Each day that passes, we’re getting closer to “Yes”. Are you excited? Great! Let’s move on to Step 2 in the Getting to “Yes” series: understanding how your prospects make decisions.
Yesterday we discussed the first three questions of the NEADS analysis: what does the prospect do Now, what do they Enjoy about what they do now, and What would they like to Alter or change about what they do now? That brings us to the D in NEADS, and the spot where I modify this Tom Hopkins piece a bit.
Tom suggests that the D stands for Decision maker, as in make sure at this point that you’re talking to a person who can actually sign on the dotted line when the time for conversion comes. I disagree for two reasons: first, this is a little late in the process to be finding out if you’re talking to the right person; you really should be trying to take care of that while you’re in Getting to “No” mode.
The second, more important reason is simply my belief that the only way you’re ever going to know whether the person you’re talking to is the decision maker is to ask them to make a decision. It’s true: we’ve all had the experience of asking the right question (“So if we’re fortunate enough today to find a solution that fits your needs, who else will be involved in making the final decision?”), getting the right answer (“Oh, no one else will be involved…this is my decision to make!”) and still hearing at the conclusion of the meeting, “Everything looks great! I just need to get my supervisor’s approval so we can move forward.”
My suggestion is to stop worrying so much about whether you’ve got the decision maker and start paying attention to how the prospect makes decisions. That’s why I think that the D in NEADS really stands, not for “Decision maker” but for “Decision-making modality”.
Essentially, a prospect’s (or any other person’s) decision-making modality is the way they receive and process information before making a decision. There are four modalities: thinking, feeling, knowing and sensing. All of us use all four modalities, but there is usually one that dominates the way we decide on a course of action. As Jeremy Marchant and Kay McMahon of Emotional Intelligence At Work put it (in their article “We Make All Our Decisions Based On Feelings“):
“In the processing that goes towards decision making, thinkers use data: facts and figures; they analyse and deduce. Feelers consider their emotions, and there is a sense of ‘feeling their way’. Knowers are the intuitive ones: they may not actually know how they made the decision, but they are sure it’s right (incidentally this certainty of being right doesn’t actually make them more right than anyone else!). And sensers will use the input from their senses to inform them.”They make the distinctions between the four modalities abundantly clear (better than I could) by relating what it would be like to have dinner at a restaurant with one of each of the types:
“Consider you’re in a restaurant with a group of people. The thinkers will have to read every page of the menu, check out the prices of all the dishes, check they can afford their choice, check they’re not allergic to lemongrass—it’s all analytical and can take some time in your average Chinese restaurant. The feelers will be asking themselves ‘what do I feel like today?’, they will be recalling how much they enjoyed similar dishes on previous occasions—this can take quite a lot of time, too. The knowers probably knew before they got to the restaurant what they wanted and see no reason to look at the menu. The thinkers and feelers drive them mad and their best tactic is to slope off to the bar for ten minutes. The sensers will be most swayed by seeing what’s on offer, or better still having a taste.”Got it? Good. If you can remember these differences the next time you’re talking to a prospect, you’ll have the inside track on getting a “Yes” because you’ll be able to present your solution in a way that appeals to the prospect’s decision making modality. But how can you tell which prospects use which modalities? Following the logic above, you might take them out for lunch; if that’s not possible, have a look around their office and really pay attention to the way they speak.
See lots of piles of papers in neat stacks with tons of data on them? You’ve probably got a thinker; bring lots of charts and graphs to support your presentation. She keeps talking about how she’d like to “cut to the chase” and “get down to brass tacks”? Likely a knower; make your presentation quick and impactful, using bullet points instead of paragraphs. Keeps getting misty-eyed when he’s talking about how happy he was the day he bought his first home? Sounds like a feeler; tell lots of stories during your presentation. Wants to see the pictures in the brochure or asks to touch a sample? Definitely a senser; a multi-media presentation would make his day.
If you can tune in to the decision-making modality of the prospect and design a presentation that speaks to that modality, you’re well on your way to getting the coveted “Yes”. Now all that remains to be done is to finish up the NEADS analysis by creating and presenting a Solution ( the S in NEADS) that exactly fits the prospects situation.
And of course, we’ll be talking about exactly how to do that tomorrow.
Getting to “Yes” In Sales Part 2: Find Out How They Make Decisions | The Motivation 101 Blog…
Before you can make an effective sales presentation, you need to know how your prospect makes decisions. How can you find out? Pay attention!…
Great advice for anyone in any business tasked with gaining approval from decision makers. I’ve always coached both myself and my reports to “know your audience” before any conversation or presentation and love the 4 modalities concept you present above. Thank you!
Thanks Kristi! I love this concept too. The first time I read about it, there was a shift in the way my conversations with others went. So nice when you understand how to communicate with others in a way that is easy for them to process!