Creating Perception That Exceeds Reality
When your prospect asks you why your company is better than the competition, you should not have to hesitate before you begin listing several exciting benefits of your company. The professional salesperson can list all the features of his/her product and can communicate them with excitement.
Secondly, get excited. Enthusiasm sells. Your prospect will never be more excited about your product than you are. An enthusiastic salesperson usually displays confidence and professionalism. I am not talking about being obnoxious; conduct yourself with controlled confidence and excitement. Remember, enthusiastic people get things done. In a competitive situation, the salesperson who is the most knowledgeable and excited usually wins over the duller, more boring competition. In most selling situations it is all about relationships. People buy from individuals, not companies.
Know to Ask for the Order When…
Get the prospect involved. The sales process is not a spectator sport. It requires involvement not only from the sales professional but also from the prospect. Never put yourself in a position where you are just dumping loads of information on your prospect thinking they are engaged and interested. To successfully drive up the perceived value greater than the actual cost, the prospect needs to be an active participant.
One method is to have your prospect actually visualize using your product by painting pictures with words throughout your presentation. Put them in a position of ownership. As you describe your features and benefits, your communication is extremely important. Using the right words can be very useful. Telling your prospect that this product is going to be perfect for him/her makes it sound hard to resist.
When describing your company, do it in a way that allows them to know that choosing your company is the only reasonable choice. Your company must be perceived as the very best. Your product must be perceived as the total solution for their needs. By the time you ask for the order they should be expecting to pay a much higher price than you are asking.
When you finally ask for the order they should be surprised at how affordable your fabulous product is. You should be hearing words like, “wow” or “that’s not too bad” or “that’s less than I expected.” Congratulations, you have now done it. You have driven up the perceived value so high that the actual cost seems exceptionally reasonable.
The concluding sales fundamental to remember here is: Never ask for the order until you are sure you have driven up the perceived value to be greater than the cost.
Russ Ackerman is Director of Sales and Training for Certified Security Systems, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based systems integrator. He can be contacted at (888) 521-8891 or [email protected] .
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