This story started out badly but ended well. What happened in between contains a lesson for anyone in sales.
No! I’m Not Going!
A friend called 911 when her husband, who was home recuperating from knee surgery, fell and could not get up from the floor. The EMT folks came within ten minutes, examined his vitals, and, in spite of their suggestion that he go to the hospital and his wife’s preference that he should follow their advice, being an ornery type, he refused to go.
How the EMT ultimately got him to agree to go to the hospital was a lesson
in masterful salesmanship.
What They Didn’t Do…
- They didn’t tell him why he should go (the equivalent in sales of rehashing all the benefits of working with you or buying your product– a response that only falls on deaf ears when someone’s mind is already made up).
- They didn’t argue with him (the equivalent of handling an objection by making your buyer wrong–which only causes a buyer to dig in his heels further).
What They Did Do…
They questioned him into seeing and accepting an alternative choice. It went something like this…
- (Empathy) Sir, I understand why you prefer to stay at home. No one loves to go to a hospital.
- (Questions) Do you realize that your fall may be due to a clot, which only the hospital can detect? Or, that you may have fainted which can have many causes that, again, only the hospital can determine? Or, that if either of these is true, or the fall was due to something else and you leave it unchecked, it could be very serious, even fatal?
Her husband paused and then said, “Let’s go to the hospital.”
(Happy ending. He is now recovering safely in the hospital. )
Sell Like an EMT
When a prospect raises an objection or displays resistance, it is so tempting to try to persuade him otherwise either by reflexively piling on all the reasons why he should buy or by openly disagreeing (Well, I think…). Both reactions create a pressured adversarial relationship and alienate the buyer. Most important, neither response helps the buyer own a different way of seeing the situation.
However, responding with smart questions opens up doubts or fresh ways of looking at a situation which then allows prospects to come to their own unforced conclusions. This approach, used by the EMT folks, is more likely to lead to a happy ending for all concerned in both business and non-business relationships.
What common concerns or objections do you regularly encounter from prospects? What thoughtful, smart questions can you ask to help your prospects overcome these concerns in such a way that they come to own the decision to work with you?
Anne Miller
Words Matter – Make What You Say Pay!
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