What We Know Can Hurt Us

You can find more resources on sales coaching, executive coaching, sales training, time management, cold calling, prospecting and career coaching from New York Sales and Leadership Coach Keith Rosen MCC at http://www.profitbulders.com. I recently purchased some advertising space in a national magazine. I have been a subscriber for years and knew everything I needed to know to select them as an advertising vehicle. I called them with one intention, to place an order. When I called their office, the salesperson began doing what she felt was appropriate; to start selling me. She began with the history of the magazine, then moved into a discussion about her subscriber base, how effective an advertising campaign can be and ended with information about her ad design team. She was unaware that I already knew all the information that she decided to share with me. She never took the time to ask what my intention was in running the ad or what information I might be interested in hearing more about. While she was speaking at me, I could only think about how many selling opportunities this must have cost her when dealing with prospective clients who didn't have the time or patience to listen to information that didn't fit for them. This is not an unusual problem. Many salespeople spend much of their time during a sales call attempting to educate the prospect about their product, service and industry. They think it will stimulate interest and increase the odds of earning a new client. In many cases, this is the same strategy that compromises their opportunity to create a relationship with that prospect. Unfortunately, this is the easiest way to lose their attention. Once a person hears something they aren't interested in or if they feel you are providing information that doesn't apply to them, their interest is lost and they stop listening. A sales call is not the time prove how much you know. It's the time to find out what you don't know about the prospect and what the prospect doesn't know about you. It is not your knowledge that sells, but how effectively you customize your knowledge to meet each of your prospects' specific needs.