Sales Coaches: Listen for This to Correct Your Team’s Mistakes
We’ve already talked about the benefits of sales coaching, and why you should use it in combination with a great sales trainer (like Factor 8 for example).
Now, let me explain some of the things your employees say that show they need some instruction:
1. “If you know we can solve your problem, will you buy now?”
Your employees shouldn’t attempt to force their prospect into making a decision. That often builds resistance.
Before you even ask this, you should have a good gauge of how ready they are to buy. Ask that question above too soon, and the sale gets lost.
It’s better for your employees to review what they’ve learned from the prospect, and then propose the best solution or set of solutions based on that knowledge.
2. “What Will It Take to Earn Your Business?”
This one can come across as used cars. Unless you’ve truly built the business value in advance of asking this question!
That’s your sales team’s job!
Instead, your employees need to build the value your company offers as they learn the true problems their prospect faces.
By the end of a good sales conversation, it should be clear to the prospect your company offers the best solution at the right price.
3. “Trust me.”
If your sales team says things like this, they don’t understand how to demonstrate trustworthiness. They need to know these words communicate one thing, and one thing only: “Don’t trust me.”
It’s time for you to show them that they need to know your products and services and the exact problems they solve – because that builds trust.
4. “Our competitor’s products don’t work.”
Let your employees know to never say this, even if it is a true statement. If they do know the competition’s products and services don’t work, then they need to be able to logically show that by comparing them to their own.
5. “Tell me about your business.”
Prospects don’t expect your sales team to have a precision understanding of their business. But, they must have at least conversational knowledge.
It is an open-ended question, but one that shows your sales team doesn’t do its research before talking to the prospect.
Make sure your sales team members do at least some research before talking to any prospects.
6. “My boss will murder me if I don’t close this deal.”
Your prospects are certainly sorry to hear that’s the case. But frankly, it’s not their problem!
Trying to get them to buy out of pity – that’s a huge turnoff.
Teach your sales team members to focus on the customer’s problem, not their desperate need to make a sale.
7. “I’ll be honest with you.”
Honesty is the best policy…unless your sales team says it this way. Prospects hear, “I’m honest with you starting now. Everything up to this point, well, you probably shouldn’t trust that.”
They should never use this phrase, and instead should focus on being 100% honest all the time.
