Natural Law No. 2: “How to Achieve Successful Communications in Sales”
In Natural Law No. 1, we learned that what makes or breaks a sale is the level of communication established by the salesperson with the prospect. In Natural Law No. 2, we will discuss how to achieve successful communications in sales.
Excellent communication with a sales prospect is created by:
- The demonstration of sincere interest
- Answering their questions – right away or afterwards
- Always telling the truth
- Never confusing them with jargon
- Never leaving them in a mystery
With the critical importance of communication with a sales prospect now well established (i.e., that it makes or breaks the sale), the question is, “How does one do that?”.
Demonstration of sincere interest
Firstly the salesperson must connect with the prospect – for real. And the easiest way to do that is by demonstrating sincere interest. You demonstrate sincere interest by asking questions about the prospect’s business, their interests, personal life, and then being genuinely interested in their answers.
Answering their questions
When a prospect asks a question – any question – the right thing to do is to answer it. But what if you do not know the answer? OK, here is what you do:
- Tell the prospect that you understand the question but do not know the answer
- Write their question down and tell them that you will get it answered
- Ask if they need the answer right now or if you can call them back later on
- If they need it now, stop what you are doing and get the answer
- If they can wait, set a time when you will call with the answer and then do that
Once you have answered the question or arranged a time to get back to them with the answer it is alright to continue.
Always tell the truth
The next point is a simple one – always telling the truth. It can become tempting at times to exaggerate or invent something when trying to close a sale, but the fact is that this will always come back to bite you. So don’t do it. Just stick to the facts and the honest state of things.
Never confuse them with jargon
In terms of using jargon, not well known nomenclature, or technical terms, there is no better way to confuse a prospect and ruin a potential sale. Sometimes salespeople do this to “show off” and to prove how much they know. Well that may make a salesperson feel good but it will have the completely opposite effect on your prospect. In fact, doing such may eventually lead them to wanting to end the discussion altogether.
If you have to use such terms then make sure to ask the prospect if they know what that term means. Be sure to also let them know that it is perfectly understandable that they might not already know its meaning. Then, if it is new to them, define it clearly making certain that they understand it perfectly. You will be amazed at the benefits that can be achieved by avoiding technical terms and defining them well when avoidance is not an option.
Never leave them in mystery
And last but not least – never leave a prospect in a mystery about anything. Since you had a meeting your responsibility was to enlighten the prospect, not to leave them wondering. So if they seem confused at any point, or bewildered, dig in, find out what it is, and handle it. Your prospects will appreciate it!
