Go for the Goal!
For those of you who recevied our last sales bytes, we talked about prospecting and how sellers can get a potential buyer interested in speaking with them. Let's assume that the seller was viewed as credible and the prospect is willing to talk about their business. Now what? In this issue, we'll talk about goal identification.
Most executives focus on (and are measured on) 3-5 key business objectives or goals. One of our core concepts is "No Goal, No Prospect." Unless a potential buyer shares a business goal or problem area, there's no place for the seller to take the conversation other than to a product pitch. And if there is nothing to improve, why would they change? So, how can sellers get a potential buyer to share a business goal?
There are a couple of approaches we suggest. If the conversation started with the seller making a prosepcting call and the buyer was interested in how the seller helped other customers, sharing a success story may get the buyer to share their problems or goals. If they say something like, we don't have that problem, we recommend using a Menu of Goals based on their job title. If someone calls you or you are following up on a lead, chances are they will be interested in hearing about your offering. Instead of getting into a product disccussion, ask them what prompted them to call you. Then ask what they are trying to accomplish. For example, if someone called me and asked me about our training programs, after asking what prompted them to call me and a few questions about their business, I might ask:
- Opening Question. "Can you tell me what you would be hoping to accomplish by bringing in a training program for your sales people? (Let's assume that the prospect didn't provide a very specific answer).
- Menu of Goals. "Other VPs of Sales that we have worked were looking to 1) improve close ratios, 2) reduce the length of the sales cycle, and 3) improve forecasting accuracy. Are any of these objectives worth discussing?"
If they choose one of the 3 goals (or share another goal), you can have a conversation about their business, not about your products.
Let me know if you would like to learn more about how we help our clients faciliate goal sharing conversations. Also, we would like to learn from you. Please click on the question to post your answer to our Blog or see other posts.
How do your salespeople learn about a prospect's key business objectives or goals?
