Getting to "Yes" In Sales Part 3: Present the Perfect Solution

Alright: it’s time to get creative! So far in the NEADS analysis, you’ve been gatering information: asking questions about the prospect’s current solution and observing their behavior to get a feel for their decision-making modality. With all this information at your disposal (hopefully you’ve taken a lot of notes!), it’s time to enter the final phase of the NEADS process: the S, which stands for Solution.

WARNING: this does not mean it’s now time to pitch your pre-packaged, canned, one-size-fits-all, “pretty-good” solution. No, my friend; remember, you’re trying to get a “Yes”, and one sure-fire way to miss that mark is to hit your prospect with a canned pitch!

I’m constantly amazed at the salespeople I encounter who don’t get this. They listen politely while you talk about what you’re looking for, nodding their heads as if they understand and agree, then tell you why what you’re looking for isn’t really what you want, but they’d like to show you their featured product which is so much better for your situation. No thanks. When I encounter a salesperson like that, I say “Good day to you!” and go in search of a HERO instead.

What causes a salesperson to behave like this? Mental laziness! They’ve taken the time to learn just enough about their product to be able to regurgitate the company’s sales brochure. They aren’t really listening when they’re nodding their pointy-little heads, either; they’re thinking of what they’re going to say to “overcome your objections” and waiting for an opportunity to butt-in and start pitching you. It’s maddening!

You can set yourself apart from these cro-magnon sales brutes by doing one simple thing: give your prospects what they ask for! By taking all the information you’ve gathered so far and putting your mind to work to come up with an offering that exactly fits your prospect’s needs, you’re immediately in a better relationship with the prospect. Trust me: the majority of your competitiors are not doing this. In fact, you may be the first salesperson this prospect has ever encountered who presented him with a solution tailored to his needs instead of trying to cram him into a pre-packaged product.

But what if you don’t have a solution that exactly fits the prospects needs? You have two choices: you can either get creative and come up with one or you can be honest, tell the prospect “We don’t have what you’re looking for”, and refer him to someone who does. Those are really you’re only two legitimate choices; if you manipulate the prospect into settling for a solution that doesn’t exactly fit his needs, you’ll damage your relationship permanently. You’ll lose trust. You’ll be dealing with buyers remorse, and possibly a cancelled sale.

Don’t be afraid to be creative. Just because your company might not currently offer an exact solution, talk to others and see if you can come up with a way to do it. Don’t walk away from the deal just because you don’t feel like thinking! After all, you have all the information you need: you know what they’re doing now, what the Enjoy about it, what they’d like to Alter and how they’ll be processing the information you present to make their final decision. If you and your team can’t come up with a perfect solution that exactly fits your prospect’s needs, maybe sales isn’t the right career for you.

Sales isn’t about pitching product; it’s about solving problems. Again, that’s why you get paid the big bucks! If you’ll take the time to create a perfect solution for your prospect, “Yes” is just around the corner. All that remains to be done is present your solution and convert the prospect into a client (AKA “close the deal”). That’ll be the topic of tomorrow’s post, the 4th step in Getting to “Yes”. Until then, happy selling!

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And for those of you who just can’t live without it, here’s the take-away from American Idol this week: don’t be forgettable! When you have an opportunity to be in front of prospects, make it a memorable experience for them. Instead of the same pitch-fest they’ve heard from every other salesperson they’ve ever seen, be different. Engage them in a conversation. Listen to what they have to say. Be more concerned about helping them solve a problem than in making a commission. If you can get them to remember you in a positive way, your job is halfway done.

And as for this week’s predictions, I say it’s time for Jermaine, Tim, Haeley and Didi to be “Leaving On A Jet Plane”. We’ll see if I do any better this week.