I was working with a group of Sales Managers yesterday and the #1 issue they had with their salespeople was the horrible job being done in "profiling" prospects. The salespeople were not asking questions to truly understand the prospect's situation.
Since the salespeople did not have a good understanding of their prospects, all they could do was "show up and throw up." They were making product presentations even if the product was not what the prospects wanted and/or needed.
Now, doing a great job of fact-finding, discovery and profiling may seem to be Sales 101 to most, too often salespeople forget to do the basics. In this economy, many salespeople are desperate for sales and are cutting corners. As John Wooden once said, "be quick, don't hurry."
I like when companies have a formal "fact-finder" or formal "profile form." I like it because it can give us great information to:
- Ask more/better questions
- Qualify the prospect
- Determine next steps
I am not an advocate of using the profile form as an interrogation of the prospect. Rather, through great conversation and dialogue you are able to get most (if not all) of the information you are looking for. You have to work with your salespeople on this step. If they become masterful in the discovery/profile step they will become better qualifiers, better closers and a better resource for prospects they are talking to.
How well are your people doing?
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