You Wasted My Time
Have you ever heard this from a prospect?
Have you ever thought this after leaving a prospect’s office or home?
IF you have, you’re doing some things drastically wrong.
Let’s start off with hearing this from your prospect’s point of view:
- Why didn’t my salesperson listen to me?
- Why did my salesperson keep jabbering on about things I wasn’t interested in?
- Why didn’t my salesperson just tell me up front that he couldn’t help me?
- Why couldn’t my salesperson show up on time, so I didn’t have to miss a later appointment that was important to me?
- Why didn’t my salesperson have a sample of what I was interested in?
- Why couldn’t my salesperson just accept NO when I told him/her that I wasn’t interested in the product or price?
Hey salespeople, the above comments are real and are exactly what your prospects are thinking and saying. Sound familiar?
Now let’s look at what the salesperson is thinking and saying about his/her prospect when leaving empty-handed from an appointment and grumbling “They Wasted My Time.”
- Why didn’t they buy from me, I told them everything I knew?
- Why was my prospect so quiet? I gave them a great presentation of what I thought they wanted.
- Why did my prospect keep saying NO, NO, NO.?
- Why did my prospect wait until the end of my presentation, when I was trying to ‘close’ to tell me they weren’t interested in my product or service?
- Why was my prospect so stand-offish? I was only 40 minutes late, but I thought my personality made up for being late, sheesh.
MY PROSPECT WASTED MY TIME.
MY SALESMAN WASTED MY TIME.
Does any of this sound familiar?
If it does you’re in trouble…….
Looks like you, the salesperson, need a good dose of reality.
ALL the above situations and objections, on BOTH the salesman’s and prospect’s parts, are directly the result of not communicating, asking key questions, and listening. Oh, and the salesperson not respecting the prospect’s time by showing up late and not calling early to inform of that fact.
Let me ask a simple question of the salesperson.
WHY WOULDN’T YOU ASK the most basic of basic questions, such as :
- Is everybody here that needs to assist in making the decision?
- What are you looking for, that would meet your expectations and needs?
- When are you thinking about doing this or purchasing a product or service?
- Are you looking to finance this purchase or just pay cash?
- Are you in a position, should I have exactly what you want and I can get the best price for you today, to move forward?
- If the price wasn’t an object, and we both know it is, what would the ideal product or service look like to you?
SALESPEOPLE, if you’re not asking these basic question, then HOW do you know WHAT your prospect is buying and when?
It’s no wonder you’re getting push-back when it comes time to close the deal or ask for a deposit or signature to get the ball rolling.
It is IMPOSSIBLE to make a deal or sell a product or service IF :
- You don’t know WHAT your prospect is buying.
- You don’t know IF all interested parties are present.
- You don’t know WHEN they are ready to go forward.
- You don’t know if money is an issue, or they need to finance.
Well DUH !!!!
Not having the most basic answers is like trying to cram a square peg into a round hole. Just cannot be done. Quit trying.
It’s no wonder you’re not getting the sale and, in your mind, you’re thinking The Prospect Is Wasting My Time.
NO.
You’re wasting your own time AND the prospect’s time.
Be a professional.
Show up on time.
ASK the right questions.
Listen.
SELL what your prospect is buying.
Quit wasting time.
I hope you’ve picked up some useful ideas here in this blog post.
If you’ve got any comments or additional suggestions, I would love to hear from you.
Just leave me a comment below and I’ll get back to you.
See ya on the next blog post.
Orvel