A major reason that prospects do not buy is because they do not fully understand what you are selling and how they can use and benefit from it…. Brian Tracy
Friends have you come across a situation when you delivered the presentation of your product to your prospect thinking that he already knows enough about your product. You were confident that the prospect has understood enough as to how he will be able to use the product to his advantage. But customer still did not give the order. Were you left wondering that despite understanding the personalized benefits of your product why did the prospect still not buy?
Many salespeople commit this mistake. They assume that the customer knows about their product and they just give a superficial overview about the product features and benefits and then they expect that the prospect must handover the cheque to them, but to their disappointment, this does not happen!
My name is Rakesh Sharma and I support the business owners and salespeople to grow their business and maximize their profits.
Today I am going to share with you the Ultimate Selling Strategy- Customer Education. But before I begin, I recommend that you to keep your notepad and pen ready to make some notes. This will help you understand better and chalk out how you can use the knowledge I am about to share for your best outcomes.
The champion sales people always explain their product to the prospect in very careful detail. For this they act as a teacher, teaching a new subject to a new student. They get very good sales results with this approach. I am going to explain you how ‘Customer Education’ is ultimate Sales Strategy which can get you tons of orders. I recommend you to position yourself as a teacher in the sales process.
In the educational selling strategy, you take a low pressure or no pressure approach. You do not try to influence your prospect and sell your product by the pressure tactics. You do not manipulate. You also do no misrepresent the facts. Rather you follow the approach of Influencing by Education for this purpose you ask some important questions. As per famous sales Guru Brian Tracy “the champion salespeople use the approach of “Show, Tell and Ask”. Let us understand what does this strategy of show tell and ask really means-
1. Show your prospect: In this step you show the presentation of your product to your prospect, explain, and demonstrate how the product works to achieve the particular result or benefit. But an expert salesperson ensures that he/she involves their prospect into educational conversation. They do not keep showing / explaining the product features from end to end as sales pitch rather they use the conversational mode for demonstrating the products. In the conversational approach they make their points by showing the product practically, their pictures, brochures, samples. They use facts and figures calculations and other methods to prove their points. Showing is a very helpful educational strategy and helps the prospect get the point you want to convey, and appreciate your product/ service.
2. Tell your Prospect: the champion salespeople tell their prospect how the features of their product are going to give them the specific benefits which the prospect is looking for. For this purpose, they use the success stories, statistical data research results and anecdotes. They also use a lot of testimonials from their satisfied customers. In the telling phase, champion salespeople build the case so that the prospect gets convinced that the product is the best fit for them.
3. Ask your Prospect: In this phase the salespeople ask the questions and pause for prospect’s answers. They invite them for their feedback on what has been presented to them and what has been told to them during the previous two stages. They keep the prospect involved in conversation. They keep seeking their comments time to time. On contrary the poor salespeople just keep talking without giving prospect an opportunity to ask questions or raise their objections. The champion sales people also ask lots of questions from the prospect. These questions are asked to confirm that they are able to convince the prospect on the features and product. If you keep asking question from the prospect during the conversation then you not only check their understanding but also by involving them in conversation you keep their interest alive in conversation and you win their confidence. You also get the opportunity to listen to their views.
When you use Show, Tell and Ask approach, you position yourself as an educator rather than a pushy salesperson. As an educator your ‘lesson plan’ consists of teaching the customer how he can best use your product or service and benefit from it in his life and work.
You can build tremendous perceived value by teaching the prospect all the features of your product and related benefits. You can educate the prospect about the different ways he can use your product or service to get even greater results. The more confident you become in Show tell and ask approach, better you will be able to convince your prospect. Your chances of hitting your sales targets month after month shall become higher and higher.
Friends my mission is to support more than 1 lakh business owners and salespeople in coming 3 years by providing them quality business growth tools so that they can grow their business. You can also become a part of this campaign by circulating this article to all your business friends.
Next time you are meeting a new prospect do not assume that he knows your product. It is always better to be safe and act as a teacher and give all the details to your prospect by using the Show, Tell and Ask approach. Use the ultimate selling strategy – the customer education.
Thank you very much, Happy Selling!
