The Uncomfortable Question You Need to Ask to Close the Deal
submitted by: Scott Messer, Sales Evolution
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Why do sales processes break down? There is one uncomfortable question – that has to be asked – that few salespeople dare.
People make buying decisions not so much on the things they like about your product or service as much as on hidden issues you don’t know about. How many times have you been in a sales situation where you had all the characteristics they said they wanted – i.e., you were local, carried the right kind of products, had required resources, and maybe even came in with the lowest price – but you still didn’t get the deal? If you’re like most sales folks, this has happened more than once, and you don’t have a good idea why.
Even if you’ve done a good job of qualifying the prospect, have identified how they buy, who’s involved, figured out the price, and have done a great demo, the deal isn’t ready to be sealed until you ask…
“Can we spend some time talking about why it doesn’t make sense to move forward with this purchase? What are the things we haven’t talked about that would keep you from moving forward?”
“Wait a minute!” I can hear you say. “You want me to ask why it doesn’t make sense to buy? I thought the idea was to make a sale, not convince them why they shouldn’t buy from me.”
Let’s pause for a moment. When you make a purchase, what goes through your mind before making the final decision? The answer is all the reasons and perceived risk why it doesn’t make sense to buy. It’s human nature. Some of the reasons often include:
- Pre-existing relationships
- No money
- Too expensive
- Haven’t checked out other options
- A contract still in effect
- No authority
- A previous bad experience
- Institutional inertia
- “We need to get three bids or send out an RFP”
- Etc., etc, etc.
Like you, your prospect has to get past their hidden objections or they won’t pull the trigger and buy. By getting them to open up and share what they’ve concealed, you’ll uncover these hidden deal killers and can help them come up with the answers to solve their own objections, or rehearse them to overcome the objections of others in the company involved in the decision making process.
Bottom line: Until you ask that hard, uncomfortable question that uncovers and resolves the unspoken issues in your prospect’s mind, they won’t move forward. Help them come up with answers and close the deal.
