Rule #38 that we have learned in class is one of my favorites. In rule #38, we learn that the problem people bring to you in sales and life is not normally the actual problem of what they are facing. This is because people often approach problems from remote angles and they are not always aware of the core issues, but mostly they don’t want to talk about the real issue at hand. Due to this, salespeople need to beware of accepting false premises. As a salesperson, we need to have a healthy amount of skepticism in what our prospects are saying to us. We need to look beyond symptoms to underlying causes in each prospect. This means we need to have great bedside manner and be able to question, listen, nurture, and have a healthy skepticism. Let your prospect know that you want there best interest and you want to help them out. Be transparent and make sure they know that you won’t lie to them throughout the sales process. Remember the pain funnel, which is the step process where you ask a few questions, listen, explore the surface pain, dig deeper, and get to the real why. All of these things will you lead you to the right path in making a sale.
BoweryJE22
This is such a good rule! I think everyone needs to be more aware of this fact, especially people in sales. The fact is most people aren’t really sure exactly what they are looking for until they start talking about it out loud. This is one of the reasons we need to be listening more than talking, because if we do not let the client talk, we end up missing vital information in regards to what they are looking for.
This is definitely a noteworthy topic. If you assume that prospects have accurately self-diagnosed their pain you will often be sorely disappointed. In general people are terrible at self-diagnosing their problems, thus the need for medical professionals and sales professionals.
I think that this is a great piece of advice and rule for salespeople to follow. I myself have been “guilty” of this as a buyer where I thought I needed one thing but I actually needed two other things. We as salespeople often have more knowledge or expertise in our specific product or service that we can use to help the client understand how to solve their problem in a more effective way, which can help both sides to make a beneficial sale. Thanks for sharing this article!
-Asher
This rule is definitely a helpful insight. It also highlights that we cannot assume things about our prospects. For example, a client asking why our prices are what they are may be concerned about paying too much or may be concerned about the quality of your product. We need to be careful to dig to the root problem.