Sales tip #5: It is Not About Statistics and Features, It is About Personalization

One of the major mistakes sale people make, is that when they have the first opportunity to speak to a prospect they quickly tell them as much as they can about their product or service. It is like a fire hose gone wild! No one wants to waste a valuable opportunity, and we certainly want to make the most out of it. Unfortunately rattling off all of the features and statistics about your offering is not really making the most out of your opportunity, its wasting it. There are a few key rules to keep in mind when you make a sales call.

Do They Like You?

People don’t usually buy from people they don’t like. If at the first opportunity you start listing off every feature you can remember about your product or service, they probably are not going to like you very much. They think you just want to sell them something, and that is usually a big turn off for people. Be friendly, ask questions so you can learn about your prospect and start to build rapport with them. As you begin to understand who your client is and what his wants, needs or desires are, you can then begin to advise him on how your product or service could benefit them.

Do You Personalize Your Product?

Prospects don’t necessarily care about features, they want to know what value you can provide. For example, I work in the telecommunications industry. Instead of telling a prospect that your phone system can have remote phones, why not personalize the feature for them? For example, do they ever wish that their key employee who is home with their sick kid could answer some important calls instead of being completely out of commission for the day? Have they ever considered letting some employees work from home to save costs on office space? Personalization is extremely important.

Do You Know Your Prospect’s Motivation To Buy?  

What idea does the prospect have in mind when considering this new purchase? It is important to determine why your prospect wants to buy. What benefits do they perceive, and what outcome do they desire? When you go shopping for a car don’t you normally picture yourself driving that shiny new cool BMW or Lexus before you buy it? Then you decide test drive it, and finally you desire to have that imagined outcome become a reality and then you buy. Everyone who buys something has an outcome in their mind which motivates them. If you do not know that motivation or desired outcome you will have a hard time selling.

If you keep these three questions in mind when you approach new prospects you will have a much better shot at completing the sale.