If you’re missing sales, it might be because you’re missing the key issues in the sale.
Recently, I spent part of a Saturday judging a high school debate tournament. Those of you who know me, know that I debated in high school and college. I enjoy going back and judging; it’s a way for me to give something back to an activity that gave me so much and continues to influence my life and career. And of course, while judging, I was inspired to write a sales article – great how that works, isn’t it?
In a debate round, many arguments and issues are presented, but ultimately, the judge usually casts a ballot based on a handful of those issues. In the best round I saw, I went back and counted. The Affirmative presented 42 different arguments; the Negative presented 48. I based my decision on one. How is that possible? Simple – in a debate round, the arguments begin very comprehensively and then funnel down to a handful. Is it starting to sound like selling yet? If not, you’re probably missing a lot of sales. Let’s talk about how to get to the main buying issues.
There’s a big difference between selling and debate, and that’s the role that the Judge plays. In debate, the Judge awards the round. Teams are not allowed to question or converse with the Judge during the round other than the speeches; in other words, a debater isn’t allowed to ask, “Does that argument make sense, Judge?” In sales, the Judge and the Customer are one and the same, and your ability to question and converse with the Judge are primary to winning the business.
One similarity between selling and debate is that, no matter how many issues are presented in the sale, one or two ultimately become the Primary Buying Issue (PBI for short through the rest of this article). One common trait to both great debaters and great salespeople is their ability to find the PBI (or Primary Voting Issue in the debate) and to highlight it in such a way that they win the sale, or the debate. If you’d like to be one of them, here’s how to spot and sell to the PBI.
Begin comprehensively. This means questions; lots and lots of questions. Too many salespeople start out with a handful of questions and then move directly to the Brochure Barf; i.e. a long list of features and benefits to attempt to win the sale. Instead, focus on questioning comprehensively; the more of the buyer’s issues and needs you hear, the more likely it is that the PBI is among them. Many sales are lost because the salesperson never even hears the buyer’s PBI.
Start narrowing. Hopefully you’re a good note-taker; now it’s time to start narrowing the conversation by asking questions about impacts (the effect of the buying issues) and the priorities (what’s more important). Questions like “How does this affect the end-user?” “How does this affect you?” “Of these issues, what’s most important to you (or the ownership, or the users, etc.)?”
Solve for the PBI – or leave. Once you know what the PBI is, you need to measure your solution against it. Can you, in fact, fix the customer’s problem? If you can’t, it’s probably time to find a new customer. Doing otherwise pushes a rope uphill, and that’s never successful.
Understand the buying process. In a debate, it’s simple; you can see all the judges and you know the criteria. In a sale, it’s vital that you know who will be making the decision, how, when, and who will influence the decision. How do you know that? By asking. A question like, “What is your decision making process for this purchase?” can work wonders. The more of the stakeholders you can communicate with directly, the better.
Sell to the PBI. Once you know what the PBI is, and to whom you need to sell it, now you need to pound your solution to the PBI until there is no room for doubt about your ability to solve their main problem. You also need to be aware that different stakeholders might have different PBI’s, and you need all of them to know the solution to each group’s PBI.
Give the Pluses. Now that you’ve solved for the PBI, you probably have other reasons (benefits) why your customer should buy. Don’t neglect presenting these; customers love bonuses.
Too many sales are lost because you’re not on the same wavelength as your customer, and you miss the Primary Buying Issue. Follow these steps, and you won’t.
