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PAIN! Why you can't sell anything to anyone unless they have pain.
Anyone remember David Sandler? Not Zig Ziglar, not Tony Robbins, and definitely not Tom Hopkins. I’m not talking about those famous sales trainers. I’m talking about the best sales trainer that ever lived- David Sandler.
Google him. Or here’s my take on one of the best things I ever learned from him: You can’t sell anything to anyone unless they have pain. And, if they have no pain, you have no business doing business with them.
Buying is an emotional process. I don’t care how pragmatic the buyer is… There is still emotion involved.
“What will my boss think of my decision?”
“Am I making the right decision?”
“Did I cover all the bases?
It’s the salesperson’s job to uncover their pain. And you simply can’t sell to someone if they have none or are unwilling to let you help.
Sure, you can bid on stuff if they won’t allow you to learn their pain. But that’s the “quote n’ hope” strategy. That’s not selling!
Professional selling means you must act like a doctor or detective.
Be confident knowing that you have a great product or service that solves people’s problems. If you don’t, then quit (FAST!) and find a product or service that actually delivers value to humanity.
Then, after building rapport, you’ve got to start asking questions. Doctors do it. And people answer them- honestly. Detectives do it too. Remember Columbo? He’d ask the questions with softening statements…. always scratching his head saying, “I know you’ve been through a lot, and I realize I may be bothering you, and you’re such a nice person so… can I ask just one more dumb question please sir?”
Questions uncover pain.
If your prospect won’t answer the questions, ask them again in a slightly different fashion. But stick to your guns and remember- you can’t sell anything to anyone unless you uncover their pain. Because once you do, then you can finally align your product or service in a way that puts an end to their pain. That’s how you become a hero. And that’s how you sell!
By uncovering their pain and presenting a solution that fixes their problem, you close deals. Or, I should probably say… deals will close themselves.
Check out the interview I mentioned above at SellingPower:
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Feeling like your job is getting harder because donor expectations have changed and competition for the charitable dollar is growing?
Finding that the old orthodoxies and conventions espoused by so-called experts in online echo-chambers and at conferences don’t work anymore?
Want to help more people make impact by facilitating their acts of philanthropy but feel like too many obstacles keep getting in your way?
Then this book is for you.
Engagement Fundraising was developed from the perspective of a donor who discovered firsthand that the impersonal, spray-and-pray approaches of his beloved charity were not only offensive but also wasteful and ineffective. So he took action. And now, you can too.
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[…] Include benefit statements that focus on relieving pain. Let’s not forget pain. Remember, you can’t sell anything to anyone who doesn’t have pain. So be sure to focus like a laser on the most frequent pain-point your prospects experience. Then […]
[…] Include benefit statements that focus on relieving pain. Let’s not forget pain. Remember, you can’t sell anything to anyone who doesn’t have pain. So be sure to focus like a laser on the most frequent pain-point your prospects experience. Then […]