Selling is… taking away uncertainty
27 May 2010
As I promised, I’m going to tell you more about my second definition of selling: taking away uncertainty. I’ll continue with the illustration I used before.
Say that you are planning to buy a new car. In which circumstances would you definitely refrain from making a purchasing decision? If you are still uncertain. About the color, about the options available…
As a sales person, it is your job to discover which uncertainties still plague your buyer. And to take these away. How? Simple, by asking after them and finding satisfactory solutions. The biggest uncertainties are often the hardest to resolve. It’s your challenge to make a point of not avoiding them. And to find satisfactory answers to the most difficult questions.
Why are uncertainties not taken away in time?
Sales people regularly avoid discussing certain matters because they fear a negative reaction. This leads to postponement of decisions. This is why it is actually wise to take care of these matters as soon as you can. This makes it possible to resolve them satisfactorily at an early date. It is good to be reminded of these things at the right time so that you can ask relevant questions.
Asking good questions inspires confidence
By asking the right questions you will achieve amazing results:
- You show that you know what you’re talking about.
- You show real interest in your client.
- You make sure that all relevant matters are considered during the decision-making process.
- You gain a better insight into your client’s decision-making process.
- Based on the reactions you receive, you can make all the information necessary available to ensure a rapid decision.
- And last but not least: you stay in control and go through the sales process more quickly than your competitor who is forced to react because of your decisiveness.
Guided Selling has you asking the right questions
With a Guided Selling system you can achieve the above-mentioned decisiveness. It guides you in all the phases of the sales process by asking all (but no more than) the relevant questions. Apart from that, the Guided Selling system makes sure you limit your answers to what is possible for your organization. So you only offer what you are actually willing and able to supply. In this way, you avoid dissatisfied clients and friction between sales, product management, engineering and production.
All your questions answered?
If you have asked all the relevant questions and given all the relevant answers, you can ask the last question: the request for an order. This is now much easier!
Marijn Schouten is Director Business Development at Sofon - supplier of sales support software. As Marijn has a lot of contact with clients, he has a clear insight into how companies that deliver customer-specific products and services can realize improvements within their sales and quotation process.
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