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 like my car - sort of. It's not the newest model, and it's not the best, but it gets me where I need to go. It doesn't break down often or embarrass me. And it has plenty of room for my growing family. You could say I'm content, but not satisfied.
If you wanted to sell me a new car, you'd need to know two things about the Schwantz family: how much we'd spend for a new car and who makes the decision. That's the topic of this lesson - qualifying for money and the ability and willingness to make a decision.
Making a presentation or asking for a commitment from an unqualified prospect is like trying to pick cotton in July. The cotton isn't ready, so you get nothing. If you try to pick cotton in July instead of in September or October, you'll just waste all your earlier work. You'll kill the plant. By the same token, if you push your prospect too hard, they'll run the other way, and all your effort up to that point will be wasted.
Going back to our new car example, a salesperson who wants to sell me a new car had better ask how much I'm willing to spend. I really don't want to look at $75,000 cars right now. So if the Mercedes salesperson tried to get me to commit to that kind of purchase, I'd run the other way. That's too bad, because I might buy one of the smaller models from him today.
The same idea applies to decision making. I might be willing to buy a Mercedes, but my wife might not be. Without her approval, I'm not willing to make a deal. So, as a Mercedes salesperson, you've got to involve both of us in the commitment and presentation.
THE MONEY QUESTION
There are generally two ways to look at the money question. Either a problem is costing the prospect so much that they must make a change, or they have some idea of what they're willing to spend to fix the problem. This distinction is important.
Let's take an example of spending money to fix a problem. People who usually move toward pleasure are most likely to reason this way when deciding on a new program.
Salesperson: Suppose I could increase your liability coverage and include your lake house on the policy. Would that be worth $200 to $500?
Prospect: It may be. What kind of increase can I get?
Salesperson: We can move your limits up to $1 million with an Umbrella policy.
Prospect: That would make me more comfortable.
Salesperson: If I could get your limits that high for between $200 and $500, would the money be a problem for you?
Prospect: Oh, no.
The prospect just agreed to spend between $200 and $500 to fix his problem. If you can come back with a quote in that range, your sale is half done.
WHAT'S THE COST?
The other way to qualify for money is to ask, 'What's this problem costing you? Would you be willing to spend X dollars to fix it?' This is a good way to qualify people who usually move away from pain.
Salesperson: What could losing the Acme account cost you?
Commercial Producer: Well, I'm probably making $30,000 per year on that account.
Salesperson: Wow! That's a great account. So losing it would cost you $30,000 each and every year. What would you be willing to spend to make sure that never happened?
Commercial Producer: Gee, a lot.
Salesperson: Well, you were concerned that working with me might take some time out of your day. How much time?
Commercial Producer: Probably three or four hours per month.
Salesperson: What do you make hourly, in round numbers?
Commercial Producer: I don't know - $50 or $60.
Salesperson: So would you be willing to spend a couple of hundred dollars monthly to be sure that you never lost the $30,000 Acme account to some other broker offering more services?
Commercial Producer: Well, if you put it like that, sure I would.
Caution: Don't go beyond this step unless the prospect agrees to spend money. Go back to the pain step. If the prospect won't spend the amount necessary to solve their problem, don't spend any more time. The prospect might be great pain and can make a decision immediately, but they don't have the money. Is there a sale there? No.
THE DECISION
You've got a prospect that has pain. They also have the money to solve the problem and are willing to spend it. Now you need to know two other things before asking for a commitment. First, can they make the decision alone, or must they involve other people? Second, what is their strategy for making a decision?
You'll have to know the answer to both of these questions before you can get any commitment. If you don't, you'll be picking cotton in July. Let's talk about each one.
WHO'S INVOLVED?
It's important to know who's involved in the decision, so just ask. A good way to put it is
'When you're making a decision like this, what's the process?' The prospect will say their company makes decisions. You need to know who's involved, the normal time frame for making a decision, and how those involved like to communicate with one other. If the prospect leaves out any of these details, ask them to fill them in. You want an outline of the decision-making strategy. Without it, don't expect to get a firm decision.
Have you ever thought a deal was closed, only to hear 'Great, I'll just take this information to the committee, and we'll get back with you'? That happens when you don't know each step of the decision-making strategy. Had you known there was a committee, you could have made sure everyone attended your presentation.
THE STRATEGY
Assume the person you're talking with is the sole decision maker. The next step is to get a clear picture of this person's strategy for making decisions.
The first thing you need to find out now is whether the person prefers options or answers. An option person wants a number of choices and may think you're not prepared if you offer only one. How many should you offer? Ask them. On the other hand, an answer person wants the answer - 'You're the expert, you tell me.' They may think you're indecisive if you present three different proposals. So ask the decision maker about their strategy.
Next you need to know how the decision maker validates information. Again, just ask. They may like to see some client testimonials. Maybe they need to talk with or hear from some of your current clients. Or they may just get a gut feeling. So you need to give them appropriate materials, phone numbers, and so forth. It's also important to know how many clients, testimonials, or whatever that the prospect needs to check out. Is it three? Five? Only one? Find out. Here's an example:
Salesperson: When you get ready to make a decision, do you like to see a couple of options, or just one?
Prospect: You're the expert - you tell me what the right one is, and I'll tell you if it works for me.
Salesperson: Fine. To be sure you're making a sound decision, do you like to see client testimonials and letters, or would you prefer talking to some current clients? Maybe you just get a gut feeling - I don't know.
Prospect: I'd like to see some letters from your clients.
Salesperson: Great. How many do you usually like to see in order to get a clear picture?
Prospect: Probably three or four.
Salesperson: So you'd be convinced if I could show you three or four client testimonials?
Prospect: Yes, that's right.
Salesperson: If I give you the letters, can you make a decision?
Prospect: Oh, sure.
Two things happened here. First, the salesperson got a commitment to make a commitment. The prospect agreed to make a decision. Second, we took the prospect through the decision-making process and helped them rehearse making a decision. That's the process they now plan to go through when you make your presentation.
If you've qualified for money and for decision-making ability, you're ready to move on to the verbal contract. Congratulations! You almost have a sale.
EXERCISE
- Develop your own role-play that qualifies an executive for money.
- Develop your own role-play that qualifies a Risk Manger for decision-making ability.