In the "good old days" the high adrenalin, foot-in-the-door salesman was successful. He would greet his prospect warmly, shake him firmly by the hand, look him straight in the eye, and in a good strong voice tell him all about his product, and how it was just the thing that he, the prospect, needed. He would follow this up by closing hard, handle objections firmly, when encountered, and move back to the close. This approach would achieve a good strike rate, and by seeing enough prospects our salesman would beat all his targets, earn lots of commission and win that holiday in the sun!
Unfortunately (for our foot-in-the-door salesman) this no longer works. People have becoming hardened against this approach. They want to know that the salesman is addressing their needs, and they want to know what the product will do for them. So what is the right approach in the twenty first century? Well; it has nothing to do with pushy opening, hard closing and dismissive objection handling. It has much more to do with listening, hearing, responding and positioning accordingly.
Are the people responsible for sales in your business or organisation aggressive "old style" sales types, or are they responsive, empathetic, assertive and successful in today's sales environment?
Sales Byte : "NOSE"
Do your proposals follow the "NOSE" principle?
N eeds – reflecting your customer’s needs
O utcomes – highlighting the benefits that will accrue
S olution – your proposed solution; that addresses your customer’s needs and delivers the benefits
E vidence – the supporting collateral that demonstrates that you can provide the solution
If you have demonstrated that you understand the customer’s business and requirements, and that your solution addresses these; you stand a good chance of winning good, profitable business!
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