One of my
sales specialists, John, recently scheduled a visit with a new client who was
referred to our company to fix his inadequate home heating situation. John is a
very young, aggressive sales person who is still in the learning stage of his
sales career. (By the way, I think we
should always keep a foot in that “learning” stage no matter what level we are
in any career. When you’re learning,
you’re also growing. When you’re not
growing, you’re doing the opposite, which is dying.)
The client
wanted to do something extreme that involved abandoning the current “forced air-style”
heating system and installing a hot water baseboard system. In the heating industry this type of a
project can come with a hefty price tag. Prior to sending John off to meet with this
client, I coached him a bit.
“John”, I said, “You want to ask many
questions in the beginning. The most
important question to ask is, “Why?” I explained that the power of this question
can drastically affect the outcome of his visit. If John just quotes what they’ve asked for with
out asking why they want it, no
matter how professional and spectacular his presentation, many scenarios can
play out that can work against his sale.
Find out what happens with this sale and if John asks his client "why?". Click here to read full article.
