Andrew Didonato: The 4 Second Phrase in Sales
Andrew Didonato graciously gave up some of his time in the coaching office to enlighten us on some of his sales techniques that he used when he was in medical sales. He stressed a number of issues within the sales industry, but gave us some tips to focus our attention to when in a sales siuation. The infamous 4 second phrase Coach Didonato referred to was “Features Tell, Benefits Sell.” When selling, no one cares about what you have to say unless it direcly impacts them. So, each sales opportunity is going to be different based on the individual you are selling to. Along with the 4 second phrase, Coach Didonato offered up 5 essential principles to follow during the sales process.
1. The person you think is the decision maker usually isn’t.
In the sales process, it is extremely important to recognize that every single person matters. For instance, doctors will prescribe what the patients need, but the person behind the front desk decides the providers. This is important to keep in mind so that you don’t pass up a sales opportunity.
2. It takes $ to get $.
In any situation, it will take money to get money. This is more of a general idea that there will have to be a little give on both sides. Don’t push your client into buying, but don’t allow them to push you over as well. Focus on the end goal of closing the deal with a perspective of knowing it might just not happen.
3. Ask quality questions.
Ask the quality questions when needed. More importantly, ask open-ended questions so that you are able to get the client talking about what they truly need in want. The goal is to find the pain of the client and meet it with the services or products you may offer.
4. The best sales people are the best listeners.
They are they best listeners because the give the client an opportunity to talk. If they have that opportunity to talk, the sales person will be able to figure out what they need and cater their words to meet the needs of the customer to the best of their ability.
5. Have an abilit to DIG DEEPER.
Give them open ended questions at first, but then move into probing questions to find the exact solution that they may be looking for. Don’t be afraid to ask if what you have to offer is something they are looking for.
Coach Didonato truly impacted the way that I began to think about sales. As a football coach at Grove City College, he continues to sell today, just to a different audience.
BoweryJE22
Having him in class was really cool for me since i have only gotten to see the football side of him. These 4 phrases are definitely things that i will take with me throughout my career.
Great Post. 4-second phrases are vital and have a lot of meaning outside of the phrases itself. John Wooden is the coach famous for this and Steve Jobs is also known for saying “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” if you are able to master the 4-second phrase you will not be only a more effective communicator but people will want to listen more often.
These lessons are so great, because they’re so easy to remember, yet so applicable. They also show how effective his four second phrase lesson is. It was very interesting, too, to see how skills that he learned in the medical supply area transferred to his role as football coach, now. Definitely one of the most beneficial lectures from a guest speaker that I’ve ever heard.
I really enjoyed his lecture, and he gave us a lot of great knowledge from his years of experience selling and trial and error. He is a testament of honing your skills through learning from your experiences. Going from listing all of the features of his product to what he knows now is remarkable.