The key to keeping our funnel full is our sellers maintaining their credibility with their buyers throughout their sales cycle. This is a delicate balance because trust in sellers is low, so if our seller steps offside from the buyer’s perspective at any time, our seller’s credibility is shattered. That doesn’t mean that they won’t close the sale, but they’ll have to work a lot harder (and longer) to get that opportunity across the finish line.
Of the many places our sellers could slip offside is when they make recommendations to a buyer and that buyer is on high alert.
Think back to a time when you read or heard a message from a seller that ended with “I recommend .” You probably thought something like “sure you do, pushy seller. You just want to close me and move on instead of doing what’s best for me.”
If you, a leader of sellers think that, then the buyers that your sellers interact with are definitely thinking that as well.
To avoid unintentionally breaking rapport with a buyer, coach your seller to give a reason for their recommendation.
Instead of “I recommend that we meet next Tuesday at 8:30am to review the proposal,” the message should be “I recommend that we meet next Tuesday at 8:30am to review the proposal because I find that we can address any questions in real time instead of multiple emails back-and-forth. How does that sound to you?”
A 1978 study at Harvard conducted by Professor Ellen Langer, which was referenced by Robert Cialdini in his book “Influence,” showed that a higher percentage of people complied with a request when there was a reason included.
To add another layer to the reasoning given by sellers, the reason that they give must be in the best interest of their buyer not them. Their buyer perceives our seller’s reason, and in text-based communication, themselves. The buyer alone determines tonality and intent to be in the interest of our seller. In turn, rapport can be broken even with a reason attached to the recommendation.
In the example provided paragraphs above, our seller could adjust the “we can” part to read “we can save time by addressing…” That reason would be jointly beneficial and would resonate with their buyer if the buyer had said they were pressed for time when our seller was qualifying them.
Sales is a slight edge game. Our sellers are balanced on that edge in every interaction with their buyers. By coaching them to give reasons for their recommendations we help them in keeping their balance.
Until next time… go lead.
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