In class we have discussed how important it is to try and figure out what our customers’ needs are and what they want. We described selling as the art of discovering and understanding a prospects need, and negotiating a transaction to deliver it in the context of a trust relationship. Well Jeff Shore, the founder of Shore Consulting, has a different take on this idea of selling. Rather than focusing on what we talked about in class on what the customer wants, Shore looks at WHY the customer wants something.
Shore believes that there are too many salespeople out there rushing to find solutions without asking the right questions. Shore goes onto say that it’s important to understand where your prospect is moving to and what they are moving from. Shore believes in a new resolution that tells salespeople to try and figure out why your customer wants. For example if someone is looking to buy a car, you can tell them all about the features of a car or you can ask the customer why they are looking for a vehicle in the first place. This part really stuck out to me because it relates to what Coach DiDonato said to us in class about features and benefits. Shore has three steps that will lead to resolution: first is to find out what got them to think about buying the item, second is to ask follow up questions, and third is to ask how the person feels about the situation. After these three steps Shore explains that you can then move forward to a solution discussion. This type of sales presentation really goes well with what we have been talking about in class. It describes a way to build a trusting relationship with your customer which may lead to more business from that person.
BoweryJE22
I think what you are talking about really does relate to what Professor Sweet was talking about with his industry experience in class. He told us that he would stop the potential clients when they tried to rush to the end of the sales conversation. They wanted to know the end price, however, Professor Sweet wanted to make sure that they were getting exactly what they needed before he even mentioned a number. In this I see wisdom for all human sales experiences.
I think the part that stuck out most to me was “asking the right questions”. People tend to take the focus off of what the customer actually wants when in a selling situation, and therefore fail to ask the right questions and get to know their customer. I agree that it’s very important to understand what the customer wants and be able to deliver that before mentioning a number.
Your whole idea of really understanding the customer really stood out to me. For me, if I am being pressured into something different than what I really came to buy, I get very overwhelmed and often do not buy anything at all. Pushing information that is irrelevant to the specific customer can result in a loss for the company instead of a gain at all. Asking the right questions is super important!