The Sale Before the Sale …
I came to the realization there’s little point telling a sales story to someone who isn’t first sold on the importance of hearing it. Duh!
So I abandoned my rude habit of “dropping in” on people and immediately trying to sell my service. Instead, I began to sell something entirely different …
After introducing myself in a way that somehow included the main unique benefit my company had to offer, I immediately went on to admit I didn’t know if what we had to offer was right for my prospect or not. And I simply asked for an opportunity to explore their situation to see if it was. I went from “cold calling” to what Zig Ziglar calls “warm approaching” …
Sales resistance was considerably lessened…
I had a chance to figure out what my prospects really wanted. And in many cases, I was able to give it to them.