How To Shorten The Selling Cycle And Reduce Buying Stalls

The main reason for buyer resistance and selling stalls boils down to one simple fact: the reasons for not buying are bigger to the prospect than the reason to buy.

If you sell an intangible product or service, it may be even tougher to close down a sale because your product or service is not something people can see, touch, or feel. So the reasons for your prospects to buy have to be vivid, logical, and emotional. There has to be a reason for them to buy NOW, or they'll put off making the decision until later.

When you sit down with a prospect, ask a lot of questions about the prospect related to your product or service to get the person to tell you what is important in his/her life.

If you are selling a tangible product, you might ask questions like the following:

-- What do you like most about your current product?

-- What do you like least?

-- If you could change anything about the product you have now, what would it be?

-- Has any needs changed hat makes buying a new product different than the last time you bought (bigger family, etc.)?

-- Why do you want to buy a new product?

If you are selling an intangible product, then questions like the following might be more helpful?

-- At this point in your family/career, are you more concerned with getting ahead, security, planning for the future, creating a legacy, being esteemed by other, etc.?

-- Is that different from what your focus was two years ago? Five years ago? Ten years ago?

-- Where do you see yourself in three to five years?

-- What kinds of things have to be put in place to in order for you to accomplish what you have planned?

The answer to these and other questions may help you determine what is most important to your prospect. Now, just look to see what types of products/services you supply that can help the prospect get what he/she wants.

For instance, if you sell insurance, you have to realize that NO ONE wants insurance, but they may want the things that insurance provides like security. Or if you sell real estate or cars, the car or house may not be nearly as important to the prospect as the status that each may provide. So if during the questioning period, you find out that your prospect is most concerned about security for his/her family, then you'll show the prospect how the policy you sell will give the family security, or the house you have in mind is resistant to forces of nature, or the car you sell just won Motor Trend's safety award.

If you have a personal example of a sale you've made in the past that was able to get the thing that your new prospect wants by buying from you, then by all means, tell the new prospect about this success. Be specific. Use proper names, time, and location, and your prospect will begin to picture himself/herself having received that benefit as well.

During the close, give them options like, 1) buy this now, 2) wait a year, 3) wait five years, 4) wait ten years, etc. Shem how much they will miss out on if they wait (higher premiums, less return.) Show what might happen if circumstances change between now and the time they buy.

Give them options, and they will probably choose to buy now.

Copyright 2005 Doug Staneart

Doug Staneart, doug@sales-leader.com, is CEO of The Leader's Institute, http://www.sales-leader.com, specializing in sales training, public speaking, and team building training for individuals and groups. He can be reached toll-free at 1-800-872-7830.

---

Sales Copy Tips

Writing good sales copy is not an art, it is... Read More

Closing Sales Is Not A Problem, It?s A Process

In my opinion, the most overrated topic in sales training... Read More

Top 10 Ways to Sell your Product or Service While you Sleep - Part 1

Have you wasted valuable time and money on promotion that... Read More

Telephone Techniques

TELEPHONE TECHNIQUESSelling face to face is different from selling on... Read More

The Top 10 Ways to Add Extra Value

Everyone wants the best possible value in every transaction, but... Read More

Cold Calling Pressure Reduction

Who likes cold calling? Most salespeople don't like cold calling,... Read More

8 Part Strategy For Constructing Your Advertising Message

Strategies to help produce your brochure, advertisment or direct mail.... Read More

5 Tips to Choosing a Direct Sales Business

With hundreds of direct sales companies out there, how do... Read More

7 Ways to Stop Selling & Start Building Relationships

Sometimes we can all use a friendly reminder to keep... Read More

Secrets to Buying Without Being Sold

Have you ever asked yourself, now how did I let... Read More

Your Profit is in Your Follow-up: A System for Increased Sales Conversion

No matter what you sell--products, services, or causes--one of the... Read More

Dont Be Macho Selling Ice to Eskimos

This issue's topic was suggested by a sales rep for... Read More

Lock, Stock, and Barrel!

The other night I was watching a classic western from... Read More

Peak Performance ? What You See Is What You Get!

Would you like an easy way to track the performance... Read More

Finding a Used Mannequin

Many stores on a budget choose to buy a used... Read More

Count Down To An Advert

There are hundreds of books available to teach you how... Read More

The Damaging Admission - A Persuasive Technique

We would all like to think that our product or... Read More

How Sellers Can Take Control

For centuries ? at least since the serpent convinced Eve... Read More

Throw Out Your Selling Language - Unlock Your Natural Voice

I was sitting at my desk last week when my... Read More

Female Mannequins: An Overview

Female mannequins are very common in clothing stores. They are... Read More

Six Simple Steps for Getting More Applications

When I first started out as a loan officer, one... Read More

Everything Follows the Pitch

If you asked me to point to the heart and... Read More

Eighty Percent of Success is Showing Up

The above quote, "Eighty percent of success is showing up."... Read More

How to Make Sure You Sell More!

Make sure you target women. It's true for almost anything... Read More

Ten Tips for Choosing the Right Direct Sales Company

Direct sales can be your ticket to a profitable home-based... Read More

Sell More Products and Services with Testimonials

Testimonials are all-important to sell anything. You may already have... Read More

?The Power Of Consumer Opinion, & How To Profit From It!?

Selling is just a whole lot easier when you know... Read More

Impotent Questions - How Much Are They Costing You?

Last issue we talked about what motivates people to buy... Read More

Selling Your Way To Success

I wonder when we decided to become a sales person.... Read More

Why You Buy, Part Three

Still more discoveries from the recent studies in behavioral economics:Over-Valuing... Read More

Use Pain To Get Commitments

Whenever I speak with new salesreps and entrepreneurs, I hear... Read More

10 Mistakes That Reduce Profitability

In my professional experience as a sales and marketing coach/consultant,... Read More

Turn Your Wisdom Into a Workshop

The Technical Revolution has done a lot for us --... Read More