What
Do You Really Sell?
Be
too smart not to ask questions
By
Jeffrey Hansler, CSP
You
may have noticed that due to the current economic conditions
(or possibly the weather), a great many people are uptight.
You can see the increased aggression on the roads and in
public interactions among people.
I've
heard it said many ways, "People don't want drills only
- holes. People don't want insurance - only
security."
So
what are you really selling? When someone is new to a
sales position, they don't know very much. They ask a
lot of questions. In asking questions, they find out
what buyers are looking for and why they feel the need for
the product. This is good. It guides the
salesperson to uncover what they are really selling.
As
time goes by, a salesperson gains a great deal of product
knowledge. They usually stop asking questions and
spend most of the customer's time extolling the virtues of
the products. This is bad. The customer is not
buying a product only a result that the product can bring.
A talking salesperson rarely stumbles upon that result
because they are too busy talking.
The
way to rediscover what you are selling is to contact recent
customers and ask. "Are you glad you purchased
product X? Why or why not? Why did you need
product X? What does that mean to you? Why?
What did you do before you had product X? Why was it
necessary to change and purchase product X? Is there
something else you would like that you're not getting now
with product X?"
If
you ask these questions or variations of these questions
with 10 to 20 customers, you will be shown what it is you
are really selling. Once you know what you are
selling, you can go out into the world (no, not to talk
about what you learned) and ask questions and listen.
Why? Because if you've asked 10 to 20 customers why
they purchased product X, you will get 10 to 20 different
variations in three or four themes. You will have
learned that people purchase for their reasons, not yours.
What
you are selling addresses the themes, but not the individual
reasons of your customers. To find those, well, you
only need to ask…. Right?
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Jeffrey
Hansler is a professional speaker, author, and consultant.
He is a frequent speaker at association events and is the
author of Sell Little Red Hen! Sell! He can be reached at jhansler@oxfordco.com.
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2004 Jeffrey Hansler All rights reserved |
