L.E.A.R.N how to save time and earn credibility through a thorough discovery process
The first meeting with your prospect, typically known as the discovery meeting, might yield you at best, 20-30 minutes of quality time. How you use it is completely up to you. The discovery process is one of the most important sales process components. For us to successfully address and fulfill the customer’s needs, we need to completely understand what it is they truly need. Remember, customers will tell you what they want but is it really what they need? It is our job to dig deeper than just asking them what they want and giving it to them. By asking them a strategic series of questions, we can better understand their business and provide them with a solution, AND NOT JUST WHAT THEY ASK FOR. If we do this better than our competitors, the likelihood of success is greatly enhanced.
The overall purpose of the discovery is to L.E.A.R.N as much as we can about their business in a short time thereby allowing us to provide a customized solution that meets their needs and requirements.
So, how do we L.E.A.R.N about our prospects in 30 minutes?
LIGHTEN UP
Simply put, have some fun. Lighten up the atmosphere a little before you get down to business. It is important for you and your prospect to feel comfortable. Building rapport or finding commonality is a part of the sales process that is often overlooked. Many prospects and salespeople want to get right down to business and in some cases that may be necessary, but whenever possible, try to lighten things up. Building rapport is not time-consuming or difficult. Take a few minutes at the start of the meeting to create an environment that is comfortable for both parties. Customers are more inclined to buy from you if they like you.
EARN THE CONFIDENCE OF YOUR PROSPECT
For the prospect to make a buying decision in your favour, they must be confident in your ability to fulfill their needs and manage their business moving forward. How you project yourself during the early stages of the meeting will determine your level of success. As you move toward the discovery discussion, it is imperative to have an IMPACT statement that will accomplish the following:
– Position yourself as a professional
– Position you and your organization ahead of the competitor
– Differentiate yourself from your competitor (show that your approach to doing business is different)
– Inform the prospect of the goal of the meeting and how it will benefit them by participating
– Ensure that the prospect understands that you are there to sell value and solutions and not price
ASK QUESTIONS
Customers do not want what you are selling; they want the benefits of what you are selling. The tendency right from the start is to provide all the features and benefits of your product or service. That is called a data dump and will get you nowhere. While you may have many features to offer, it makes no sense to run them all down when they may not provide a solution. To provide a customized solution around their specific needs, you will need to disclose their needs, NOT WANTS. This is accomplished by asking questions in the following sequence.
– Ask about their current situation. Learn as much as you can about their business and how they operate
– From the situational questions, you can derive potential problems or challenges
– Confirm and clarify their challenges by asking more questions and trying to ascertain the impact on their business
By going through this process, you will identify exactly how you and your organization can help.
REVIEW
Summarize and review what you have identified as their specific need(s). This will allow you to correlate the benefits of your product or service as they relate to their needs.
NEXT STEPS
Never leave your meeting without identifying your next steps. Make sure that you and your prospect have a clear understanding of how you will proceed and make sure that you do what you say you will do.
