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Here’s a mistake I hear over and over again when listening to sales reps pitching or presenting their services over the phone: when they hear a possible objection or something negative from their prospect, they go into pitch mode.
It’s as if they think they just need to tell the prospect more, or list endless benefits and that at some point the prospect will say, “Ah, yes! That’s what I needed to hear!”
Sadly, pitching more when you hear a possible negative is exactly the wrong thing to so.
The right thing?
Stop and begin asking questions. Get curious. Dive into the possible problem area and find out why it’s a problem. How much of a problem it is. And, most importantly, learn how to deal with it—that is, if it’s even something that can be overcome.
Here’s the thing: the average closing rate is two or three deals out of ten prospects pitched. That means seven people aren’t buying!
So, if you’re talking over or past objections, then you aren’t learning how to deal with them. You’re certainly not learning how to overcome them. Instead, you’re practicing poor sales skills over and over again.
And that’s not how to get better.
You’ve heard that saying: “Practice makes perfect?”
That’s totally wrong.
Practice only makes permanent.
If you’re practicing poor selling skills day in day out, you’ll get really good at being…well…being a poor sales person!
Quickest way to get better: next time you get an objection or negative response, stop. Ask questions. And ask yourself is this is one of the seven prospects who aren’t buying. Or is it one of the three who will buy?
And then ask yourself what you need to say to sell them. And you’ll only learn that by being curious and asking questions.
Not pitching…
Related: Less is More in Sales