In my continuing series on the Sandler Rules, let’s talk about Sandler rule number fifteen, “The best sales presentation you will ever give, the prospect will never see.”
Ever finish a presentation and your prospect still needed time to think about your offer? It’s happened to me, and odds are it’s happened to you. This happens because we, as salespeople, put our emphasis in the wrong place.
Too many times we put the emphasis on the proposal and the presentation, thinking it is the “event” that closes the deal. We forget to engage in meaningful dialogue that gets to the root of the issue. By not digging deeper, we limit our success to what we present in the “dog and pony” show.
The emphasis should be on learning and listening to our prospect, so they discover for themself to buy from us. It’s in this dialogue that the prospect learns that you care. I want to talk to the prospect about what is important to them. In doing so, I help them discover their willingness and ability to solve the problem. As we do that, together, we are affect giving an unseen presentation.
In all honesty, I don’t do “typical ”presentations anymore. I just meet with people and I try to sell. (Fun fact: In 2017, 81% of my business was closed on the first call.) I don’t go into meetings or conversations with any expectations or schedule of how things will go.
If you do your job correctly, the prospect will realize you’re the right person because you took the time to get to know them and get to know their pain. Sometimes, the fact that there is nothing about you that makes you the right person to help is exactly what the prospect is looking for.
If you learn anything through this post, I hope it’s this: The sale happens when you take the time to have honest conversation and help the prospect discover for themselves that hiring you is the right thing to do.
