Quick Guide to Consultative Sales—Part 4
Probing for Needs Q&A
What is the second biggest mistake sellers make?
The biggest mistake sellers make is talking too much! The second biggest mistake is selling too soon. Sales training has always sensitized sellers to “find a need and sell to it.” That philosophy doesn’t take the size of the need into consideration. (If, by the way, your prospects and buyers all saw their needs as big, they’d be calling you rather than vice-versa!)
You have three choices as a seller:
Wait for the big ones to come to you
Go out looking for the big ones
Certainly respond to the big ones, but spend more time finding needs when they are small, then growing them in the mind of your prospects and buyers
What’s the advantage of selling this way?
We have found this third option to be best because the following benefits come to the seller:
You are perceived as a consultant rather than a product pusher
You reduce the amount of competition for each sales opportunity
You build better relationships because you’re serving, not selling
You sell more!