In my continuing series on the Sandler Rules, let’s talk about Sandler rule number 37, “All prospects lie, all the time.”
OK, OK. That might be a bit of a stretch. I know there are good prospects out there, ones who are honest and upfront throughout the selling process.
However, I also know that a majority of the time, a prospect lies. They may have been conditioned by other experiences with salespeople (who are deceitful or manipulative), it might be unintentional, or it might be that they don’t really know the issue.
Our job as salespeople is twofold.
1. We have to recognize that a prospect is withholding information (lying).
2. We have to make them feel comfortable enough to tell the truth.
We start building trust with a prospect in the bonding and rapport step. It is your responsibility to show them that you’re trustworthy and that you won’t use the information they share against them.
One thing I’ve found in my relationship with prospects, is that they more frequently lie through omission than outright lies.
An example of this is when a prospect says, “I’m in charge of the project,” however they’re only in charge of gathering information. So technically, they’re in charge of part of the process, but not all of it.
As the salesperson, you must double-check the information you receive from the prospect. When you ask clarifying questions, you’ll get to the real truth.
Here’s another example: A prospect says they have the power to make the decision. A way that I find out if that’s the whole truth is by asking “So then you probably don’t need to run this by your business partner or significant other?” How they answer gives me the information and clarity I’m looking for.
Another thing you might encounter is that the prospect is unaware of the problem(s) facing their business.
When that is the case, your job is to ask more engaging questions. By doing that, you can help them determine if there is a problem worth solving.
When the prospect is aware of their current issues, you ask them questions to discover more information – how it came to be, how they’ve tried to fix it, how much it’s costing them not to solve the problem, etc.
One thing that remains consistent throughout the process: You have to continue to show the prospect that you’re trustworthy and they’ll be safe sharing with you.
If you learn anything through this post, I hope it’s this: Find the real truth, and to do that, the salesperson must have the prospect feel safe and feel good about the ultimate decision.
