It’s the end of the month, and you need 5 more sales. What do you do?
When I was managing a sales team, I was guilty of asking my sales person “what will it take to get your prospect to buy?” Are you?
I think almost all sales leaders are. And there ARE times when it’s a necessary strategy.
But it’s NOT A SUSTAINABLE strategy.
Does this sound familiar?
It’s the end of the month and we need 5 more sales to hit our month goal of 15. We only have 3 days left in the month. We start to panic.
So we call one of our sales people and review their “A- and B+” prospects and ask “what will it take” to get The Tuckers to purchase this month? And we do this with everyone on the team.
And then, one of two things happens:
a. The sales person calls the Tuckers and says “we need one more sale to hit our goal for this month, so what will it take to help you to make a decision to move forward this month?” And the prospect comes back with ….how about free hardwood floors?
OR
b. The sales person responds to you…I think I can get them if we throw in an additional $2500 in closing costs.
And we toss and turn but we give the discount and get the sale. Bravo!
But let’s face it.
We’ve lost the opportunity to begin the customer journey with a delightful customer experience.
And we’ve lost profitability.
Okay, so sometimes we’re up against the wall and this is a necessary strategy. But, this should only be a temporary strategy; this process does not offer a long term solution and should not be our regular MO.
What can we do differently?
When coaching our team during our 1:1 prospect reviews, we have to guide the sales people to ask better discovery questions and probe early and often to learn not just what the customer wants, but WHY they want it.
In so many 1:1 coaching calls, I still find sales people who don’t know enough about their prospects.
Rock Star sales people know the more they uncover the prospect’s needs and wants and the better they understand why it’s important to satisfy those needs and wants, it’s easier to move the prospect through the process.
Why? Because they now understand HOW their product/community/location/pricing/features/terms will HELP them and IMPACT their life and they can present their products in a far more compelling fashion.
When we truly understand the emotional triggers that will motivate the prospect to move forward, we don’t need incentives. We just need to do our jobs.
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For more guidance on coaching your sales team and developing the systems to create rockstars,
Kathy Tucker Coaching & Consulting is a boutique sales and leadership training company specializing in helping builders and real estate companies develop top producing sales teams and brilliant sales leaders who foster a healthy, high-performance sales culture.
After over 25 years leading top-producing sales teams with the nation’s leading homebuilders, Kathy saw many sales leaders being under-trained or burning out, or wanting to get to the next level of their career but not knowing how to do it. So she started her coaching business to help sales managers learn the systems and skills to take their performance to the next level and THRIVE in the role of the sales leader.
Kathy offers:
Virtual Sales Training Workshops, 1:1 Coaching for Sales Professionals and Sales Leaders, and her Signature Leadership Program: 9 Steps to Leading a Rock Star Sales Team.
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