The moral of the story is simple:
People do things because they want to, not because you force them.
Sales reps who tell prospects what to do, never win. Telling people whatâs in their best interests also doesnât work. Forcing your will upon someone is also a terrible idea. Imagine saying âhey, Iâm not going to do this demo unless your boss is present.â đ
Changing your perspective from;
âhow can I get someone to do somethingâ
to
âhow can I get someone to want to do somethingâ
helps us reframe the problem. The question now becomes,
âhow do I get my prospect to want to bring their boss on the call?
Your prospect must
come to their own conclusion that itâs in their best interest to invite their boss, you can do this by using
hypothetical scenarios.
Asking questions is a great way to replace telling someone what to do.
Questions are there to be answered, and itâs your prospect who answers them. Donât tell your prospect what to think, ask them a question and theyâll tell you what they think.
Ask good enough questions and youâll change how they think.
Questions let people come to conclusions on their own. Thatâs a far more powerful way to change someones mind.
Examples:
Statement: "Itâs better to bring your boss on the call to avoid delays in the project or buying the wrong thingâ
Question: âHow would you feel if you spent four weeks assessing Spendesk, only to have your boss reject your proposal due to a misalignment on goals?â
Question âWould a 20 minute upfront investment to align your team be worth it to avoid a potential 4 weeks of delays to this project?â
Remember, your prospectâs are not professional buyers. They donât have playbooks for buying products.
Their âpath of least resistanceâ is likely not the ideal path to the best outcome. Theyâll default to protecting stakeholders, hiding information, and keeping you as far away from their team as possible.
You must create new paths, help them come to new conclusions, and make it easy for them to buy.
Use targeted questions and create new revelations.