Wayne Berry’s Top Gun Business Academy

I’ve been training sales people for 29 years now and I have had so many sales people come up to me during a break and tell me…”I’m really good at selling.  Just put me in front of a prospect and I’ll get the order.  But finding enough prospects to get in front of is my problem.  What advice can you give me?”

Well the answer is obvious isn’t it!

They need to prospect more.  

The problem is that many sales people simply don’t like prospecting.  And why don;t they like prospecting?  Fear of rejection!  And why do they get rejected?  

As a young sales person myself at around 18 I told my Sales Manager that so many of the people I approached said they weren’t interested.  He turned to me and asked me to role play with him.  After my attempt to get an appointment he said “I know what your problem is!  Has it ever occurred to you that what you are saying is NOT INTERESTING?”

Now that had never occurred to me, but he was right.  My approach and my words were not getting the response

“Wow, how can you help me!”

He taught me the words to use and how to make my approach calls and eventually I was getting a 50% conversion on calls to appointments.  Not bad for an 18 - 19 year old “wet behind the ears” sales person.  

It really is easy if you know what works and you use it. I’m not going to cover prospecting by telephone in this blog.  I’ll cover it in another one but if you want to know more now then click here

Instead I’ll like to share with you a much easier way to gaining appointments with qualified prospects.

It’s called Referral Prospecting

That’s right, one of the best sources of new prospects is from our existing customers and I believe that referrals are “THE GOLDEN CHAIN TO GREATER SALES SUCCESS AND ARE A REWARD FOR EXCELLENT SERVICE”.

So if you look after your customers they will refer new prospects to you.  But I don’t believe we should rely solely on these type of referrals.

How about being proactive in gaining referrals?

There are three times when we can ask customers for referrals and here they are.

1. Immediately after they place their order with you
2. After they have been using your product or service for sometime
3. ANYTIME  

There are also 2 ways that I have proven to work in asking for referrals

1. The “Referral Book”
2. The 9 Referral Cards Methods

The Referral Book

Invest in a quality leather bound book with lined pages and pay a few dollars to have the words “Referrals” gold embossed on the front.  When you are with your prospect or customer, simply bring out the book early amongst other items you will be using in the appointment.  Then when the time is right (probably near the end of the meeting) simply say to your customer, “Oh… you’ve probably noticed my Referral Book.  I find that most of my customers know other people / companies who could also benefit from this product / service.  I wonder how many people do you know?”

The important thing is to have some referrals already in the book (we call this social proof) and some columns for name, title, company, address, phone number and why they feel this person would be interested in seeing you.  

Just smile, open the book and pass the book over to your customer.  Then thank them.  By the way it could be useful to ask some other questions and make notes on

• How long have you known this person?
• Why do you feel they would be interested?
• May I mention your name when I call them?
• Would it be OK if they called you to get your opinion?

Referral Prospcting Cards

Have 9 blank but lined cards and say ‘Mr Customer / Prospect’, I find that many of my customers know other people who could also benefit from our product / services and are happy to refer me to them.  I wonder whom you might know?”

Hand them 3 of the 9 cards and ask them.  “Who do you know amongst you circle of business friends who could benefit?”  Wait in silence for their responses.  Once they give you 3, thank them and hand them three more cards and ask “Whom do you know amongst your circle of personal friends who could also benefit.”  Again wait in silence until they have written on the cards.  Thank them and take these cards back.

Hand them the last 3 cards and ask them “Whom do you know amongst circle of friends in clubs or association that you feel may be interested?”  Again wait in silence and get these 3 cards back.

Now it’s time to ask those same questions again.

• How long have you known this person?
• Why do you feel they would be interested?
• May I mention your name when I call them?
• Would it be OK if they called you to get your opinion?

Now the reason we ask about 3 specific groups is that this will prompt your customer to think of 3 different groups and is much better than simply asking, “Who do you know etc…”

If you regularly ask for referrals you’ll never have to make a cold call ever again.  So take these ideas and use them.  These sales strategies are just some of the tried and tested strategies and techniques that I coach sales people in when I work with them over the 12 weeks of our TOP GUN Sales Coaching Programme which is available to you regardless of where in the world you live.

Hey, prospect the smart way and enjoy more success, and then have more time to take “time out” to enjoy the good life and keep your life in balance.

Have a great week.  Make it a great week.

Wayne Berry

So many sales people talk beyond the point where their prospect has already made the decision to buy, and if we do this, we may well end up with the prospect losing interest or deciding to “think it over”.

Haven’t you experienced this yourself?  

You were talking with a sales person because you were interested in buying, but the sales person kept on selling and this raised some doubts in your mind.  So you didn’t buy.

It is more important knowing when to close, than knowing 50 different ways to ask for the order.

You wouldn’t buy from someone who did not know what your needs are would you?   Same with your clients.  You have to build trust and rapport, and one of the best ways to do this, is by asking questions to uncover their needs, listening actively (eg. ah huh, really, tell me more etc), and even taking notes.

One of the highest needs we have as a human being…

is the need to feel understood.  We tend to like (rapport) people who seek to understand us and really listen to us.  This also builds their level of trust in you.  It stands to reason that if you have taken the time to understand their needs, (both logical and emotional needs), they are far more likely to trust you enough when it comes time to confirm the sale with them.

So don’t close the sale

So many sales people become nervous when it’s time to ask for the business.  As a result some sales people fail to even ask for the order.  So here’s a question for you.

Question 1: If what you have recommended for your prospect is right for them, and will benefit them in sufficient ways that they will love using your product or service, and they’ll get a great return on their investment, who loses if they fail to buy?

Answer:  They lose, you lose and your company loses.

In fact you are doing your client a disservice if you don’t ask them to go ahead.  They lose out on the benefits and I feel very strongly about this.  It’s lose / lose.

So what clever tricky ways have you discovered to close the sale?

Some sales people have read books, or listened to audio programmes, or been to seminars on closing the sale where they were taught 50  ”clever tricky ways” to close.  Have you?  

Clever tricky ways of closing the sale are out!

You see it’s not the words that you use, it’s everything you’ve done with the prospect up to now that will determine whether your prospect is (self) motivated enough to buy.  Don’t get me wrong, I am NOT saying don’t ask.  Please ask if you feel it is right for them.  

Here’s another twist... if it’s not right for them, tell them that you can not help them right now, and perhaps even refer them to someone who can.  You’d be surprised how much trust that builds in them for you.  OK, you may not make the sale this time, but when they are in the market again for something you do have, they will most likely call you.  Why?  Because you put their best interests in front of your own needs last time.  

It builds a strong relationship

Now I started out here saying “It’s not the words you use to ask for the order it’s knowing WHEN to ask for the order that maters” much more than the words you use.  So no “clever tricky ways” to confirm the order are needed!

So when do you ask for the order?

Have you ever gone onto Flip / Flop mode in your mind?  One minute you are thinking “YES” I want to buy this, and because the sales person kept on selling, your mind flipped to “NO, I really should think about this more, or I’d better check with other suppliers.

The same thing is true with your prospects and customers

They “flip / flop”.

So when should you ask for the order?

When they have “flipped” into “YES, I think I will buy this”, that’s the time to ask for them to confirm with you that they wish to buy.

Some experienced sales people have finely tuned senses and know when they are in the YES mode.  Some don’t even know why they know.  It becomes intuitive for them.  But what they are really picking up on are the buying signals that are being put out by the prospect. So what are

Buying Signals

I define them as anything a prospect says or does which indicates they have ALREADY BOUGHT in their mind, but have not yet told you.

Here are some buying signals to watch and listen for.

Example 1.  They say something like, “how did you say that works again?”

This may even be something you showed them before, but they didn’t pay attention because they were not serious at that point about buying from you.  Now they are serious. Now could be a good time to explain how it works again and then use a “Trial Close” to test their temperature - are they hot to buy or cold on the idea.

Buying Signals happen suddenly

They can also disappear just as suddenly.  So watch out for them.  They will sometimes interrupt you and say something like..

Example 2:  “When did you say I could take delivery of this?”  They may be asking about when they can start using it.

Example 3:  ”Does it come in green?” In other words they ask something about a feature or benefit?

Example 4:  They start doing calculations.  STOP talking at this point.  Let them work out their figures. They are probably working out how much they will save or make using your product or service or how they will finance it.

Example 5:  They start touching your product as if they owned it.  (In their mind they probably do own it!)

Example 6:  They start asking about the price again, methods of payment etc.  (They are checking with themselves can they afford it, how can they finance it etc.

Example 7:  They suddenly become friendlier and more relaxed.  They may have been tough on you, or very skeptical, but now they are becoming friendlier because of trust, rapport, and because they want to have a good relationship with you once they have bought.  They want you as a friend if they have questions for you later on.

So closing the sale - it’s not what you say, but when you say it

If you become good picking up buying signals, this is when you ask them if they are ready to go ahead.  Timing is important.

So what “trial close” do I like the most?

In your opinion do you like the way it works?  Good, let’s take care of the paper work.

In your opinion when do you feel you’d like to start using this?

In your opinion do you feel you’d like it in green?

In your opinion do you feel the figures add up? (when they have done a calculation)

Knowing when to close really is much more important than knowing the words to use.

Also by using the words “in your opinion do you feel” you are asking for their opinion.  How many times can you ask a prospect for their opinion?  Really as often as you like.  However…

How many times can you ask a prospect for the order, before they start to feel pressured?

Probably only once or twice in the meeting or on the phone.

In our on-line TOP GUN Sales Coaching Programme we devote an entire module to Buying Signals and Closing the Sale.  You can do this training module from anywhere in the world.  You’ll see a video of me talking with group of sales people, you’ll be able to download the handouts and flip charts, and even ask questions and for further guidance from a REAL LIVE TOP GUN Sales Coach!  You’ll talk with them via our on-line system, either just audio, or if you’d prefer, you can even video conference with them.

This Module is just 1 of the 11 modules of our TOP GUN Sales Coaching Programme.  If you’d like more info, just click here or even email me back.

Hey… have a great week.  Make it a great week and watch out for those buying signals.

Wayne

PS:  If you are a Sales Manager we also have an 11 module TOP GUN Sales Manager Mentoring / Coaching Programme just for you.  Using these strategies your job will become easier and your sales people more productive, thus achieving their sales targets.  Click here for a pdf brochure.