Assess Yourself
How do you know if you are getting the allowance you should and spending it wisely? If you are crushing your quota and making too much money, you are probably OK. Otherwise, you may be able to improve your results by looking at your results when talking with customers. Think about the calls where the customer says "I only have a few minutes," and then 30 minutes later, they are still telling you what's going on in their organization. This is a sign you've done well. When that doesn't happen, you can learn from your experience. The question allowance that the decision-maker grants you depends on several factors. Some are out of your control, such as the current environment (phone vs. in-person), schedule, and distractions. However, you have influence over the rest. Think about your recent sales conversations, with particular focus on the questioning stage, and see if you are being a smart spender with your allowance.
Small Allowance & Wasted Bigger Allowance & Used Wisely
You start by telling them "I don't know much about your company" or by asking them to do your work for you and tell you everything...wasting their time.When you start Discovery, you briefly demonstrate your credibility in the industry by communicating what you know about the situation/customer, all the while getting them to expand.Your questions are low-level qualifying questions that you could/should have learned somewhere else.Your questions focus at a high-level, such as strategy or their future business objectives.You barrage the customer with a continuous stream of unconnected questions you prepared beforehand – making it seem like an interrogation or contrived survey (vs. a real conversation).The meeting seems conversational because your follow-up questions connect to their answer from the previous question and help them clarify their thoughts for you and themselves.As soon as the customer shows an interest in one of your products or services, you start selling like the guy pushing the tray full of peanuts and popcorn in the stands at the ball game.When the customer expresses an interest very early in the conversation, you resist the temptation to do an unqualified product dump. Instead, you let them know you'd like to talk about your solution, but want to ask a couple more questions to help make it relevant to their needs.
Go Forth…Earn a Big Question Allowance & Spend Wisely
On your next call with a decision-maker, keep these three key rules in mind:
Do your basic research and qualify beforehand. Start with questions around their priorities – or areas of pain that you uncovered. Focus on high-level, open-ended questions that only the decision-maker can answer.
Don't always just stick to your script. Preparing some questions is a good idea, but don't ask them one after the other. Instead, work on making it conversational by asking the customer to clarify their previous answer. "Interesting, can you tell me more?" or"Why do you think that is?" or "Specifically, what is it about _______?"
Do not begin selling until you fully understand the customer's situation and his/her perspective. When you go to make your recommendation, it better be the right one, and should somehow be connected to a top priority of theirs. If you make a pitch too early, it will likely be for the wrong solution…which will ultimately end your meeting and potentially the relationship. Good luck on your sales calls. Now I'm going to go spend some of my commission on about a quarter pound of white chocolate
