Years ago I was selling an office equipment solution to the CEO of a 100-person company. I was selling to him the way I had been taught: I established comfortable conversation while building trust, asked questions to diagnose his needs, then presented my solution as an answer to his needs. Everything, seemingly, appeared to be going along as planned. Suddenly he leaned forward and asked, “Aren’t you going to close me now?”
Why is it that customers know more about selling techniques than most salespeople know about buying behavior? That’s not right. An understanding of buying is where selling should start. We need to redefine “selling” to mean helping people buy. As a sales manager, this should be an important part of your sales training.
