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Are You Still Respected In The Morning? Don't Say Too Much In Sales
In this sales training article, Carl Davidson discusses how to sell more by using the power of curiosity. Do not tell them too much or they don't need to talk again. This is the difference between selling more and giving your customers an education.
All salespeople have a powerful tool they can use to get more sales. It is simply the amazing power of curiosity. You know more than your customer and they want your knowledge or they wouldn’t be talking to you! Let’s take a look at a few ways you can use this power in sales situations.
Getting Customers To Call You Back
Weak salespeople leave messages that leave nothing to the imagination and spark no curiosity. Messages like, “Hello, this is Kyle. I am calling to introduce myself as your new account manager. Give me a call at 555-1212.”
Yikes! Who would feel compelled to return that call? How high would it be on your priority list. Using the power of curiosity, the new account manager could leave a message that peaks interests more. “Hello Fred. I am calling to apologize. This is Kyle. I am your new account manager and I just discovered that you have not been informed about a service we have been offering our clients that I believe will save you about $1,200.00 a month on your current costs. I apologize for this oversight and we will make it up to you. Give me a call at 555-1212 and I will get the savings. This is so important, I will meet with you any time of day that suits you. In fact, I will drop by your office on Thursday at 11:00 if I do not hear from you to be sure to give you this information and start your savings.
I hope you can see that the curiosity generated by this example will increase the odds of a call back. Curiosity can move your call up the priority pile.
Explaining The Price
Another use of the power of curiosity is in dealing with price. In most sales situations, the customer wants a brochure and a price. The salesperson wants a sale. Who is getting what they want in most of your sales situations? Curiosity can help. Weak salespeople blurt out the price. Many salespeople write it on a card, brochure or estimate and this creates a “license to shop”. Stronger salespeople have reasons why they need to customize the price for the client. They use this leverage to find out how many units the customer wants per month, when they want it installed, terms and many other factors that get the conversation going and gets the customer revealing what they want and need. Never reveal the price too early. Great salespeople use the order form as worksheet to estimate custom process and then simply get it signed at the end. In doing this, they are using the power of curiosity about price to open up the customer.
In some industries it is customary to give a quote. Estimates are important but they should be worked into a closing situation and never “left” or stapled to a card or brochure. Once you give them a brochure and a price, why would the customer need to speak with you again. No wonder they will not call you back or set up a second meeting. If you want a sale or a second meeting, you need to keep the customer curious so they want more.
These are just a couple of ways to use the tremendous leverage of the power of curiosity. I hope you use curiosity to increase your sales and profits. We suggest you never give too much information. We are not there to educate, we are there to sell. Many salespeople who do great presentations but sell little have simply revealed to much. Use the power of curiosity to keep the most important information to yourself until you can trade the customer what they want for what you want.