Structure can improve sales results

By Andrea Hill

Last week I was negotiated out of nearly $1,800…by an eight-year-old. Here’s how it worked:

8-year-old daughter (salesperson): “Do you ever miss our old house? I do.” (Immediate emotional engagement)

Mom (buyer): “Oh, I guess I miss it sometimes honey. Why do you miss it?” (Horse led to trough)

8-year-old: “I miss the swing set and playhouse in the back yard. Why didn’t we bring that with us?” (Looking for opportunity to introduce object of sales pitch)

Mom: “Well, it was very big and it was built-in. It would have been terribly expensive to move.” (Initial buyer objection uncovered)

8-year-old: “Oh. That’s too bad. Because it’s boring out here and I can’t even walk or ride my bike to anybody’s house to play. Plus, you’re always too busy working to take me to the park.” (Not quite true, but achieves intended emotional response)

At this point she dropped the sales pitch and went outside to play. And as I watched her drag the garden hose and toys out into the middle of the yard, I didn’t see our wonderful dream farm. I saw acres of rolling green hills with no children to play with and nothing to do. That evening my little salesperson brought me the Home Depot, Costco, and Wal-Mart sales flyers. She had included a system that looked most like our old play system (establishing anticipated level of purchase). But the one she really wanted was a system that cost approximately $600 more than the system we previously owned (ask for what you really want). She had just structured the perfect sales pitch.

Selling Has Structure

Walk into any retail store and you are likely, but not guaranteed, to be greeted by a friendly voice asking, “Hi! Can I help you?” If you say no, the salesperson retreats behind the counter until beckoned. If you indicate a need, the salesperson responds by showing you goods. Most retail sales transactions are centered around unstructured conversation accompanied by product demonstration. Business-to-business sales are more difficult.

The salesperson calls the business owner or decision maker and says, “Hi! It’s Suzanne from Better Find-ings, how are you today?” What usually follows is an unstructured conversation that Suzanne hopes will lead to the customer saying that he or she could actually use something she has to sell. But without taking control of the call, her chances of receiving an order become very slim.

Selling has a structure, and salespeople who use that structure make more sales. Before every sales call or visit is made, the salesperson should answer the following three questions:

• What is my goal for this sales call? This should be defined specifically, not generally. For instance, “I want to get this customer to agree to stock five to seven items from the new line. I also want a stock status on the items that he is currently carrying, and I want a reorder on any items that have sold down to one.”

• What does this customer require from me and my products in order to meet his needs? Some customers are struggling with cash flow, too much or the wrong inventory, or other business problems. Other customers are emotionally struggling with the demands of business, going through life changes, or possibly handing off the business to a next generation. Your goal is to know the answer to this question. If you don’t already have the information, one of the goals of this sales call is to get closer to knowing the answer.

• What specific ways can I meet those needs? Can you offer stock balancing, merchandising ideas, POP or other marketing materials, advertising credits, an introduction to a resource that can help the client with a specific business issue, or an offer to introduce her to a non-competitive business that has solved similar problems using your products and services? In many cases, the need may be met by something as simple as information.

Most people dread initiating sales calls. It’s not so much the rejection you fear—though nobody enjoys that—but the discomfort. You know you need to make a sale, and you know you need to initiate the conversation, but everything in between is a mystery. So what do you do? Research indicates that most small business owners sit around and wait for customers to show up, a sure way to keep revenues depressed. If you use these three structuring questions, you will eliminate much of the discomfort of the sales transaction. The initial planning will give you more confidence, and you’ll know which types of questions to ask and problems to explore once you’re engaged in the conversation.

Those Who Ask for More Get More

The fourth—and vital—element of the sales structure is more than just a question. It’s an intention: Ask for what you want. Our social training has ingrained in most of us that it’s not nice to ask for things. But that’s what salespeople do—you ask for things. And if you want big things, you must ask for big things. What you want and what your customer wants may not be entirely in alignment, but at least you’ll be setting the threshold where you want it…just like my eight-year-old daughter did.

As I write this, I am expecting the new play system to arrive in a few days. If you’re thinking she played me like a pro, you’re right. But she also brought to my attention something about which I had not been thinking, and which I genuinely felt a need to purchase. I have been feeling very good about this purchase since the moment I committed to it. And that, ultimately, is what a good salesperson does. She provides the knowledge, opportunity, and justification for a buyer to buy the things that will make the buyer’s life or business better than before.