Occasionally in a meeting, or even after a meeting, we have a thought of “I should ask this question…”. That question, is often the one that we might be fearful to ask, but is the tipping point that could turn the conversation in your favor.
For those reading this that are familiar with the Sandler Pain Funnel, this behavior usually shows up toward the bottom of the Pain Funnel, where we get the personal impact of the pain. We don’t feel comfortable asking some version of “how does that make you feel?” when referring the pain issue being discussed. We must remember the Sandler Rule – “people buy for their reasons, not ours” at this moment. There may be plenty of surface level and business impact pain, but if the personal impact isn’t known, it can certainly be detrimental to your ability to make the sale.
Why don’t we feel comfortable asking the personal impact level pain questions? Lack of rapport? We may not feel like we know someone well enough to ask? Lack of an up front contract letting them know we need to discuss these points to truly find if we can help? It could be we don’t know what do if someone was to push back or answer like we weren’t expecting. That is where preparation and thinking out the possible scenarios of how the meeting plays out prior to, can set you up for success.
An action plan to improve this area starts with preparation. Using a Pre-Call Planner tool, like the one in Sandler Enterprise Selling, can guide you to write down your words of how you would like to ask the personal impact pain questions. Then think through how the prospect could answer, two to three different ways. Then what is your response AND your next question? Always ask the next question, it will get you the answers you want or put you in a better place in the sales meeting.
