Stating your intentions

Jerry L. Kennedy | TLT Selling Points December 2010

Be upfront and avoid the dreaded ‘maybe.’
 


Prospects are used to ‘maybe’ because they don’t like saying ‘no’ any more than salespeople like hearing it.
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We continue with our series of articles about getting to “no” faster and more often. However, I need to clarify something: When I say that you should get to “no” as quickly as possible, what I’m talking about is the early stages of the sales process, specifically when it comes to prospecting and qualifying.

In the latter half of the process (presentation and conversion), you’re definitely looking for a “yes,” and if you apply the principles we’ve discussed before to getting more “nos” early on, you’ll be more likely to succeed when it comes time to ask for a “yes.”

With that said, let’s move on to the next technique for getting to “no”—stating your intentions.

The idea here is to get an agreement from the prospect regarding the outcome you’d like to achieve right at the beginning of your conversation. If you state your intention clearly, your chances of getting the outcome you’re looking for goes up pretty significantly, right? And what is that desired outcome? You guessed it—to avoid maybe at all costs, even if that means you’ll get a “no.”

How do you get your prospect to agree to that? After all, these folks have been professionally trained in the art of the 1,001 maybes. They’re Masters of the Hem, and if that doesn’t work they fall back on their trusty old Haws. They can evade being pinned down to a definite answer better than a ninja avoids detection. How in the world will you get them to agree to giving you a yes or no and not a maybe?

First, understand prospects have such an affinity for maybe because they don’t like saying “no” to a nice person any more than you like hearing it. They’ve been trained by lousy salespeople they’ve dealt with before that maybe is the safest answer. They’re afraid to commit, one way or the other, because they’re afraid of making the wrong decision. Just like you, they’re human beings with fragile, neurotic egos and they want other people to like them. If they say “no,” they fear that you won’t like them. Of course, that doesn’t apply to gatekeepers; they’re a different breed entirely, and they thrive on saying “no” and being disliked by salespeople. So make it easy for them to say “no.”

Second, be honest. For example, try something like this: “You know Mr./Ms. Prospect, I really appreciate you taking the time to see me today. I know you’re a busy person, and so I’d like to make a deal with you. If what we talk about today strikes a chord with you, I’d like to explore the opportunity further. If it doesn’t, though, I don’t want to waste any more of your time or mine.

“So if you don’t like what I have to say, I’d like for you to let me know right up front. I promise you won’t hurt my feelings, and I promise to take you at your word. If you tell me no, I won’t be pestering you with pointless phone calls and e-mails. I’ll only contact you if and when I come across something in the future that looks like it might be a good fit based on the conversation we have today. Does that sound like a plan to you?”

Lastly, don’t try to back the prospect into a corner. Remember you’re not trying to get the sale at this point. You’re merely asking that they be honest and up front about whether they see a match of their needs to your product and whether they’re willing to listen to more information. You’re not asking them to commit to anything other than another specific, well-defined conversation, as opposed to a pointless follow-up call. If you try to get them to commit to anything more at this point in the game, you’ll be hearing maybe all the way to next year.


Jerry Kennedy, CLS, is owner of Inside Out Business Solutions, a sales and customer service training organization. To learn more sales strategies, visit Jerry’s blog at http://jerrykennedy.com. You can reach him at jerry@jerrykennedy.com.