02 Oct The Time to Be Above Par
Ask anyone in sales what they dislike most about training and development in their job, and the answer is often a resounding, “I don’t like to role-play.”
Whenever I bring up the incredible benefit of role-playing, usually I am met with, “I’m not good at it, but you should see me with a customer.”
That’s a bit concerning, and if your business depends on the closing ratio of your sales team (I imagine that would be 100% of you), you can’t afford sales training to be conducted on prospective customers.
I love to role-play. Perhaps it stems from my longing to be on General Hospital during the Luke-and-Laura days. I enjoy asking the “whys” and “what-do-you-mean” questions to properly identify wants and to further the conversation.
I will illustrate with an abbreviated example from working with homebuilding sales teams:
The Not-So-Good Approach #1
Customer: Do you have golf?
Sales Rep: Yes.
Customer: Are the homes you’re showing me near the golf course?
Sales Rep: Oh, yes, they are. Right on the course.
Customer: Never mind. I don’t like golf or golfers.
With this line of questioning, the sales rep incorrectly assumed the reason they asked about golf was because they liked it.
The Much-Better Approach #2
Customer: Do you have golf?
Sales Rep: What do you mean by that?
Customer: I don’t like golf or golfers.
Sales Rep: I understand. Golf is just one of the many activities we offer at XYZ Community. What is it that you don’t like about golf/golfers?
Customer: I don’t want to look at a golfer when I’m in my backyard, nor do I want to be hit by an errant golf ball.
Sales Rep: I realize your time is valuable, so I will show you our wonderful homes away from the course. How does that sound?
While this customer seems a bit ornery and atypical to someone seeking a home in Florida, the point is simply to not assume why people ask a certain question. By taking Approach #2, the sales rep gleaned important information about the customer’s desires. With continued information gathering, the CLOSE is much closer.That is always par excellence!