Nothing happens until somebody sells something. To make sales happen, IMMS.com Key Sales Consultant Randy Schwantz has created a comprehensive series of 43 Producer Success Lessons. Used singly or in combination, these powerful tools can help your producers build their skills - and grow their sales.
I really like my house to be clean. It's something that I consider important. I also like my wife to be happy. If you were selling a maid service, you might want to stop by my house. Knowing that I prefer a clean house and a happy wife to the alternatives might lead you to believe that I'd be an easy sell.
Imagine how you'd make your presentation. One of the first things you might do is point out the stack of dirty dishes in the sink. Then you might move on to the unfolded laundry and finally to the dust on the furniture. Of course, your maid service could take care of that for a nominal charge. And just think of how excited my wife would be about having someone else do that stuff!
Now imagine your surprise if I responded, 'No, thanks. We're all set.' Could it be that I lied to you - that a clean house and happy wife aren't important after all? Is it true that 'the buyers are liars'? Or is there another explanation?
INTELLECTUAL OR EMOTIONAL?
It could be that you're experiencing intellectual hurt. Let's briefly discuss the difference between intellectual hurt and emotional pain. If I tell you I'm in need, you must determine whether my need is intellectual hurt or emotional pain.
Intellectual hurt is the kind expressed by someone who's a little dissatisfied but basically content. That's where I fall on the issue of maid services. Another example is the person who drives an older car. Sure, they might like to have a newer model - but not enough to spend $20,000 to get it.
Emotional pain is very different. Suppose the person in our example saw their boss walk past the car and sneer. They might start to worry that an older car didn't fit their image as an up-and-coming executive. The pain associated with the old car has gone from intellectual to emotional.
At which point do you think a sale is more likely?
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
Clearly there's quite a difference between intellectual and emotional pain. How can you tell whether you're dealing with emotional pain? Better yet, how can you create emotional pain?
Between pain and pleasure is an interim state - contentment. That's where you'll find most people. You might think it's hard to move a prospect out of their contentment, and you'd be half right. That's because it's possible to be content and satisfied, or content and dissatisfied.
A person who's content and satisfied isn't really in a state of pleasure, but they're probably not willing to make a change soon. They're the folks with year-old cars: It's not their dream car, but it's more than adequate.
A person who's content and dissatisfied isn't really in pain, but they could get that way quickly. These are the folks with old cars and big repair bills. They may not be car shopping right now, but it wouldn't take much. People like this are your prime prospects: They aren't yet in enough pain to call you, but they're willing to make a change, if they find a good enough alternative. So what's the secret to identifying this type of prospect and then creating enough additional pain to turn them into a buyer?
It's no secret at all! Ask more questions. That's right - ask more questions. If you've been the victim of intellectual hurt - and we all have been - my recommended cure is to go back through the initial stages of your selling system and make room for more questions, questions that create implications.
COULD YOU TELL ME ABOUT IT?
Remember, telling isn't selling. The only way to be involved in a conversation without talking is to listen. And the best way to get someone to talk is to ask them questions. Get the prospect to explain the exact nature of their pain: where it comes from, how it feels, what implications it has for other aspects of their lives. This will accomplish two things. First, you'll have a better idea of the pain the prospect feels. Second, you'll help the prospect build their own dissatisfaction. Here's a role-play that illustrates this:
Salesperson: Who handles your personal insurance now?
Prospect: That would be Joe Smith with ABC Co.
Salesperson: Are you happy with the service you're getting from ABC?
Prospect: Not really, but they have great prices.
Salesperson: So price is more important than service?
Prospect: Not always. Last year, it took them two weeks to process a claim. I was driving a rental car around. I sure would have paid more for insurance that would have covered the car.
Salesperson: Your current coverage doesn't pay for a rental car?
Prospect: It does, but only for a subcompact. I can't drive a car like that to the country club. So I had to pay the extra cost of a luxury model out of pocket.
Salesperson: So the extra cost for the rental car was sort of like an extra insurance premium?
Prospect: You could look at it like that.
Salesperson: Wow. So poor service from ABC cost you two weeks of time and an upgrade to a luxury rental car How much are you saving, price-wise?
Prospect: I think about $100 per year.
Salesperson: That's a pretty expensive $100, don't you think?
Prospect: It really hurts.
Salesperson: So would it be worth it to fix that problem?
Prospect: That doesn't seem to be out of line.
The salesperson in this example found dissatisfaction (with ABC's service), turned up the pain by asking questions ('So that meant ... ?'), and then summarized the fuller picture as painted by the prospect ('So far, poor service cost you ... ?'). Questions engaged the prospect in the process - he told the salesperson exactly where it hurt. Finally, the salesperson asked the prospect to put a value on solving the problem ('How much would it be worth ... ?').
By asking focused questions and listening closely to the responses, this salesperson turned intellectual pain into the more intense emotional pain that's necessary for a sale to happen.
EXERCISE
- List likely areas of client dissatisfaction for each line of business you write. For example: Auto - poor service, slow claims, price.
- Next to each area, write two or three other things that area is likely to affect. For example: Slow claims on auto - other areas affected are rental car costs, inconvenience, missed connections.
- Using the items affected by each area of dissatisfaction, build a script that increases the pain associated with each dissatisfaction. For example, if slow claims on auto policies often cause rental car costs, inconvenience, and missed connections, you might ask:
- In addition to slow claims, did you have any additional rental car costs?
- Did you experience inconvenience from all this?
- Well, it looks like slow claims might also cause you increased costs and inconvenience. It looks like it's getting awfully expensive.