Have you ever built a proposal or recommendation around your reasons, rather than the prospect?
- What is the "hard sell?"
- Can it ever sound "soft?"
- Whose reasons should be driving the sales discussion?
You might think that the "hard sell" approach is a thing of the past in professional sales. That's because most sales organizations have adopted some form of "consultative" selling model, where the salesperson aims to "partner" with the prospect in an effort to develop an appropriate solution.
In theory, that approach makes sense. In practice, however, even though there's a lot of talk about "partnering" and being "consultative," too many salespeople still rely on and structure their selling approach and eventual presentation around, things like:
- The features, benefits, and unique selling points of the product or service
- Their company's history
- The product's reputation for reliability
- Their customer testimonials
- And so on
Salespeople raise all of these subjects in an effort to guide the prospect to a buying decision - even though they don't know what, if anything, is causing pain in the prospect's world.
Whose reasons are you talking about?
When you build your sales approach around your reasons for the prospect to buy, it's still the hard sell, even if your demeanor is not aggressive or demanding. When people end up buying from you after making such appeals, they're buying in spite of your hard sell, not because of it. You need the prospect's reasons!
Make the effort to discover the prospect's specific reasons for buying your product or service, as well as their criteria for buying from one company rather than another. Then, structure your approach and presentation around what you have discovered.
Should you even be pursuing this?
If your product or service, or your company, can't meet at least some of the prospect's requirements, rethink whether it makes sense to pursue the opportunity any further. If there is not a connection between what you offer and what's going on in this person's world, the "hard sell" - whatever form it may take - is not going to create that connection. (See also Sandler Rule #27: You Can't Sell Anybody Anything - They Must Discover They Want It.)
