In my continuing series on the Sandler Rules, let’s talk about Sandler rule number twenty-one, “Sell today, educate tomorrow.”
If you’ve ever lost a prospect by talking too much about your products or services, this post is for you. (Also, you can review Sandler rule #2, “Don’t spill your candy in the lobby.)
As I’ve said before, your job as a salesperson is to listen to the prospect. You have to figure out what they need, why they need it, and if you can help them come up with a solution. And that can’t happen if you are too busy selling yourself and your products.
Most salespeople think the proposal is the dog and pony show that ultimately sells the deal, because the prospect hears how the solution is solved. But the proposal is just educating them on what we do.
If done right, we close the sale when we listen to what the prospect wants, understand why they want, and help them discover that we are the solution.
The proposal is then the confirmation of what we’ve discussed and is the anti-climactic part of the process.
That’s where the gist of this rule comes in. If you spend too much time educating a prospect about what you offer, you likely miss the opportunity to hear what they need and sell to them today.
Once they agree to work with you, then you provide the education on how you can help them solve the problem.
If you learn anything through this post, I hope it’s this: Place your priority on finding out why the prospect wants to buy from you ahead of your educating responsibilities.
