Imagine you want to redo your bathroom. The first thing you start to ask yourself is “do I have the time to redo my bathroom or should I hire someone else?" Then, you consider the cost of hiring a contractor and a plumber. Are you able to make that investment? Finally, you begin to weigh the options. Will the investment in the new bathroom increase the value of your house? Will the bathroom increase your happiness? Is it worth the thousands of dollars you will spend?
This is what a prospect is thinking when a sales professional steps into their office to sell a product or service. The prospect is comparing their needs and wants with the price of the service being offered.
But, how can your sales team address these questions and ultimately close the deal? By focusing on three areas when discussing budget with a prospect, your sales team and their prospects can effectively reach a mutual understanding of expectations.
- Change- When addressing change explaining what your business can offer that the competitors cannot and discuss how willing is the prospect is to make the change necessary to implement the new product and work with your company. If your prospect`s broker is his bother- in-law, he is most likely not going to hire someone outside the family. By searching for the intent of a prospect before spending valuable time trying to sell your company`s product, your sales professional can determine the chances the prospect will purchase.
- Time- The first step in making change happen is finding the willingness of the prospect to invest time and effort to the new product or service. It is necessary that the prospect knows the investment and commitment involve needed before purchasing your product. If the prospect is unable to make the time commitment, your product might not be the right fit. Or if the prospect is unwilling or unable to make a change, the sales professional should not attempt to continue their efforts.
- Cost- During the discussion on cost, the sales professional needs to determine the prospect`s value on the product or service being offered. A great way to discover the prospects willingness to pay is by asking what they expect to pay for the product or service. If a prospect is not willing to give an estimated budget, having the prospect say or guess what they believe is the value or cost can also be a good indictor. By finding a prospects budget, the right price and product fit for the prospect can be found.
By narrowing the area of uncertainty and finding these three areas of interest, change, time, and cost, your sales team will find the right product and budget for your prospects, before starting a sales presentation. Thus, leading to a more targeted approach for the exact needs and means of the prospect, with a higher return on your team`s time investment.
|
|
