disco balls. When the conversation started my first thought was what do disco balls have to do with selling?

It turns out that whenever Rick explained his business everyone saw the problem he solved from a different perspective -  their own. Rick is a very savvy entrepreneur and quickly figured out that once the customer has their own perspective on the problem he solves or the solution he provides the sale is half way there.

Every day sales professionals get to make a choice – Right or Rich. Let me explain. I know a sales trainer who has a hyphenated first name and when people first here her name they often assume that it’s her last name that is hyphenated. She would rather be right than rich and if you make the mistake of just calling her by the first part of her hyphenated first name – thinking the last name is hyphenated – she’ll stop you in your tracks and make sure you know that you made a mistake and that it’s her first name that is hyphenated.

She could just let it go and be happy making the sale – being rich. But she chooses to be right and as a result regularly alienates the prospect which causes her to lose the sale and more importantly ruin the potential to build what could be a fruitful long-term relationship.

So the next time you have a prospect that sees your solution from a perspective different than the one you have – SHUT UP! The customer has already been sold! If you try to fix their perspective all you do is alienate them and reduce the likelihood they will become your customer.

Unless you want to be the kind manipulative salesperson that everyone loves to hate, you can’t really “get” someone else to say yes.  If you were one of those types, you probably wouldn’t be reading this article to begin with.  Those kind of mouth-breathing bottom feeders are not typically the kind to hang out here, trying to become a better caliber of salesperson.  They’re more likely to spend their time on “yellow-highlighter” pages, learning the latest mind-control sales tips.

If you’re here, reading posts by the likes of Skip Anderson and Tibor Shanto and Cindy King (and all the other incredible minds that hang out here on the SBU), I’m guessing it’s because you want to be the kind of salespeson that’s admired and respected by your employers, peers and customers.  If that’s true, you have to become a master of getting people to say “No” as quickly and efficiently as possible.  Why?  Because in most cases the alternative to “No” is not “Yes”; it’s one of the 1001 variations of “Maybe” that prospects  learn in “Sales Avoidance” class.

We all know that getting to “Yes” is the ultimate goal in a sales situation.  ”Yes” is what pays the bills.  ”Yes” is what makes all the “No”s worthwhile.  ”Yes” is what we dream of at night.  ”Yes” is every salesperson’s favorite word, no doubt about it.  It’s just that hearing it is such an infrequent occurence, compared to the number of times we hear “No”, that we sometimes fall into the trap of believing that “Maybe” is a good substitute.

Hear this: “Maybe” is not your friend.  In fact, “Maybe”, left unchecked, will kill your career.  ”Maybe” will keep you guessing indefinitely and chasing opportunities that have the same likelihood of converting to sales as my chances of winning on American Idol.

You know what I’m talking about: you make your presentation and the prospect says, “Thanks for your time…We need to think it over,” and off you go, thinking you’ve actually got a shot.  You call in a few days to “follow up” and the prospect says they are still thinking things over.  You call back after a few more days, and you get voicemail.  You leave a message, it never gets returned, and you just keep up the illusion, all the while telling your manager that you’ve got a “really good feeling” about this one.  Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if the prospect had just said “No”?

Of course it would.  It would have freed you up to go after all the other thousands of prospects out there who actually want to buy your product from you.  It would have prevented all that frustrating wheel-spinning.  It would have made you a better saleperson because it would have caused you to analyze what you could have done differently to improve your chances at getting a “Yes” next time out.

Want to be a better salesperson?  Stop obsessing about “Yes” and never, under any circumstances, settle for “Maybe”.  Instead, become a master of getting to “No” better, faster and more frequently.  Because believe me, the more times you here “No”, the closer you are to hearing “Yes”.

And if you want to become a master of getting to “No”, check out my blog over the coming week.  I’m going to be posting a series called “5 Ways To Get the 2nd Best Answer”, all about mastering the art of “No”.  Come on over and learn to love the sound of “No”!

This need to sell drives us.  We spend hours prospecting, trying to find new opportunities.  We spend hours working on deals, trying to beat our competitors, seeking to get the customer to choose us.  We spend hours convincing resources in our own companies to support our efforts to sell to the customer.  This “need to sell” focuses us during all our waking hours, and probably causes a few nightmares, while we are asleep.

This is a problem, though. Regardless how strong or compelling our need to sell is, until we find a customer with a compelling need to buy, our efforts are wasted.  This simple change in perspective, provides profound improvements in results.  Not only do we connect with customers where they are at, focusing on their needs, but we focus ourselves on higher quality opportunities.

Focusing on your customers’ needs to buy is the fastest, most reliable way to satisfy your need to sell!

One of the first cross-cultural skills you pick up in international sales is learning how to look for different perspectives other than your own.

Wondering why this is one of the first skills you pick up?

Different Perspectives Impact Business Basics

It all starts with the basics of doing business.  Cultural differences create different perspectives across some of the most fundamental business basics.  Here are two examples.

Benefits

When selling the same product or service in different countries, you’ll often need to change your sales and marketing materials.  Different people see your product differently and what they like about it may be something unexpected.  Before you can sell anything to a different culture you need to find out the benefits a different culture sees in what you are selling.

An American hotel close to a popular tourist location realized their hotel was full of German tourists some years and not others.  This German clientele obviously followed a different pattern. They responded to different benefits offered by staying at this hotel.  The hotel eventually found out why. The Germans didn’t come to see the local attractions everyone else came to see. Instead they came to go bone fishing nearby.  But they only came as a second choice. They came when the weather was not optimal in their favorite location for bone fishing.  Once the hotel figured this out they were able to market to this particular clientele and brought in more sales consistently each year.

Needs

Cultural differences also bring about different needs.  This can impact all aspects of your business.  And it’s worth taking the time to understand different perspectives to uncover different needs which can also open the door to different business opportunities.

There are a few stories of how washing machine manufacturers adapted and improved their machines to provide for the different needs of different cultures.  They found this out when learning of the challenges faced when their clients in India tried washing thin saris in their machines without success. And also when they realized rural Chinese people were using washing machines to wash potatoes.  In both cases listening to and understanding the different market perspectives led to product improvements and new market opportunities.

Different Perspectives Change The Sale

It’s easy to see from the examples above how different cultural perspectives can change the basics of doing business.  But different perspectives continue to impact the sale throughout the whole sales process.  Here are some of the main areas where different perspectives impact the sale:

Approach

Different cultures require a different sales approach. Some people need to establish a relationship in a certain way. The decision makers do not always have the same job function in different countries.

Timing

Different cultures have different perspectives on when things should be done. North Americans like to get straight to the point, but other cultures need more time.  Timing also comes into play with trust building and credibility building.

Expectations

Different cultures can have different expectations on just about every portion of the sales process. These differences in expectations can crop up unexpectedly and can easily jeopardize your sales success.

What Can You Do?

The most important thing to do is to have a clear understanding of what your basic business objectives are and the very basic framework within which you must navigate in.  Always keep this at the back of your mind.  It’s not always easy to identify how you can adapt your basic business objectives to fit into different cultural framework.  The simpler the framework the easier it will be to adapt to different cultures.

Next, you need to open up to different perspectives, different people, and different cultures.  This is one of the basic international skills. You simply need to develop strong listening skills to pick up any differences in perspectives

And finally remember, in all sales and particularly in international sales, it’s about creating the right connection with real people.  You’ll do well if throughout the whole sales process you try to understand and connect emphatically with your clients. You may start off with different perspectives but strong people skills will help you to connect with people and bring in the sales.

What about you? Do you have any stories to share about how different perspectives impact the international sale? If so, please share them in the comments below.

The Internet, just like any library or bookstore, contains content that is written by individuals and organizations to share their viewpoint on a certain subject. There are hundreds (if not more) of great blogs about sales, many of which contradict each other.

So how do you go about deciding which ideas you should pursue? How do you choose which ideas are valuable to you and your effectiveness as a salesperson? Who should you believe?

The following three rules will help answer these questions and give you a framework for reading about and studying sales on the Internet.

1. Identify Articles With Different Perspectives

When you are interested in a topic under the general subject of sales, do a search for that topic. Identify articles with different perspectives. Find the articles that most appeal to you and that you feel are most helpful to you. Read those articles.

Then, read the articles that lay out a different perspective. Especially read the articles that bother you. Read the articles that you disagree with completely.

Ask yourself why these ideas make you uncomfortable. Do you know the ideas to be wrong for your circumstances? Do they contradict one of your long-held beliefs? Ask yourself why the person would write what they have written. Try to discover the writer’s truth; what is her experience?

For example, I believe that cold calling is an outstanding way to reach high-level decision-makers. That is the truth of my experience. But you will very easily find dozens of articles insisting that cold calling doesn’t work at all. That is the truth of that writer’s experience.

2. Decide and Act

If you are searching the Internet for ideas about sales in order to be more effective, you have to make decisions about which perspective makes sense for you, and you have to act on those ideas.

As you read the different perspectives you come across, make a list of action items and takeaways. Write down how you will implement those ideas in your work. But don’t just write down the ideas from the articles that you agree with. Take the time to jot down your ideas as to how you would implement the ideas from the articles with which you disagree. Even though these ideas may not be right for you now, they may make more sense later . . . and they may even make you more effective in some other areas.

Let’s stick with cold calling. After you have found articles on how to be more effective at cold calling and taken some notes on how to apply them to your work, then write down some ideas from the articles that are opposed to cold calling. Both sets of articles will deal with prospecting, and there are lots of ways to prospect for new clients.

What could you apply to your work from this second set of articles? How would it change what you are doing? Can you think of a circumstance in which the advice that you disagree with might be useful?

Act upon both sets of these ideas. If you can’t act on some of the ideas, keep the ideas; they may be helpful in the future.

3. Remember: There is No Right and Wrong, Just Effective and Ineffective

Sales is a dynamic, human endeavor with lots of moving parts. Like lots of things in life, there are no right and wrong answers, there is only effective and ineffective. As circumstances change, what was wrong before may be the right answer now.

The key to success in most human endeavors is to have a strong command of the basic ideas and principles, and then to build an enormous set of exceptions. These “exceptions” are the little variations from the main rules, and sometimes they are in complete opposition to the basic ideas.

These exceptions are the building blocks of effectiveness and provide you with the ability to identify when you are you using the wrong approach and to change it. If what you know to be true isn’t working, what would work?

The openness to ideas, especially ideas that you disagree with and that make you uncomfortable, is one of the foundations of mastery. Judge these different perspectives on their effectiveness in a single situation, knowing that there is no right and wrong.

There is only effective and ineffective.

And we all do whatever we can to convince others that ours is the best looking.  Our perspective that is.

We love our own opinion.

WE love the sound of it.  WE love the logic of it.  WE love the fact that we can have an opinion in the first place.

It’s all about we, we, me….

And the world of explosive selling is no different.

Line up 50 gurus and you’ll find 67 ways to go make tons of money.  Each dude has 4.3 easy steps to hitting your quota.

At the end of the day you are left shaking your head trying to figure out who to listen to and what to do.  It’s confusing, isn’t it?

You just want to sell.  And instead you find yourself defending a sales methodology.

So what do you do?

You need to understand the art of “perspective”…  It will go a long way to helping you negotiate big deals.

• Remember that everyone has a perspective even if they aren’t stating it loudly.
• Remember that “facts” don’t exist.  Everyone is talking about their perspective of facts.
• Remember that your customer’s perspective is the only one that matters.
• Remember that everyone’s perspective changes.

Once you understand these ideas, you will start placing the words “in my perspective…” in front of anything that anyone tells you. You’ll start defending less and showing more empathy…

It’s a winning formula.

———–

If you want to know a few more high-performance philosophies, join me on my EDGY CONVERSATIONS teleseminar on March 2nd.  I expect it to be “sold out” later this week so make sure you grab a spot soon.  I will share my perspective, and I look forward to hearing yours….

Steven and Tammy’s Story

Steven and Tammy wanted to have a new patio built in their back yard. They had looked at patio stone and brick products for several years, and finally decided this was the summer they were going to look into getting it done professionally. With Steven’s new health problems now in the picture, doing the project themselves was out of the question. If they were going to do it, they were going to have to hire someone to do it.

They had discussed the project enough that they both had a vague idea of what they were looking for, but both Steven and Tammy recognized that they needed someone to give them some guidance on the design and product selection for their patio. The first thing on Monday morning, Tammy did an internet search to find landscaping companies in her area that could come to their home and provide some information.

Tammy called eight landscaping companies that morning. She scheduled four in-home consultations with landscape consultants in the next two weeks. She was excited to take the project

to the next stage, but had some apprehension, too, since this would significantly tax their family budget if they actually had the work done.

Roger’s Story

One of the consultants called to Tammy and Steven’s home was Roger. His appointment with the prospects lasted forty-five minutes, and he left the home without a contract signed by the prospects.

Roger called his sales manager on the way from the appointment to tell him that he hadn’t sold the job.

“I think they will go ahead with it, but they just needed to talk about it a bit,” Roger announced to his manager. He estimated there was a ninety percent chance the prospects would eventually place a job order for the project.

Two weeks had passed and Roger had heard nothing from Tammy. He decided to phone her and check in with her. Tammy told Roger that she and Steven had selected another company to do the work.

Roger was frustrated. He felt he was that close [can’t you just picture his forefinger and thumb ¼” apart] to getting this one. But what happened? Why did Roger fail to close this sale?

The Law of “Incongruency of Expectations”

Roger failed to understand the Law of Incongruency of Expectations.

During most initial sales interactions, and for virtually all sales interactions of the one-call close variety, there is an incongruency of expectations of the prospect and the salesperson. The prospect usually has the “shopping around” mindset. They are “getting ideas.” They’re “looking into things.” They’re “getting information.” And, most of all, they’re “getting a price quote.”

Yet, the salesperson’s perspective is that he is on the call to make a sale.

There are two parties in the sales interaction with two different perspectives: one is investigative and one is closure.

Two Highways

Think of these two different perspectives as two parallel highways.

The prospect is traveling on one highway and the salesperson is traveling on the other. Both the prospect and the salesperson are moving forward on their own highway (and even in the same direction), but the space between the two roadways signifies the incongruence of the two parties’ expectations. No matter how far either party travels on their highway, they will never come together. In fact, the longer the prospect travels on his road, the more difficult it is for him to switch routes – this is due to the law of sales momentum.

With this in mind, the goal of the salesperson in a one-call close scenario, and really any selling scenario, is to get the prospect on the salesperson’s highway immediately! Once there, the prospect is likely to stay on the salesperson’s highway. And the farther down the road the prospect travels, the more difficult it is for him to switch routes.

The Sales Solution

The very nature of the prospect’s highway is explorative: It is open-ended, flexible, undetermined, and gray. It is difficult, if not impossible, to complete a sales to a prospect who is in this nebulous state.

The salesperson must take action quickly to counteract this strong force of indecision within the prospect. And the antidote is simply this: Get the prospect to start making decisions, even miniscule ones. The more decisions that the prospect makes, the more solidly the prospect is positioned on the salesperson’s “highway” toward the sale.

You could begin by having the prospect select which chair he wants to sit in at the table. Ask him before you sit down or direct him to a chair. Ask, “Craig, which chair would you like to sit in?” As you start the discussion, ask the prospect another simple and easy-to-answer question, such as, “Do you want to start by talking about the widget or the wadget?”

Later, as you identify the prospect’s needs and desires, write them down. Make sure the prospect sees you writing them down. Each of these items constitutes a decision. Review the needs list with the prospect before moving into the presentation phase of the sales interaction. Ask the prospect for confirmation of accuracy of your list. Don’t continue until you receive confirmation.  Go one step further and ask the prospect to rank the needs in order of importance.

Baby Steps

Each one of these actions is a baby step toward your highway of writing an order. It is the cumulative effect of many small baby steps being made that propels the relationship forward on the proper highway.

Let’s imagine that you’re selling storage sheds. As you begin your needs and desires investigation, you ask your prospect what size of shed they have in mind. “You know, we’re not really sure,” they say. “We haven’t thought that much about it.”

Do not go further until this decision is made by the prospect. Going forward, or making the decision for the prospect, permits the prospect to be on their highway that leads to a price quote. But getting a decision keeps them on your highway to the sale. Before the prospect can make this decision, a ten or twenty or thirty minute discussion may be required. In extreme scenarios, the prospect may have some other stakeholder he needs to check with before answering your question. That’s perfectly acceptable. Allow the prospect to get the question answered. But there’s no need to present color choices, styles, height options, siding materials, hardware, and other options, not to mention beautiful CAD drawings of a new shed until the prospect can definitively decide what size they need and want their storage shed to be.

If the prospect asks you to price out the shed in two sizes, let’s say 8’ x 10’ and 10’x14’, agree to do so, but quickly follow-up with this very important question:

“If you had to decide right now about the size of the storage shed that would be best suited to your needs, would you select the 8’ x 10’ or the 10’ x 14’?”

Once you get this answer, this becomes the focus of the remainder of your sales call. You can always price the other product later, but you are going to act on the prospect’s decision, and that will help the prospect act later instead of having to “think about it” (“thinking about it” is the mantra of the quote seeker).

Working For You or Against You

The law of incongruity of expectations can work for you or against you, because it is neither good nor bad, it just is. You simply have to understand it so you can deal with it in an effective manner. Yet thousands of salespeople head out into the marketplace every day without an understanding of this important law.

If you want to sell more, get your prospects on the right highway early in the sales interaction. Keep them on your highway – it goes to where you want your prospect to be.