3 reasons why Solution Selling will take you to the Top
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If I were to ask almost any Salesperson,
"Are you selling Products or Solutions ? ",
nearly every response would be to say Solutions.
But the reality of customer experience with Salespeople
tells the opposite story.
I have found that barely 1 in 100 of those in any form of Sales Profession
are actually selling Solutions to Customer problems.
The other 99 think that their primary role
is to ask the Customer 'what do you want',
and then to act as an order taker.
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1) The Customer does not know exactly what they want .
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The realisation that the Customer does not know what they want,
despite what they may say,
comes as a huge shock to those in Sales or Retail
who have been erroneously taught the wrong Sales Techniques.
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The following Mantra is followed without question by Salespeople,
not realizing that this concept is the cause of bad Customer Service.
'The Customer is always right, the Customer knows everything,
the Customer knows exactly what they want'.
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This argument that the Customer knows what they want
is most infuriating to the prospective Customer
who is making an enquiry in the New Car Sales field.
I am regularly told the following by New Car Sales Managers,
"Well in New Car Sales almost all of our Customers
come into the display area knowing exactly what they want.
They've been up all night searching the Internet."
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Of course in some areas of specific technological products,
the Customer may search the Internet for specific mobile phone deals,
as an example.
But this does not mean that the Customer does not
need a salesperson to assist with problem solving.
New Car showrooms now usually display several different brands,
whereas in the past it was just a Ford or GMH showroom .
The increasing variety of choice of Car Brands,
and the overwhelming amount of contradictory information on the Web,
does not relegate the role of the Salesperson to Order Taker Status.
The Customer may walk into a display room with a preconceived idea
of what type of Car Brand A they want to purchase,
and at what price.
This same Customer could then be seen to be driving Car Brand B
out of the showroom 1 hour later for a test drive.
The Salesperson obviously asked the 'Internet expert' customer
what their needs were,
and matched them to the more expensive Car Brand B.
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The next example of this is the Customer who insists on a Home Loan from Bank A,
because they have spent much time on the Internet searching for which Bank
can give them the best deal.
When that Customer is then explained the benefits of Wholesale Rate Home Loans,
they then immediately change their mind to obtain a discount,
and to receive better customer service .
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2) Buyers are sceptical of Sales Marketing Hype
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Most Salespeople talk about providing Solutions,
but then never uncover what are the real needs of the Customers.
For example, the following is often stated in Sales Hype,
"We can provide Solutions for you Mr Customer,
we are Solution Sellers not just order takers,
now what is it that you want mate ?"
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Whilst the above pitch sounds like Solution Selling,
it will actually produce scepticism in the Buyer.
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In reality Solution Selling asks questions to uncover needs and problems firstly,
and then goes on to create the Solutions required.
You cannot provide an effective Solution,
until you first correctly diagnose exactly what the problems of the Client are.
What would you think of a Doctor
who in your appointment did not bother to try to identify your problem ?
But instead asked you what you wanted,
and expected you to create your own diagnosis and prescription.
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Yet this is the way the vast majority of Salespeople
treat their Clients .
At the same time when the salesperson is
questioned about this flawed selling approach,
the salesperson then insists in their defence,
that they are selling Solutions and not just products.
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3) Creating Solutions will attract Clients to you .
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To attract Clients you need to have a highly developed Problem Solving Technique.
This is easier said than done, because if it was simple to do then every Sales 'Jack'
would already be doing it.
The issue is getting the Client to first admit what the problem actually is.
Your Doctor cannot help you in a diagnosis if you have a 'soldier-on' attitude,
and refuse to admit that you have pain in your stomach, as an example.
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In Real Estate Sales this is of paramount importance in the Sales process.
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If the Client is believing all the hype about "Property Market Recovery",
they may not be willing to accept a realistic Price reduction of their home,
so as to ensure the Sale,
and prevent the Home being listed for more than 120 days.
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If you cannot get the Customer
to acknowledge that there is any kind of problem firstly,
then the Solution that you provide will not be taken seriously.
Picture a situation where you are asked to sell Parachutes
to passengers on a plane flight.
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Nobody would pay any attention to your Sales Pitch,
until you mentioned that there was a 50% chance the flight could crash.
Suddenly everybody on that flight would be interested in buying a parachute,
because the reality of their problem has been clearly presented to them.
In Mortgage Sales the Client is not going to recognise they have a problem
with their Home Loan,
until it is explained how much they are losing
by not accessing Wholesale Rate Loans.
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What are the most common objections to Solution Selling from Salespeople ?
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I often hear this statement in feedback from Salespeople ,
"Look , I am Selling Solutions to my Clients ,
but the problem is that they are not buying my Solutions,
I need to go back to plain and simple Product selling,
this is all too hard and I don't really understand what your talking about,
I'm not clear as to why we need to talk about Solutions anyway,
we should just show the product to customers and let them make up their own mind,
after all the Customer always knows what they want ."
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For Queensland Enquiries Phone John Maxwell +61 0432 379 203
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