Hello Reader,

If you want to be successful at winning business consistently, then you need to become an expert in 3 areas of sales.

• What you do - What actions do you take?
• How you do it - How do you take those actions?
• When you do it - When do you take the action?

All too often, lost opportunities and deals are a direct result of the wrong decision being taken at the wrong time. Or even sometimes the right decision being implemented in the wrong way.

Just like cooks always say, you can add more of something to a recipe but can’t take it out when done, so the same applies to sales.

You may continue to have a chance to ask the prospect for the business but if you ask or push for this at the wrong time then you may put the other person off and ruin that chance.

But knowing what to do and how to react and respond to situations is difficult. It was the subject of a question I had from Jen this last week.

Being able to react and respond to any sales situation you have is a genius skill to develop in sales. If you can be in a position to calmly deal with any situation or know when to respond when a prospect says or does something then you stand a higher chance of closing deals or moving them forward.

I often practice sales calls and situations with those I train and those in my Growth Resourcing team and they will query how I am able to respond and react when faced with challenging sales situations.

There are 6 key elements that I have built into my sales approach which allow me to think on my feet! Here they are are

Pausing

Pausing is massively underrated in sales. When posed with a difficult situation, I will very often give myself a count of 1,2,3,4 and 5 before I respond to a question or engage my mouth with a response. Not only does this allow me to think about previous situations but very often prospects will speak first which even saves me from having to talk! Don’t be afraid to pause to give yourself time to think.

Practice

It's boring I know to mention it but the way you get better is to practice. I have been able to handle different sales situations because I have practised them countless times. Then, when faced with a scenario where I need to think on my feet, I go back to the routines and roleplays where these responses were covered. Times when colleagues and friends gave me difficult questions to handle. I very often failed the first time I did it but after some practice, I got better which put me in the right position to think on my feet when it happened for real. If you don’t practice, you won’t get better. It’s simple.

Focusing on The Other Side

When tricky situations arise, the default for most sellers is to focus on themselves and what they want. They push for the next meeting because that’s what they want. They ask an intrusive question because that’s what they want to know. They push for the sale because that’s what they want. My default is to focus on the other side. What would I want if I was them? What would I feel uncomfortable with if I was them? My default is what is right for the buyer and not what is right for me and this allows me in situations to do the right thing not just the obvious thing. That can often mean going 2 steps back before going 3 steps forward. It may feel wrong at the time for you but if its right for the buyer then in time you will get your reward.

Use Ledge Phrases

Giving yourself some time to think is key in pressurised situations. Very often we just need to let our brains have 10-20 seconds to reprogram and so I will often use ledge phrases like ‘Tell me more about x or You mentioned x, talk me through this’. By using these open statements, it encourages the other person to speak whilst you can then recalculate what you want to do next. You can also exchange these phrases for a How or a What statement - What implications does that have for you or ‘How would that affect you’. I call them ‘ledge phrases’ because when a rock climber is climbing a rock face, they will look for a ledge to give them a breather before carrying on. These phrases work in the same way. They give you some time to think and look at the situation before deciding on the best way forward.

Return words used back to the other person

Mirroring is a brilliant technique to use to build trust with the other side. This shows that you actively listened to them and not only does it build trust but it also is a technique to use when you need to think on your feet. Writing down notes and words that the other person has used allows you to then return those words to them. You mentioned x or y, tell me more about this. This again gives you some time to rethink what you want to achieve in the call or meeting and gives you time to choose your next step.

Remember the Conversation Goal

When you are in sales situations, you always need to think back to the core goal you have within that meeting or call. Are you trying to book an appointment? Are you trying to book a demonstration? Are you trying to get terms agreed? Very often people forget about what you are trying to do which leads them to waffle and let the conversation drift. When presented with a challenging situation, always remind yourself of what the conversation goal is. That can allow you to reset and refocus.

Is it a natural skill for some to be able to think quickly and respond in a way that will keep the deal going? Yes it is sure. But can those who don’t possess that natural skill develop ways to handle the situation and the scenario at the time?
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For sure you can. Use these 6 ideas to help keep conversations going and keep doing the right thing in the right way at the right time and you will give yourself the best chance of taking your deal forward.

Wishing you all a brilliant week ahead.

Until next Saturday, keep smiling and stay focused on becoming a fly on the wall of the brain of your buyer.

James

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