When I found this cartoon on www.glasbergen.com. It made me smile and wish I really could train my customers how to buy from us. Life would be so much easier if they would come to the sales conversation with:
- Specific definitions of what they want
- Realistic expectations of how long it will take
- An appropriate budget to cover the cost of the project
But after 18 months in the Sandler Trustpoint program with Matt Nettleton, I am pretty sure that is not going to happen. So instead I continue to work on my sales skills. I have learned that The problem the customer brings is never the real problem. So an organized approach to the sales process which includes specific questions and a willingness to simply ask why is required to uncover the real issues. This is hard for me, because I am teacher and want to demonstrate my expertise, and jump to the solution, but I am working on it.
What issues are holding you back from being a better sales person?