by Jacques Werth
The fear of not selling has too many salespeople pushing hard enough to be offensive.
No matter what their product or service, most salespeople will attempt to sell every potential prospect in hope of making a sale. However, at any given time, most prospects are not ready, willing, or able to buy. But for various reasons, a lot of prospects are willing to sit through a sales pitch while acting like they might buy – with no intention to do so.
Then, the salesperson becomes disappointed often enough, that they think that they should push harder, overcome objections, and try several closes. Then they get rejected.
Most prospects buy for their own reasons, in their own time. The right timing can put the salesperson in front of prospects when they are ready, willing, and able to buy – without pushing.
Author
As always your words of wisdom ring true. I wish I would have known you 40 years ago…
“Most prospects buy for their own reasons, in their own time. The right timing can put the salesperson in front of prospects when they are ready, willing, and able to buy – without pushing.” — JW
If they ever buy from me it’ll be BECAUSE I was there when it was the right time and reason for them and BECAUSE I never tried to strong arm a sale so I was respected as a guy to do business with not hang up the phone.
Once upon a time those prospects would listen to me drone on and on and it was my fault, not theirs.
One day at a Panera bakery I was doing a presentation for a gal I was working with and the guy we were presenting to was looking all over the place, kept looking at his watch and hardly paying attention.
“Bill, do you have any intention of buying this or are you just politely going through the motions? We can stop right now if you have some place to be now,” I said.
Bill said I read him right. I folded up the booklet, we shook hands, and he left.
One of the smartest things I did to learn from my own mistakes.