Did you know that 87 percent of sales people miss their quota?
Kind of crazy, right? Why does that happen?
Maybe it’s because 64 percent of sales people have no game plan for achieving the results they’re looking for. Or because 48 percent don’t even follow up, or because 80 percent of your management says they don’t have time to train their staff.
I talked a few weeks back about how to ask for the sale in my podcast and blog, but sometimes, when you ask for the sale, people have questions.
It’s important to note that while these are just questions and questions aren’t bad, you need to focus on answering them correctly — otherwise they might turn into objections.
Today, we’re going to cover something I like to call AIRHUA: a six-step process that you can use to get into alignment, get back on track, and move the deal forward. After reading this blog and implementing some of the teachings, you’ll never have to worry about becoming part of those statistics again.
You absolutely have to get into agreement in the sales world.
Use phrases like, “No problem,” and “I hear you.” Physically shake your head.
This will help you break down the walls and build bridges in their place. People want to feel like you’re really listening to them, and focusing on using verbal and body language to show them that will help set you up for success.
People are going to have several mental roadblocks before they agree to the sale, so something you can do to mitigate some of that friction is to isolate a couple of these issues beforehand.
This is as simple as asking, “Is this your only concern, or is there something else I can help put in the clear for you?”
If you can find a few objections — whether they’re about the price, the time, or something else — then you can handle them.
Locate, isolate, solve, sell.
Now, you’re going to repeat your prospect’s words back to them, saying something like, “If I’m hearing you correctly, the price is a little high for you right now. I know you need to talk to your wife, so what I’m hearing is you need a little time before you can make that decision. Is that right?”
This is a small step, but it’s important because it will allow you to continue to remain in agreement with your prospect.
After you restate their problems, it’s time to handle them.
People don’t buy based on what they see — they buy based on what they believe. So something I like to do is use a talking pad to write things down to help them get into agreement with what I’m saying. It’s a lot more powerful if they read it with their own eyes rather than just hearing it with their own ears.
Let’s take a look at a little example. As usual, it’ll be pulled from the fitness industry, but I have full confidence that you’ll be able to tailor it to your own personal business.
Anyways, our premier membership at Orangetheory Fitness is $159. Let’s say John comes in, has a little conversation with us, and then says, “You know, $159 is too high. I was expecting it to be only $100.”
I’ll write down $159 on a piece of paper, and ask, “Well, how many times would you be using the studio?”
John says, “Probably about three times a week.”
Now, I’ll say, “Well if it’s three times a week, how many is that a month?” This is important — you don’t want dialogue to turn into monologue. Make sure they’re answering these questions, make sure they’re doing the math themselves, and make sure you’re taking notes while they do.
“Well, there’s four weeks in a month, so it would be 12 times,” John says.
“12 times, that’s right. Well, if you come in here 12 times a month, $59 divided by 12 is…
“About five,” says John.
“So really, you’re only spending about $5 extra per workout.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“Well, John, what’s the best thing you could do with an extra $5?”
More likely than not, the best thing you could do with an extra $5 is spend it on your health. John understands that, says it, and then we move on to the next step.
After we handle their problems, we use something I like to call the pile-on effect.
Everybody’s got a mental scale in their heads, constantly weighing the pros and cons of their decisions. What you can do to tip the scale in your favor is pile on all the good things about your products or services.
So when John says that spending the extra $5 on his health would be the best thing he could do with that money, I pile on things like the fact that our workouts are science-backed and technology-tracked, we have tons of coaches to guide them through their workouts, they can bring a friend, they can try out a different workout every day, we offer 55 classes a week, a month-to-month contract, etc.
Once we’re done piling on all the pieces and parts, we wrap things up by asking for the sale again.
AIRHUA. Agree, Isolate, Restate, Handle, Use, and Ask.
This isn’t the only way to handle objections, and this might not be the best way for you and your business. Focus on coming up with a list of common objections people might have to buying your products to help you out, and take a quick personal inventory of yourself.
You know and I know that you can do something and you can say something to get you closer to the sale — and on the flip side, you can do something and you can say something that could take you further away from the sale.
What do you need to do more of? What is it that needs to change today? What needs to change this week? What do you need to do to start making a difference? What are those 10 action items that you can put in place that will give you better results, better performance, better sales, better quality of life, better commissions, and all that goes along with it?
Write it down. Use it as fuel to push you closer to your goals.
Keep feeding your mind with the good, the pure, the positive stuff out there. As always, thanks for taking the time to read my blog.
For more advice on how to get your mind, your business, and your life in shape, don’t forget to tune into my podcast every Tuesday.