October 2017
Sell me this pencil.
First, every time you say something to a prospect/client, imagine a cartoon-like bubble pops up over your head with the words “so what?” inside. Nobody can see the bubble but you, but because it sits on top of your head like a heavy sinus headache, you can feel it and you have to answer it. Answer the “so what?” aloud.
This little reminder will do a couple things: it’ll make your words more efficient by cutting down the run-ons that might dominate your speech. Also, it’ll make you explain things for the prospect in terms that can be easily understood. Don’t always assume the prospect understands the ‘how’ and ‘why’ to what you’re saying. Inserting the “so what?” bubble over your head can provide the discipline you need to present more benefits versus features. To help you begin the "so what?" exercise, merely write those words on a post-it note and slap it on the front of your notepad. Next, get in the habit of saying these actual words: “…and the reason that is important to you is ____”, “…and you should care about this because ____”, “…what this means to your objectives is ____”. By saying those words, you are training yourself to translate features and technical elements of your offering into benefits for the buyer. Literally insert those words into your verbiage…it forces you to answer yourself and focus more on value for the prospect. Get in the habit of saying, "...and the reason this is important to you is_____" I've witnessed a bunch of really great silver-tongued sales executives use beautiful language and sophisticated words that sound great to the ear…but that’s not why we’re paid, eh? We’re paid to sell value. We’re not paid by the word. As mentioned, there’s much, much more to value selling than what has been presented here, but start with these simple-to-activate tips and you'll be heading in the right direction.
As for selling you this pencil, well it’s actually very simple: “Why do you need this pencil? What will you be using this pencil for?” If I’m the interviewer, that’s mostly what I would want to hear; after that, any way you present the value of the pencil is gravy! |
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