| p>I'll play a seller, using conventional selling methods, | | | | their product isn't being purchased is because buyers |
| selling something difficult to understand; you be the | | | | don't understand the product or why they need it; or |
| prospective buyer. As we go through the process | | | | they get confused between your product and others |
| together, note your reactions, how your beliefs are | | | | that perform almost-similar tasks and believe them to |
| being challenged, what 'objections' and emotions come | | | | be comparable. |
| up for you as I try to 'sell' you. Once we're done with | | | | What's going on? |
| that component, I'll review how it would be different | | | | Sellers often think they need to educate their |
| using Buying Facilitation; hopefully you'll be able to take | | | | prospects. Call centers and financial institutions are |
| that to the bank. | | | | famous for spending huge amounts of time and |
| Here we go (and please excuse me for being a bit | | | | money in giving their reps lots of product training, |
| playful and provocative. I can't pass up the | | | | believing that if they can pitch or present the features |
| opportunity!): | | | | and benefits skillfully, buyers will know how to buy. Yet |
| CONVENTIONAL SELLING | | | | information does not teach someone how to make a |
| As a subscriber and reader of my newsletter, you | | | | decision (see Newsletters of 3/7/01 and 1/17/02 about |
| have probably garnered some understanding of the | | | | the differences between information and criteria). |
| Buying Facilitation process. You have probably read | | | | As we saw in my initial example, people can have all |
| Selling with Integrity, or gone to our site, or read several | | | | the information in the world about a product and that |
| of the past newsletters. | | | | won't teach them how to make a buying decision if |
| So... Just out of curiosity... What's going on with your | | | | they believe that they are doing as well as they can |
| sales effort? Your sales training effort? Are you | | | | be doing given all the factors involved. |
| getting the numbers you want? Are you meeting your | | | | What do you need to be doing to help them |
| projections? If not, why are you still using that same | | | | understand that they need to buy your product? |
| sales program you're using? Have you thought of | | | | WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? |
| doing something different? What would stop you from | | | | Let's take a look at how your prospect experiences |
| using a new method to get better results? | | | | his/her environment - those areas that you don't |
| You must know by now, obviously, that my | | | | necessarily think about when you are selling your |
| methodology would bring in the best results of any | | | | product. |
| 'sales' training. So why aren't you calling me and | | | | 1. it's working the way it's always worked. |
| purchasing a training program? | | | | People can't always tell that there is something wrong. |
| Why aren't you buying hundreds of copies of Selling | | | | When a software company called me recently to |
| with Integrity to give to your sales people? | | | | bring Buying Facilitation in to their call center, they |
| Here I could offer you a pitch as to why Buying | | | | claimed they wanted to become more 'customer |
| Facilitation is better than SPIN or Solution Selling or | | | | centric.' Yet they only had an incoming call center: they |
| Sandler. I could tell you why and how it works better - | | | | were presenting a problem to their prospects by giving |
| to close more sales and make your sellers brand | | | | the prospects a one-way buying channel. It's hard to |
| ambassadors, not to mention give pure value-add by | | | | be customer centric when you are limiting the ways |
| making your sales people true consultants to the | | | | that buyers can connect. |
| buyer. Yadayadayada. | | | | 2. the work environment is created around maintaining |
| Hey. Maybe you're not buying because you don't | | | | the problem. |
| believe or understand that Buying Facilitation would help | | | | The call center folks did not notice there was a |
| your sales people be better consultants. Or bring in | | | | problem; it had always been that way. All of the six |
| more revenue. | | | | sigma measurement tools and the sales teams and |
| Or is it because you are comfortable with what you've | | | | the management initiatives were based on this |
| got in place now? Or that you don't want to go | | | | particular type of sales strategy. |
| through the change process? Or that you think you | | | | Was it customer centric? Not at all. It needed to be |
| are already doing the best you can do? Or that you | | | | changed - but first the client had to recognize there |
| love your current vendor? Or is it because you think | | | | was a problem. |
| that if you add something new you'd have to throw | | | | A more conventional sales approach would be to say: |
| away the huge investment you've already made in | | | | "Gee. You've got a problem. Buyers can't call you |
| sales training? | | | | back if they have questions, or if they need to go |
| Of course, I can handle the objections to all of the | | | | speak with their bosses before making a decision. |
| above!! I can tell you that if you are thinking any of the | | | | You're cutting off a huge range of buying possibilities." |
| above, you've made an error in judgment - and | | | | The Facilitative Question I asked was: |
| obviously my job now is to dispel these objections and | | | | "How do you plan on mitigating the distance between |
| make you see the TRUTH - that my product will be | | | | being customer centric and having a one-way buying |
| better....... | | | | channel?" |
| Got it? | | | | This Facilitative Question offered the understanding |
| How did that feel? What do you know now that you | | | | that: |
| didn't know before? About my product? About your | | | | 1. there was a problem that needed to be fixed and |
| needs? About your choices? About your willingness to | | | | that needed several layers of management and skill to |
| change? About what your decision team needs to | | | | fix it; |
| notice or consider before you do anything differently? | | | | 2. they had some decisions to be made around what |
| How do you feel about being pushed into a corner? | | | | 'customer centric' might look like; |
| About being 'wrong' on the end of my 'right'? About | | | | 3. an action had to be taken in order to be congruent |
| feeling dumb to my being smart? About your | | | | with their goals; |
| confusion and need to defend your beliefs? | | | | 4. I was a consultant who would support them in |
| By 'selling', I end up juxtaposing our belief systems and | | | | recognizing problems and support them in discovering |
| our behaviors. Even though I set this all up 'nicely', and | | | | their own internal solutions. |
| am willing to be your 'consultant', you know darn well | | | | 5. a change means examining all the decisions - |
| that my overriding desire is to sell you my training and | | | | including all the peripheral areas that convene around |
| get you to see that using my stuff would be better | | | | the problem - that got them where they are, and |
| than what you've got. | | | | recognizing that something's not working efficiently. |
| PRODUCT VS. NEED VS. DECIDING | | | | By using my expertise to walk with them in their own |
| Obviously, the fact that I have a 'great product' is not | | | | field of expertise, and by using a Facilitative Question |
| good enough. As a prospective buyer you'd have to | | | | to help them recognize and potentially fix the problem |
| figure out: | | | | using their own resources, I actually taught my |
| --If you are ready, willing, and able to make a change | | | | prospect how to notice that they were less than |
| now; | | | | efficient and they needed to think differently. |
| --If there is anything you are actually missing; | | | | If I had just told them I had a product that would help |
| --How to get your team to want to change; | | | | them become more customer centric wouldn't have |
| --Whether or not to believe that doing something | | | | gotten them closer to a decision. |
| different would make a difference; | | | | CHANGE |
| --What you'd want to get out of a training that's | | | | When you are selling a product that folks don't seem |
| different from what you have now; | | | | to understand, it's not a problem with your product, or |
| --What you would be willing to put up with to get that | | | | with your marketing material. It's a decisioning problem: |
| change; | | | | how will folks know what they need to consider to be |
| --How your culture/company would handle a shift at | | | | ready, willing, or able to decide to change, and having |
| this point in its life cycle. | | | | made that decision, how to choose the ways they are |
| And even if you don't mind change or the chaos | | | | willing to change. |
| change brings, you would have to convince your team | | | | What needs to happen in their environment for them |
| to buy in to the need to do something different - and | | | | to recognize: |
| that doing something different would include an | | | | 1. what's missing and how it got that way; |
| out-of-the-box buying-support method vs. a sales | | | | 2. that they can/cannot fix it themselves; |
| method. | | | | 3. the cultural/internal issues that need to be addressed |
| In other words - and I know I've said this - it doesn't | | | | in order for them to do something different and have |
| matter what your product is or how you sell it if the | | | | an environment that does not get destroyed through |
| buyer doesn't know how to align the culture and buying | | | | the chaos of change. |
| team around a decision. And it's NOT just a decision | | | | Make no mistake: when you suggest that a prospect |
| about the problems your product solves - it's about the | | | | should bring your product into an environment that has |
| entire environment that holds and maintains the | | | | worked very well without it, you are suggesting major |
| problem. | | | | change. |
| NEED AND PROBLEMS AND DECISIONS | | | | HELPING PROSPECTS MAKE A DECISION |
| Let's take a bit more time now and look at the system | | | | I can't express strongly enough that you can't sell |
| here. | | | | without a buyer (People laugh when I say that, but |
| You've got a great product. Worked hard at creating it, | | | | sales is based on selling - not having people buy!). |
| testing it, piloting it. You've gotten good press and your | | | | What needs to happen to have you start considering |
| competition can't touch you. | | | | making your sales people neutral navigators to help the |
| But those prospects you've targeted - those exact | | | | client make their best decision? And I'm not talking |
| people who need your product, who are suffering | | | | about consultative selling. |
| because they are not using your product - don't think | | | | Consultative selling does not go far enough: it only uses |
| they need you. They kindly listen to your pitches. They | | | | questions based around the problem that is solved by |
| admit they are having problems in just the area your | | | | the seller's product. There is a whole environment |
| product handles. They even know they cannot fix the | | | | culture that has created and maintained the problem |
| problem doing what they are doing. But they aren't | | | | that needs to make changes before it's willing to |
| buying. | | | | address a fix. |
| What's stopping them? What's making it more viable | | | | I'm going to go back to my tag line, as it seems to fit |
| for them to keep doing what they are doing - losing | | | | here: |
| money or time or market share or employee/partner | | | | Do you want to sell? Or have someone buy? |
| good will - rather than buy your product and solve their | | | | It's time to become facilitators. Then buyers understand |
| problem? | | | | exactly how to purchase your product. |
| I've heard many, many sales folks say that the reason | | | | |