One of the most important qualities that a person in a sales role can have is the ability to provide clarity. Clarity is the capacity to help others see their situations in fresh and more revealing ways, and to identify problems they didn’t realize they had. This definition surpasses being a conventional problem solving salesperson, and instead, looks at a salesperson as someone who is a problem finder for prospects.
We are in a digital era where the prospects can problem solve for themselves because of the availability of information through the internet. The real value of a salesperson has become their ability to be a problem finder when a prospect is confused or mistaken. Of course, this does not mean just finding a problem because it will make you help the sale, but actually trying to get down to what is really a pain for the prospect.
Sales has developed into a creative discovery process. One way that a salesperson can create clarity in a prospect’s mind is by being a good brainstormer. If you have the ability to brainstorm and come up with numerous different solutions for a prospect, it provides the prospect with a better clarity of how they might go about addressing their pain. Prospects, in this new era of selling, are no longer looking for answers from sales people but are instead looking for “unbiased business partners” to work with. They want a salesperson’s ideas rather than their answers, and this is another reason why the ability to brainstorm is so important.
Another way to provide clarity to your prospects is by asking somewhat irrational questions. For instance, what if a salesperson gives you the option to choose, on a scale of 1 to 10, what you think of the product being offered. This may create vulnerability for the salesperson, but at the same time, it gives the prospect the ability to be honest and accurate. Then a salesperson might ask the prospect why he/she did not pick a lower number. This seems like a weird question to ask because it is almost like you want the prospect to think negatively about your product. Instead, it does the exact opposite. It makes the prospect start brainstorming about the positive aspects of the product to solidify the prospect’s decision to rate the product highly.
Creating clarity in the selling process has become a key part of being a salesperson in this digital age. Having the ability to be creative and to be a problem finder gives you a much better opportunity to be a successful salesperson.
BoweryJE22
The idea of Clarity reminds me of Robin Williams in Dead Poet Society, getting a new perspective is the best way to get yourself out of a rut.