The solution sales mindset

- I run an experiment when I work with sales professionals. They get to simulate a sales call with any product or service they choose and get five minutes to persuade someone else to buy what they're selling. We record the conversation and listen afterwards and the results are shockingly similar each time. The person selling, usually ends up spending a lot of time telling, lecturing, even preaching to the buyer about why they should do something. The ratio of talking sometimes measures as much as 24:1 in favor of the seller. Now, yes, it's an artificial simulation but it tells us something important about the way we think selling happens, and it's this. In order to persuade someone to buy from you, you've got to tell them anything and everything you can about how great your product or service is. And if you buy that mindset, people quickly associate you with the fast talking slick sales person they dislike, nobody in their right mind wants that. So let me share with you, the mindset that's required if you want to succeed in solution selling. And I say mindset on purpose because a mindset is the attitude or beliefs we have about something. And those attitudes and beliefs shape our behavior. The mindset you need is this, the solution sales process is about addressing your customer's goals, not your sales goals. Do a great job with the former, and the later will take care of itself over time. Now I'm not saying to ignore your goals but the point here is that the solution sales process is about what the customer wants to accomplish. And there are two elements to the mindset. First, it's your responsibility to gain a clear and complete understanding of your client's objectives. You can't provide a solution without clarity about what the client wants to achieve. You have to understand the circumstances facing your clients. And second, you must recognize you provide the value. Your company products and services may be great but they aren't solutions yet. They only become solutions when clients use them to improve their circumstances. That means you as the seller create value through the sales process by helping clients anticipate problems or identifying opportunities and providing solutions that they haven't already considered. That kind of value, goes beyond what's provided by your products and services. Listen, I live in Florida, air conditioning here is a must. And you know what? It's even more important when you live in 100 year old house that was built before insulation was invented. One time, I bought an air conditioning unit because I thought it was the one I needed, and the sales rep said it was good. The only problem, didn't really cool my house too well. About three years later, I spoke with another sales rep who understood the unique issues 100 year-old one and a half story house has staying cool in the summer. And you know what? I bought a totally different kind of system that included replacing all of our duct work and changing the location of the vents that control air flow. The second sales rep helped me to see problems I hadn't even thought of, and he gave me a solution I would have never found in a catalog. Selling is more than telling your clients about your products and services. You've got to shift your mindset and focus on what they want to accomplish, their real needs and then you'll provide real value.