Last year I shared a story about the best sales demonstration that I had ever seen. In the story, the salesperson openly discussed one of their product’s weaknesses and influenced the audience to defend him and his product. He actually got them to brag about him and they ended up doing all the selling for him. While the message was helpful to most readers, I didn’t share how a salesperson can do this … how can a salesperson get their audience to brag about them. Since I consider this one of those “don’t attempt unless you’re an expert” techniques, I thought I’d share the process in the week’s post.
So, below are six ideas, in order, that a seasoned and confident sales professional can practice. Once these ideas are delivered in one seamless flow, there is no stopping a salesperson from dominating a marketplace. The bonus to this technique is that it provides transparency to the customers, too.
- Slightly mention the problem before the presentation. As the sales master in last week’s post did, admit before the demo that there is a challenge that sometimes concerns people and that you’ll address it after the demo.
- Get them emotionally engaged. Before you can take your audience anywhere and ensure that they’ll follow you, they’ve got to be emotionally committed. To do this, your entire demo needs to be based on their problems. This method takes a lot of preparation. You can’t assume that they have the same problems as your standard presentation. Focus on their problems and illustrate how your solution will solve their problems.
- State the problem exactly like this: “As I mentioned before the demo, we’re not perfect. Most people don’t think this is an issue at all, but before you invest too much time, I want to make sure this isn’t a deal-breaker for you.” Then, state your solution’s imperfection. Boldly and unapologetically state it.
- Ask them “Does this matter to you? If so, let’s please talk about it while I’m here.” Then, shut up for eight seconds (count in your head or you’ll break the silence after two).
- If it does matter to them, let the dialogue unfold and lead the discussion in an honest and intelligent manner. Don’t try to sell them – they’ll crush you behind closed doors if you try to manipulate them. Let it unfold. You’ll be amazed how a great dialogue can position salespeople as trusted advisors and how your conversation will eventually turn to “Yeah, it’s not really that big of a deal.”
- If it doesn’t matter to them – and this will be the outcome in 75% or more cases – then push it one step further and ask them why. You haven’t won yet. “I’m so happy to hear that you don’t think my wart makes me too ugly. But why?” Then, shut up for eight seconds and let them start to gush over you.
Finally, practice this technique before using it with a real customer or prospect. It turns into a natural conversation, but practice helps you from being clunky about it.
