4 Simple Phrases For More Open Sales Conversations
Growing up playing soccer, my coach always preached of the importance of “keeping your body open” when receiving a pass. The basic premise is that by keeping the body “open” you position yourself to survey the majority of the field and teammates to advance the ball to. A “closed” position would be one where your body is facing away from the majority of the field and with limited passing opportunities.
While sales is not exactly a sport, some basic principles are similar for how we engage with prospects (although, we shouldn’t think of potential customers as “opponents”).
The idea of having an “open” body position in soccer has many parallels to having open-ended, assumptive conversations in sales. It’s easy to get 90% of the way as a sales rep and have one closed-ended question kill an otherwise promising call. Not only could it put a deal into jeopardy but it’s the opposite to what a rep should be doing. A sales reps main purpose should be to broaden a prospect’s perspective and guide them towards making an optimal decision (hopefully a decision that includes buying your product).
From first contact until closing a deal, here’s some common questioning pitfalls and what to say instead.
DON’T SAY THIS: “Would you like to see a demo?”
SAY THIS INSTEAD: “As you would find this helpful, allow me the opportunity to show you more.”
The first option asks for permission to speak further. The second option assumes permission already exists given the value already provided. This assumption is the big difference and one that can quickly change results. Restate the value already provided and make the next step seem as effortless as possible.
DON’T SAY THIS: “Is it okay for me to follow up?”
SAY THIS INSTEAD: “How long would you need to review before I could follow up?”
Assuming versus asking once again takes center stage. The added twist here is that second statement has two aims. The first, is getting the prospect to consider how long they would need to review a presentation and/or collateral provided. The second goal is to make it clear that a follow-up is to be expected after they’ve had time to review. It’s much more effective for a prospect to plan for themselves rather than you plan for them.
DON’T SAY THIS: “Does this pricing work for you?”
SAY THIS INSTEAD: “What do you specifically like and dislike about the pricing terms?”
In many cases, the pricing won’t work for them. If you already know this, why bother asking the question? If you can sense that this is where the prospect’s hesitation lies, don’t shy away from confronting this head-on. The open-ended question works to dig deeper on pricing terms and provide some common ground for advanced conversation (pay close attention to what they say they like).
DON’T SAY THIS: “When could you sign the agreement?”
SAY THIS INSTEAD: “As we’ve resolved all the terms, I would like you to sign the agreement.”
Now’s the time to be honest and frank with your prospect. Closing a deal is one of the only moments during a sales cycle where close-ended questions/statements can be made. Opening the conversation back up (using “when”) leaves room for delays. Close the discussion by reiterating what has been accomplished and what needs to happen next for the partnership to continue.
How are you working to improve your sales converstions?
As our world becomes increasingly connected, more and more of our attention is drawn away from person-to-person interaction. Sales is no different, with a far greater dependence on non-human interaction than old fashioned conversation. This shouldn’t be seen as a negative but as an opportunity to have more impactful conversations every step of the way.
Deals will die on dead end streets, but there will always be a chance if an intersection lies ahead.
