Could your sales process use a little more assertiveness?
A lack of assertiveness in sales often comes in the form of, well, not even asking for the sale in the first place!
This, of course, is not a good thing. I wonder the monetary value of all of the sales out there that never happened because the rep, in that key moment, decided not to ask for the very thing he or she was in the room for!
I bet that number would be astronomical.
While asking for the sale is a step in the right direction, there’s often room to be a little more assertive than just that.
I had a client who once, after a long sales presentation, had a prospect say “Why should I buy from you? I’ve been with the same supplier for over 20 years.”
My client could’ve folded and said “You’re right, sorry for wasting your time.” But, instead replied back with “After all this value I’ve shown you, how can you not buy from me?” Then, they stayed silent.
Their prospect purchased from them later that day.
I had another client who was told no after showing a tremendous amount of savings to their prospect. My client responded saying “I suppose you’re OK with leaving over $80,000 in savings on the table then?”
The prospect paused, and said “You know what? Let’s move forward.”
Are both of these responses assertive, maybe even a little bit cheeky? Sure. But, they got the job done without being rude or insulting.
Sometimes, salespeople don’t need yet another methodology, strategy, idea, or productivity hack, but rather require just a little more confidence and assertiveness in their process to help achieve better results.
Assertiveness could be the secret, yet simple, key your team needs to drive greater sales success!
