Were you ever being interviewed for a job when the interviewer said to you, “Sell me this pencil?” What did you say? What was he looking for? Why do people still ask this? Without pondering the sociological rational of the interview process, quite simply he was just trying to find out how well you can sell, how you present yourself and/or how well you think on your feet. If this ever happens to you, your first inclination might be to think about all the features the pencil has to offer and respond with something like, “Well, this is a fine pencil. As you can see it’s a #2 which is the most popular type of pencil. It’s sharp, which means you can draw very small and clear pictures. Also, look at this large eraser at the other end, and notice the bright yellow color which could match your shirt.” Sounds like a whole lot of features, doesn’t it? It also sounds like a whole bunch of useless information. None of these points could actually address the customer’s (interviewer’s) needs. Why not? Because you never stopped to ask what his needs were. Your goal is to learn what your prospect’s requirements are so you can match the right features to their specific needs, which will be the benefits of your solution. Even a commodity product like a pencil can be targeted to specific and individual needs. A more effective approach would go something like this: Interviewer: “Ok Russ, why don’t you sell me this pencil.” Russ: “I would love to tell you all about this pencil, but in order for me to do the best job I can, I would need to know a little more about how you work. Would you mind if I ask you a few questions first?” Interviewer (in a surprised voice): “Uh, well, sure. Go right ahead.” Russ: “Thank you. First of all, can you explain how you usually correspond with other people?” Interviewer: “Well, usually I document most of my correspondence on my PC using Word or emails.” Russ: “Aside from the PC, what other forms of written communications do you do?” Interviewer: “I also write hand-written notes, sign papers and edit documents.” Russ: “Can you explain to me what sort of writing tools you use in these cases and what you like and dislike about them?” Interviewer: “I typically use a pen. I like pens because they write easily and they are permanent, which is important for signatures. But now that you mention it, sometimes they are more permanent than I want. So I end up scratching out a lot of things I write because of mistakes or when I change my mind. When I write a note to someone, this can look very unprofessional. It’s also very messy looking on the documents I edit. Also, when I put a pen in my pocket, I’ve had them leak ink all over my shirt which is very embarrassing and ruins my clothing.” Russ: “It seems to me then that you could benefit from several writing tools. Your PC is required for your larger volumes of correspondence and for easier editing and storage of these documents. A pen is beneficial for signatures and other permanent writings. And a pencil could also be beneficial by allowing you to easily correct errors, write quick and neat notes, and write very small because of its sharp point. And it will keep your shirts from getting ruined from leakage. Furthermore, pencils are the least expensive investment, are lightweight and you can even have your name embossed on them for promotional purposes. How does this sound to you so far?” Interviewer: “Sounds like a great alternative. How would I go about getting my hands on some of these pencils?” As you can see, I turned this completely around by getting my prospect to tell me his needs. It was not important for me to explain the pencil’s features until I knew which features were important to the prospect. And I learned what that was by asking questions. Ask the right questions, listen well to the answers and fit the right solution to the problems described. If you do these three things, you’ll sell more pencils than you ever thought possible. Good luck and good selling! Russ Lombardo The Sales Guru
Article Source: http://bizymoms.com/business
Russ Lombardo is President of PEAK Sales Consulting, LLC and an experienced Sales Consultant, Trainer, Author and Speaker. He works with businesses to develop sales processes and provide sales training & coaching. Russ is author of several books on sales and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). He can be reached at 919-491-2823 or visit www.PeakSalesConsulting.com