• Break down ROI. Tell prospects, in dollars and cents, how substantial their return can be from agreeing to a sale, as well as how soon they’ll see it.
• Show the cost of delaying. Reveal the potential revenue they’re losing – or money they’re wasting – by not doing business with your company.
• Have loyal customers do the talking. Use customer testimonials to prove some of the stats you’re presenting.

Closing the deal is just a matter of mastering the art of the soft sell and the hard sell and then picking out the right approach for the prospect.

The soft sell

There are three “soft” steps to addressing an objection:

1. Listen and observe. You want to pay attention to not only what the prospect is saying to you, but also how he or she is saying it. You want to hear the words and analyze the personality behind the words. Establishing eye contact early may lead to a strong relationship.
2. Question their objections. You can’t counter an objection unless you’re able to understand exactly what it is and where it’s coming from. Only then can you see the possibilities available to make your product or service fit with your customers’ needs. So question your prospect’s objections and find out how you can best resolve them. Ask them to explain, expand and elaborate until you fully understand the situation.
3. Address their concerns. Use your prospect’s objections to deflect their concerns and lead them to a positive resolution of what they perceive as a conflict.

The hard sell

Sometimes it’s necessary to take a more aggressive approach to make a sale. Here are two tips to help you close this type of sale:

1. Let your enthusiasm and passion show. Customers should believe strongly that there’s a match between what they need and what you’re selling. There’s a saying in martial arts: “If you understand yourself and not your opponent, you win half the battles. If you understand your opponent and yourself you win 100% of the battles. If you understand neither, you win no battles.” If you really understand yourself and what you’re selling, and you really understand the customer, you will come away with a win-win solution.
2. Be able to support your belief. In sales, belief and enthusiasm can carry the day — if they’re backed up by knowledge and understanding. Have all your facts and figures down, and try to offer three or four strong reasons illustrating how your product stands out from the rest.

When trying to persuade an audience to behave a certain way, does fear paralyze or does it persuade and motivate?

Research demonstrates that fear rousing tactics may stimulate some people to take immediate action to reduce a threat. For others, it may cause denial or paralysis.

In one study, college students were given a pamphlet detailing the dangers of tetanus infection. The pamphlet was filled with frightening details of the consequences of contracting tetanus, but didn’t give a plan for getting a tetanus injection.

A control group didn’t receive the high-fear message but was given a plan identifying the specific action they could take to get a tetanus shot.

Students who received the “fear” message failed miserably in getting the shots, while the control group had a high rate of participation. The study points up an interesting fact about using fear to motivate. If the fear-producing message describes danger but doesn’t offer a plan reduce or eliminate it, people may not respond.

Fear in sales

Salespeople are told to find the prospect’s pain to close the deal. Another tactic is to point out how much prospects are losing by staying with their current suppler. The same rule applies: Proposals that inform prospects of problems that a salesperson’s products or services can alleviate should always be accompanied by clear, effective steps showing how.

Trying to scare prospects into believing that a product or service can help with a potential problem might scare them off if it isn’t accompanied by a good plan of action.

Find the fear

Salespeople who try to sell prospects about the benefits of their product or service before taking the time to learn what they really need hurt the chances of a long-term relationship.

Here are two levels of pain you should try to identify early:

1. Latent pain. Prospects are not aware that they need your product or service. Maybe they tried to solve the problem before, failed, and became convinced that there is no solution. Maybe the prospect isn’t aware of the existing pain that your product or service will eliminate.
2. Pain. A prospect is aware there’s a problem, but doesn’t see a solution or feel an urgent need to find one. A salesperson must work to get the prospect’s attention and help him or her focus on the problem and the solution.

Create a vision of a solution

Show the prospect how the problem will be solved, what you will do and how. Don’t try fear tactics or try to provide a solution until you understand what a prospect needs and how to use language that links your benefits directly to the needs.

Adapted from the book Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive by Noah J. Goldstein, faculty member of The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

Successful salespeople avoid price objections by selling value, not price.

Expensive, higher-priced not the same

Expensive and higher-priced don’t necessarily mean the same thing to a prospect.

Expensive means the product or service isn’t worth the price the prospect is paying for it.

Higher-priced can be overcome by the value the product or service brings to the prospect.

If your product or service is priced higher than that of the competition, your job is to help the prospect see that it’s not more expensive.

It’s the prospect’s perception of value that determines whether something is priced correctly or not. You can overcome a price difference by showing the added value you’re offering makes the purchase cost-effective.

Take the initiative

When it’s time to discuss price, it’s a good idea to take the initiative. When salespeople proactively sell value, they usually avoid price objections.

Before they can speak with authority on value, they must be knowledgeable, recognizing their strategic advantages and weaknesses.

To raise the subject comfortably, salespeople can start by talking about a prospect’s budget or pricing terms. Doing it confidently without awkward body language or shifting eye contact can establish the right tone for value-added selling.

After stating the price to prospects, it’s a good idea to stop talking and give them the floor. Too much talking at this point may lead to price backpedaling.

Resist the urge to say any more until the prospect reacts. Listening to the buyer here is crucial to handling objections.

Call preparation

Value-added selling starts with call preparation. By giving advance thought to what you want to achieve on your sales call, you’re more likely to focus on value, not price.

Here are five objectives in planning your call:

1. Market definition. The first thing you should try to do is prepare yourself to sell value, not price. It helps identify potential customers or windows of opportunities for growth with existing customers. It enables you to think and plan value-added strategies.

Answering questions like “What facts do my current customers seem to have in common?” will help you develop value-added strategies for your prospects.

2. Gather information about your best prospects. Try to collect data on a variety of topics: the marketplace, your competition, and your prospects’ competition.

3. Give information. Become the single greatest information resource for your prospects. Provide information regarding their customers and what you can do to help them increase their business and profits. Educating your customers builds loyalty that can’t be bought for a cheaper price.

4. Prepare to assure satisfaction. Because of your commitment as a value-oriented salesperson, you have an obligation to follow up with your customers. When your customers see your commitment to service, they usually won’t fall prey to the price cutters.

5. Explain your complaint resolution system. Prospects like to hear that you’re prepared to listen non-judgmentally and fix the problem instead of fixing blame. Use this as an opportunity to demonstrate the value-added qualities of your product or service.

Analyze your customers

Study your top customers. Look not just at your product or service strengths, but the entire context of your relationship with each customer.

Ask yourself why they buy your product. Maybe it’s your quality, technical support, follow-through, customer service, delivery or a host of other variables.

Define the contribution that you make to their business that allows them to differentiate you from the competition. The contribution should be something that makes you stand out from the other alternatives.

Your product or service in some fashion adds value to what they do. These same value-added qualities should appeal to your prospects.

Handling unreasonable demands

Occasionally a prospect will make a demand that can’t be overcome with all of your value-added benefits. The key here is to recognize the difference between objections and demands.

If a prospect still complains about price, this is an objection and you should continue to stress value until you overcome it. If a buyer says, “I won’t buy at that price,” this is a demand and you might want to begin negotiating or withdraw.

Successful value-added selling may require that both parties be willing and capable of making changes in their positions or withdraw.

Adapted from the book Crush Price Objections by Tom Reilly, a recognized expert on value-added selling.

That’s according to a recent Harvard Business Review article that points out the reason most sales are won or lost has a lot more to do with preparation than anything else.

Here are three keys to gaining a competitive edge before the selling process even starts, and boosting overall closing rates in the process:

1. Zero in on emotional triggers. Countless studies reinforce the notion that most buying decisions are primarily motivated by one of four emotional triggers:

• Ego. Will this product or service make me feel better about myself and/or the job I’m doing?
• Acceptance. Will this product cause others to respect or like me more? Will it cause colleagues to hold me in higher regard?
• Avoidance. Will this product allow me to overcome an obstacle, alleviate a “headache,” or avoid an undesirable outcome?
• Survival. Do I need this product to succeed? Will I suffer severe consequences without it?

Sales expert Steve W. Martin even goes so far as to insist every other component that figures into the decision (e.g., ROI, cost-benefit, convenience, etc.) is simply a means by which the buyer justifies his or her choice.

The key: Ensure all of your email copy, marketing collateral, RFPs and presentations speak to one or all of these four needs. It’s a viable way to build rapport with worthwhile prospects before the initial handshake actually takes place.

2. Train via ‘cultural transmission’. In management terms, “cultural transmission” refers to a training method via which employees learn by emulating proven strategies (or successful practitioners). The three specific types of cultural transmission which most best-in-class companies include in their training and development sessions are:

• First-hand examples. Integrate top salespeople into your new rep training program, as well as sales meetings. Have them cite recent examples of real-world strategies they’ve used to overcome common obstacles and close stalling prospects.
• Role play. It may sound elementary, but the more practice sales pros get at sharpening their approach, the more effective they’ll be, and the more kinks that’ll be ironed out prior to a hard-line negotiation.
• Monthly mentoring. The only way to keep salespeople on-point at all times is by joining them on at least one sales call a month (if not more). Follow up with a feedback session, during which managers can ask the salesperson questions that lead him to uncover the answers for himself.

Once a quarter, it may even be helpful to switch roles, allowing each salesperson to accompany you on a call. It’s a great way to earn the average rep’s respect, while reinforcing some of the key fundamentals of your process.

3. Segment your lead lists. Cost-effective organizations increase the effectiveness of prospecting efforts by prioritizing each lead based on four specific criteria:

• Probability. How likely is this prospect to buy (based on an audit of past sales data)?
• Strategy. How decent of a fit is the prospect for your offer and your organization?
• Finance. How profitable could winning this prospect’s business be for the organization?
• Buying interest. Which products would benefit this lead the most, and how integral are those products to the company’s bottom line?

Prioritizing leads based on these criteria allows salespeople to pursue prospects who not only need your products, but are also in a position to take advantage of your offer.

Source: “What’s Wrong With Your Sales Training Program,” by Steve Martin, Harvard Business Review Blogs, 7/16/12.

1. Forget about the sale. Not for good. But try to put the sale on the back burner of your mind so you can focus on learning the needs and values of your prospects. You can’t be certain the solution you’re offering is of any value until you know what the prospect is looking for. Giving up trying to impose an agenda and genuinely listening to what is really needed and wanted is a better road to trust.
2. Ask, don’t argue. It’s may be a good idea to come up with a series of questions you’re planned before the meeting. Try to come up with questions that will determine what your prospects are looking for, why they’re looking for it, how they expect it to benefit their businesses and when they expect to have it. Offering solutions that don’t take needs and values into consideration will not work. Questions that show genuine interest, concern and confidence go a long way toward building trust.
3. Listen with your fingers. Taking notes is a good way to ensure that the information you’re gathering is sinking in. When prospects see you taking notes, they usually see it as a sign that you intend to use the information to help them. When they are ready to talk about solutions, you have an outline of needs to meet and values to uphold.
4. Seek to understand. Your understanding of your prospects must be solid so there’s no room for presumptions. If they’ve answered a question and you still don’t know what you need to know, ask another. Sometimes you have to ask second and third questions in order to completely understand your prospects’ needs and values. It’s a good idea to understand their needs and values as well as your own.
5. Say something new. Try to offer your product or service in a fresh and innovative way. There’s too much competition for you to be selling in a run-of-the-mill fashion. Set yourself apart. Try to determine unique ways to appeal to your prospects and meet their needs. Do something up front to let your prospects know that it’s your primary goal to add real value, not only through what you’re selling but also your service.

Adapted from the book Killing the Sale by Todd Duncan, a sales trainer, consultant and CEO of The Duncan Group in Atlanta, GA.

Here are three reactions that will help your salespeople turn objections into selling opportunities, courtesy of Stephan Schiffman, author of The Career Salesperson:

1. Listen carefully and ask for clarification. By asking for more details, you’ll be in a better position to turn the objection into a positive.
2. Resist the temptation to argue, even if the objection is totally unfounded or unreasonable. Arguing establishes an adversarial relationship that undermines a prospect’s trust.
3. Remember that prospects are not always clear in expressing their concerns. Sometimes their objections are only a smoke screen to cover other concerns. Your ability to identify, analyze and answer a prospect’s real objections will put you in a better position to close the sale.

1. No surprises. Customers don’t look kindly on surprises. It’s always easier to deal with and defuse negative issues if customers are prepared for them ahead of time. Nothing in the proposal should be a surprise to prospects. The power of the proposal isn’t in flowery prose or multimedia graphics. It’s in the fact that customers have actively collaborated in its preparation and already agree with its conclusions. When they read the proposal, customers should agree that the solutions provided match their criteria.
2. Use the customer’s fingerprints. You accomplish this by using the prospect’s exact terminology and ideas as often as possible. Eliminate the verbal distinctions that separate you from the customer. Everything is “us” and “we” — that is, you and the customer working together. Try not to make customers translate your terms into their language. The more your proposal reads like a document that might have been produced within the customer’s organization, the higher the comfort level. You’re combining the best of your company’s experience and knowledge with the best of your customer’s and you’re describing the desired results in terms the customer is familiar with.
3. Ask for pre-proposal feedback. There will be times when the purchasing decision is going to be made outside the cast of characters you have met with. In these cases, it’s a good idea to ask for feedback on your proposal from the people you’ve been dealing with. They may provide you with some feedback so you can make adjustments before your proposal moves to a higher level.
4. Provide a participative presentation. It’s usually a good idea to ask members of the customer’s team to participate in the presentation. Customer participation is particularly effective when discussing problems and possible solutions. These are areas to which the customer’s team members can speak with an insider’s authority and credibility. Members of the customer’s team are usually more than willing to participate, since it gives them the chance to demonstrate their expertise to top management. The greater the team’s ownership in and comprehension of your proposal, the better the odds are that your proposal will stand out.
5. Identify the links between the solution you’re discussing today and future sales. At the same time you’re selling and installing the short-term value, you need to be positioning and anchoring your long-term capabilities. As you talk about the value the solution delivers, you can also mention opportunities for future added value.

Here are eight of the biggest sale busters:

1. Failure to create a buying environment. Some salespeople go into an appointment preoccupied with what they want to sell. Prospects usually pick up on a salesperson who is only thinking of making the sale. Top salespeople focus attention on the prospect and what they can learn. They recognize that thinking like a prospect means getting in tune with their needs and aligning the product or service to the prospect’s agenda and best interests. When the customer feels secure and in control, the selling environment is usually established.
2. Lack of follow-through. When it comes to lost sales, failing to follow through is near the top. Nothing turns prospects or customers off faster than salespeople who fail to live up to their promises. Once a prospect sees a compelling enough reason to buy now, the focus shifts to building a long-term relationship. Follow-up is a great place to start. Trust must be earned and re-earned. One slip on your part — a broken promise, a false claim, a breach of trust — and you risk losing more than a sale. You may lose a heard-earned customer.
3. Failure to sell their company, not just themselves. Top producers know that the company behind them is today’s key to success. As important as the individual salesperson is to the sale, the role of the company is increasing. Prospects want to know who they’re doing business with. They don’t want to make a mistake and be left without service and support.
4. Failure to maintain patience. Since most sales cycles are moving more slowly and prospects won’t make a decision until they have to, it’s important not to press the prospect too hard. Salespeople who push too hard or jump to solutions before they know the problems usually don’t get the sale. Top salespeople cultivate prospects by keeping them informed, staying in front of them in a variety of ways, never pressuring or pushing and always sending the message that the prospect is in charge of the sale.
5. Failure to understand educated prospects. Prospects are more educated about business problems and the effect of their buying decisions on the company’s bottom line. They are more analytical about all their purchasing decisions, usually basing them on the strengths of the salesperson’s solution to their problems. Some salespeople are so focused on what they want to accomplish when they make a presentation that they don’t discover what motivates the prospect to buy. If you aren’t perceived as helping prospects get to their goal, getting an order is difficult.
6. Failure to ask enough questions. Some salespeople think that telling everything they know is the way to impress prospects. Usually it isn’t. Asking questions may be a more effective way to show interest and knowledge of the prospect’s business. By asking questions they help prospects develop the right comfort level to do business with them. Prospects usually trust salespeople who listen. Selling today is no longer a matter of being on great terms with the prospect or overcoming objections. More than ever, it’s a matter of trust.
7. Failure to create excitement in the prospect’s mind. Whether the purchase is routine or unique, small or significant, the prospect should experience buying as a “high” moment, an upbeat event. Picture in your mind how you want the prospect to feel once the order is signed. Getting the order is everything to you, but the experience may be different for the prospect who may begin to think about the transaction and develop doubts about the decision. The goal is to have prospects believe that they have made the best possible decision. If the prospect feels any letdown once the sale is made, there may be trouble ahead. The task for the salesperson is to make certain the prospect feels good about buying.
8. Wasting prospects’ time. In today’s tight market, saving time is the prospect’s highest priority and a salesperson’s most valuable asset. Show prospects you understand their situation by being highly efficient. Presentations should be about asking questions to learn where prospects need help. They should also be about demonstrating your clear understanding of their problems and the ideal solution for helping them resolve each one in a timely manner.

1. Hard-to-read. Most salespeople would place hard-to-read prospects in the most difficult category. They give no feedback, so it’s hard to know what they’re thinking. Some salespeople attempt to get a non-responsive prospect to open up by talking more.
If the prospect is holding back for a specific reason, this can backfire. Here are five strategies to get these prospects to open up:

• Let them know early that they have total control of the call. You can do this simply by asking what issue they would like to address. You can reduce the chances of the prospect clamming up by having them do most of the talking.
• Ask an open-ended question and then say nothing. The silence may motivate the prospect to supply the feedback you need. Really listen to the answers. Prospects usually find it flattering to state their opinions and have someone listen to them.
• Get them to talk — about anything. If prospects seem reluctant to talk about their business needs, they may have a reason. Encouraging them to talk about nonbusiness subjects may get them to open up.
• Make the call more interesting for the prospect. Salespeople have to face the fact that some prospects may find their presentations boring. You can add interest through proper planning.
• Try to find out why the prospect isn’t communicating. Some prospects think a poker face is a good negotiating tool. Others may not know much about your product or service and are afraid of looking stupid. A good way to handle this situation is to encourage objections and negative feedback.

2. No buying authority. Prospects who meet with salespeople frequently have no buying authority. They are information gatherers who channel data to the people who do the purchasing. Thinking of them as insignificant obstacles or going over their heads can backfire on a salesperson. The support of these non-buyers may play a key role in closing the sale. Try to get them to admit that they’re not the decision maker. Once this admission is made, the goal shifts from your selling the person in the room directly to selling the real decision-maker with the help of that person.

3. Indecision. An insecure customer is usually an indecisive customer. Insecure customers need more attention than regular customers. There are times when every prospect is insecure – the company might be coming off a bad quarter or a bad year.
Some people have difficulty making decisions even when they know they’re the right ones. That’s what makes indecisive prospects frustrating to deal with. Your job is to help them make the decision. For some indecisive prospects, the harder you push, the harder they will resist. It may be better to stop pushing and start asking questions. It’s usually a good idea to build trust and then ask for the order.

Adapted from Presentations That Change Minds, by Josh Gordon.

It begins with planning. They anticipate what near-fatal objections or obstacles could come up before the close, and make response and recovery plans.

They are rarely caught off guard, even by an unexpected turn of events.

The essential factors in snatching victory back from the jaws of defeat are:

1. Learn to spot problems

You need finely honed instincts to tell you when something is not quite right with the “perfect” deal. Indicators that your intuition should activate include a prospect who doesn’t return your calls or one who doesn’t ask the detailed questions that should be asked.

2. Be persistent

Never say die. You’re only defeated when you admit you’re defeated. If you refuse to give up on the deal, your prospect will see your determination and your confidence in your product or service. Don’t accept defeat.

3. Respond swiftly

Quickly respond to a failed close by addressing each issue raised. Try to include a nugget of new information that is relevant to the prospect. The point is to bring in new ammunition.

4. De-install your competitor

If a competitor is holding up the close, try de-installing the competitor as soon as possible.

Here are three strategies that help:

• Take the competition on head-to-head. Try to come up with superiority in certain key areas.
• Create slippery footing beneath your competitor at the eleventh hour. This is often the most effective strategy, but it takes timing and knowledge. Study your competitor closely and look for any dissatisfaction. Find weaknesses and exploit them.
• Instead of focusing only on how you can beat your competition, try to come up with competitive advantages for your prospects. It means helping prospects beat their competition, which is significantly different than trying to beat your competition.

5. Follow-up consistently

The more you follow up, the better your chances of rescuing a wounded deal.

Sometimes, the timing becomes better for the prospect to act than when you first tried to close.

Keeping in constant touch increases your ability to be in the right place at the right time. Timing doesn’t just happen because of fate or luck — you have to make it happen with creative ideas and lots of follow-up activity.

Adapted from the book The Art of Closing the Sale by Brian Tracy, a sales trainer.

They take rejection personally allowing it to affect their self-image and blocking them from trying the same challenge again.

Two negative reactions

There are two negative reactions to rejection.

The first is that the salespeople simply stop trying. They become oversensitive, cautious and retreat.

The second is they become aggressive with prospects, attempting to overcome the rejection with heavy-handed tactics. .

Both of these reactions can seriously undermine performance.

A positive approach

A positive solution to rejection is awareness. Whether rejection is valid or invalid, salespeople need to understand the cause of the rejection and influence it to the extent they can.

Only then can they take corrective action

Understanding the reason for the rejection may help them bounce back and convert it into a positive.

Here are three ways to deal with rejection and stay focused:

1. Learn from lost sales. Use an outline to review what could have been done better. It may help to try to list three things that could be done better in the future.

2. Keep a success journal. A constant barrage of resistance can often eclipse recent successes. Keeping a journal of sales successes isn’t for dates and dollar signs only. Entries should include details, such as:

• approach
• how objections were handled, and
• what made the customer buy.

3. Get a boost from customers. When things aren’t panning out, salespeople should remember what’s working for existing customers. Keeping a file of positive customer feedback and testimonials can give a salesperson a quick boost. Try to contact those customers to learn what they appreciate most. Comparing that feedback to recent efforts might lead to a breakthrough.

Adapted from the book Break the Rules Selling by John R. Graham President of Graham Communications, a marketing services and sales consulting firm.

1. When making an appointment by phone, start by talking about what you’re selling. It doesn’t make any difference that the person you’re calling doesn’t have any idea who you are or the company you represent or why you’re making the call. Just charge ahead. This will be almost 100% successful in getting the prospect to hang up.
2. Don’t spend time and money finding ways to cultivate prospects. If prospects aren’t smart enough to figure out the value your solutions can bring them or how your knowledge and experience can benefit them after talking to you for a few minutes or getting a letter in the mail, don’t bother trying to share your ideas and expertise with them.
3. Never take time to ask questions. When you’re in front of a customer, use every minute to do as much talking as you can. Asking questions or trying to get the prospect involved in the conversation is counterproductive.
4. Never listen to what the prospect is saying. Remember, you’re there to make a sale, so don’t get sidetracked when the prospect starts talking about issues or problems. Even though it can be difficult, stay on track and be prepared to being the conversation back to getting the order.
5. Always assume that the prospect is looking for the lowest price. Have at least a three-tiered pricing schedule in your briefcase. This way you’ll be ready to lower the price when you call back and prospects tell you they’re not interested or your price is too high. A few days later call back with a new, lower, “manager approved” price. This pricing system is certain to create customer confidence.
6. Don’t bother trying to figure out a prospect’s problems. You don’t want to get bogged down in the prospect’s issues. This will only deflect attention from your presentation. You’re there on a mission, so don’t let anything distract you.
7. Forget about small accounts. You’re only interest in getting the big fish in your boat. Put all your time and effort into going after the big ones. Small ones are too much bother, and servicing them is not a good use of your time.
8. Don’t waste valuable selling time following up after making the sale. Follow-up is for Customer Service. Keep going forward; don’t let yourself look back. How can you be expected to meet your quota if you’re servicing accounts? If the customers need something, they’ll call the office.
9. Stay focused on making the sale and ignores the prospect’s buying process. Getting on the prospect’s wavelength is for inexperienced salespeople, not pros.

When customers look no further than price, chances are, no one’s adequately deliver the message to them on the superior value you offer.

   Here are 10 proven ways to help customers become value-conscious rather than price-conscious, adapted from the book Pricing with Confidence, by Reed K. Holden and Mark R. Burton:

1. Identify. Concentrate on which products or services are better than those of your competitors. Recognize that value, quantify it, and put it into competitive benefits. Make sure your customers can explain why you’re more valuable than others in your industry. Confidence in value breeds confidence in pricing. To really stand apart, try to pinpoint areas where your unique advantages intersect with the customer’s critical needs.
2. Establish credibility. When you discuss prices with prospects and customers, you need to be able to stand behind what you’re saying. Try to understand how the prices were arrived at. What process was used? What criteria were used to evaluate pricing options? Without answers to these questions, you may be put on the defensive and hard-grinding customers will sense weakness.  
3. Show knowledge. Let your customers and prospects know they need your knowledge and skills. There’s a great opportunity for salespeople who recognize the opportunity to gain knowledge and develop expertise as they work with customers.
4. Anticipate. Some prospects make unreasonable demands just to measure a salesperson’s response. Salespeople who can control their emotions and hold their ground are usually able to handle unreasonable demands. They look at pricing as a problem-solving process, exchanging information and generating creative tradeoffs and alternatives.
5. Pinpoint key problems. Prospects usually forget about price when you identify problems and help solve them. It’s your job to point out the relative advantages of your product or service and show how it will help prospects solve problems.  
6. Analyze the competition. Look at all aspects of your competitor’s offering, not just product or service and price. How satisfied does the prospect seem to be with the present supplier? What value can you bring to the table that your competitor isn’t offering? You can’t come up with a competitive strategy without fully understanding the present supplier’s position, strengths, weaknesses, strategy and resources.
7. Recognize the change in customer loyalty. There’s far less brand and vendor loyalty than in the past. When customers don’t understand value, they may shop around for the lowest price. Successful salespeople resolve the loyalty problem by directing the presentation towards value, not price. They uncover the customer’s need, analyze the costs associated with that need, and translate features of the product into what it will do for the customer.
8. Understand the customer’s position. Customers are paid to press for concessions, especially in price. Effective salespeople don’t give in to every demand for fear of losing the sale. They try to find alternative tradeoff opportunities that will get the customer to think in terms of value and not price.
9. Create. Look for conditions for satisfying customers. This is a key to overcoming price objections. Give your customers ideas on how to improve their business operations. During your dealings with a wide variety of businesses, you probably pick up ideas and techniques that can be helpful to other customers. Try to pass along helpful suggestions to customers. They appreciate this type of concern and it will get them to think a lot less about price.
10. Focus. Customers want you to focus on how you are the same as your competitors to level the playing field on price. But you have to focus on how you’re different and feel confident about the services you provide to make your solution better. Take the understanding of how you create value and build the confidence you need to be successful in today’s tough world of customer negotiations. Make your customers respect you and want to do business with you.

1. Review the prospect’s history. Try to find out how long they’ve dealt with their present supplier and who they used before the switch. What made them make a change? Try to sum up their responses and suggest that it makes good business sense to look at another supplier from time to time.
2. Take a second-source approach. When you find that the company has a long-term relationship with a present supplier and is not going to switch for any reason, try to establish yourself as a second-source supplier. There are a lot of events happening such as transportation problems, product discontinuations and many others that encourage a prospect to have a back-up source with demonstrated capabilities.
3. Conduct research. There may be new developments, products or services that your prospects aren’t aware of. Use what you’ve learned about the latest developments in your field to help them.
4. Explain forgotten benefits. Many benefits of the products or services your prospect currently buys may be forgotten or misunderstood. You can tie in those features-benefits that are not being taken full advantage of by the prospect.

Adapted from the book How To Get Your Competition Fired by Randy Schwantz, a consultant and sales trainer.

Why people stop listening

Two things may stop salespeople from listening:

• They have a lot to say because they’ve gained so much expertise. They don’t understand that the fastest way to irritate a prospect is by talking too much and listening too little.
• They’ve listened to the customer’s side so often they can predict what the customer will say.

Benefits of good listening

There are several benefits to listening that can never be gained by talking:

• Listening builds trust. The best salespeople are good listeners who seem concerned with customer needs and help them purchase the products or services in a cost-effective way.
• Listening lowers resistance. It reduces tension and defensiveness on the part of customers who realize they aren’t going to be pushed into making a purchase through force of words.
• Listening builds self-esteem for customers. It’s flattering for a customer to know that a salesperson is listening intently to what’s being said. It’s also good business for the salesperson.

Listening is not hearing

Listening is different from hearing. Hearing is passive. It’s what people do when a bore starts talking. Listening is an active activity in which salespeople pay genuine attention to what customers or prospects say.

It’s a skill that needs constant development.

Here are 10 approaches that help promote active listening:

1. Interact. Active listening is not a silent activity. Show that you’re on track with customers by giving them short verbal feedback phrases like “I see” or “Go on.” Nod your head. Use body language to show the customer you’re interested in what’s being said.
2. Don’t interrupt. Ideally, the only time you should break up the customer’s conversation stream is if you need clarification on what’s being said.
3. Avoid distractions. Focus your attention on the prospect or customer. Communication is best in a calm, relaxed atmosphere.
4. Paraphrase. Repeat in your own words one or more points the customer makes. Paraphrasing lets the customer know that you’re listening. It shows the prospect that you have a clear understanding of what’s being said.
5. Restate. This is repeating verbatim all or part of what a customer has said, while placing emphasis on one part of it. The main purpose of restating is to get prospects to give more information. Additional information can be the difference in making a sale or not.
6. Ask pertinent questions if you don’t understand what the customer is saying. Put what you think the customer said in your own words. If you understand correctly, the customer will agree. If not, he or she will have a chance to clarify.
7. Summarize. Active listening involves mentally summarizing points that have been made. Try to state these brief summaries at key moments in your presentations. Summarizing also lets you take charge of the direction of the conversation.
8. Avoid arguing. A good listener is there to find out what the customer thinks and where she or he is coming from. If the customer wants to hear your opinion, he or she will ask. Otherwise, it’s a good idea to remain silent, especially if a customer is venting.
9. Don’t be afraid of silence. It gives you time to think about what the other person is saying. Silence is a natural part of listening and not a space to be filled as quickly as possible with meaningless conversation. It’s a good idea to use this test: Will what you have to say improve on the silence?
10. Remember the golden rule of listening: It’s possible to say too much. It’s rarely possible to listen too much.

Adapted from the book How to Listen and Double Your Influence With Others by Brian Tracy, speaker and trainer in the area of sales skill development.

Salespeople have to walk a fine line. If they give a short answer, it can lead the sale down a dead end: “Okay, that’s all I need to know. Thanks very much.”

But if they’re too long-winded, a prospect may lose patience: “I don’t want the runaround. Just give me a straight answer.”

How can salespeople offer the right response, the one that moves them closer to the close?

Avoid closed-end answers

It’s a good idea to try to stay one move ahead of the prospect. Salespeople can usually do this by asking themselves, “How will the prospect respond to my response?

Try to answer questions in a way that keeps the conversation going.

Example:

“What’s your delivery time”

Dead-end answer: “Two weeks.”

Better: “Is two weeks quick enough?”

With the second response, the salesperson has the next move. If the buyer says yes, they’re ready to close. If the buyer says no, the door is open to find out what else he or she needs.

1. You have to respond to direct questions about competing products. Just make sure you have all of your facts straight. If you don’t know the answer to a specific question about a competitive product, simply say so. Avoid generalizations about the competition and its products. Your credibility will suffer if you make inaccurate statements.
2. Avoid criticizing the competition. If you’re asked to make direct comparisons with competing products, stick to the facts. Don’t make emotional comments regarding apparent or real weaknesses. Prospects tend to become suspicious of salespeople who are overly critical of the competition.
3. Recognize that questions about the competition can be turned into a plus. Prospects want to be assured that they’re making the best possible purchasing decisions. There’s no better way to convince them than to demonstrate how your product or service stands up against the competition.
4. Seize the opportunity to differentiate your product or service from the competition. Don’t just assume they see your uniqueness — ask them. If your prospects can’t easily and quickly explain why you’re different from the competition, you need to review your presentation.

1. What products or services does the prospect’s organization offer?
2. What are its major markets and customers?
3. What are the most important issues or trends in its industry?
4. Who are its major competitors?
5. How is it organized? Who are its top managers?
6. What strategies are key to its long-term success?
7. What’s strategically important to it?
8. What is its mission or vision?
9. What important initiatives are implemented now?
10. What problems or hot spots is it faced with?
11. What has been the organization’s performance in the past 1 to 2 years?
12. How does it measure success?

“People I like.”

Here are the five best ways to make sure the screener likes you:

1. Establish a rapport. Treating screeners with respect is in the salesperson’s best interest. This person is very close to the decision maker and has lots of valuable information. So work with him or her to establish a friendly rapport.
2. Get their name. Early in the conversation, ask for the screener’s name. Put it in your notes, use it on the call and greet the screener by name on the next call. You will seem much less like a stranger on subsequent calls.
3. Treat the screener like a prospect. Answer the screener’s probing questions and don’t make him or her feel as if they’re shadowboxing with you. They need to be satisfied that you have something of value for the boss.
4. Get other names. Any time the screener mentions the name of someone else in their organization, jot it down. Then ask the screener what he or she does. Ask about their title and function. They may be a key player in the sales process. Find out for sure.
5. Be ready for their No. 1 question. The most common question screeners ask: “Is this a sales call?” Don’t dodge it. Answer it like, “I don’t know yet. If there’s a fit for what we have, it might be.” This is the type of answer that may get you to the next step.

Adapted from the book Snap Selling by Jill Konrath, a sales trainer.