I read a great quote from Picasso (yes, the famous painter) the other day, and it really resonated with my sales philosophy. Here it is:
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
You’re probably wondering what that has to do with sales, and it’s simple: Most sales reps' instincts are to adlib when they get an objection or when they get into a sales situation that isn’t going their way.
The problem with this is they haven’t first learned the rules of proper objection handling – like questioning an objection first, or isolating an objection, etc. – so instead they just wing it. And if you are doing this now, then you know how that turns out.
For years, I’ve been preaching, teaching, and training sales teams to put in the time and effort to learn the proper sales techniques first, and then after they understand and have mastered the fundamentals, then they can “adapt” them to each particular prospect or situation.
Here is a quick example:
A common objection in sales is the, “I have to show this to my (boss, manager, partner, etc.).” How does your sales team handle this?
The “rule” a pro follows is to isolate this objection to make sure it isn’t a smokescreen hiding other objections like, “It’s too much money,” or “I can get a better deal elsewhere,” etc.
Because pros know the rule above, they can then “break it like an artist,” by adapting their rebuttal to each prospect. This can include:
“I understand, just out of curiosity, what is your take on this now?”
OR
“I’m with you, let me ask you this, though: If your partner says ‘do whatever you think is best’, what would you tend to do?”
OR
“If your partner could go either way, which way are you leaning now?”
OR
“That’s fine and we talked about this earlier. But given what we’ve just gone over, what is your opinion on this?”
OR
“And if your partner asked you what you thought he should do, what would your answer be?”
This is the “art” of handling objections. Unfortunately, most sales reps and sales teams have never been taught the rules or fundamentals of proper selling, so they adlib, lose sales, and get discouraged. And your company misses its revenue numbers.
It’s also the reason my business grows each year.
The solution to this is to invest the time, money, and effort to learn and master core inside sales techniques.
One easy and fast way to do this is to check out a brand new video training course called, “Essential Cold Calling Skills for Confidence and Success,” I created for Viddler Online Sales Acadamy.
This course is made up of five video modules (about 5 minutes each), and each module teaches an essential prospecting skill which builds on the one before it.
Each module also comes with specific, scripted sales materials you can download to help you, and your inside sales team, master the essential cold calling skills they need for success.
So if you are ready to master the rules so you can work like an artist and attain top sales performance, then start here .
Remember, each and every investment you make in your sales team, pays for itself each and every month.