If I asked you to sell me this pen, what would you do?
What would you tell me about it?
Would you describe the features of the pen?
Would you tell me all about what the pen will be able to do?
Would you tell me that it was made in a certain place? Or, that it’s worth a certain amount of money?
The response to “sell me this pen” can be simple, but it’s very revealing of your approach to selling. It gives a sense of the strategies and the framework that you use to close deals for just about everything you sell.
A lot of people think that sales is just a matter of convincing somebody else to do something. Yet to a certain degree it is. I made a video specifically for this topic, where I answer the question How to Convince or Persuade Anyone. However, to become a good salesperson and improve on your sales skills, sales should be about more than just learning how to convince someone of doing something. There are few things that you can do to sell anything to anybody.
So, what is the best response to “sell me this pen”?
I am going to give you 4 simple tips that will allow you to know exactly what to say when you’re presented with this situation, and practically help you sell anything to anyone and at any time.
TIP #1: Selling is NOT about you.
I cannot stress this enough: Selling is ALWAYS about the prospect.
Most salespeople make the mistake of either speaking in first person, or narrating the features of the product or service they’re selling.
They make the mistake of saying things like:
“I can do this.”
“This pen has this feature.”
“This pen costs this much.”
It’s not about the pen. It’s not about the product or the service. It’s about the prospect.
So, from now on, your favorite word should be “you”. Because that is the context in which you need to be speaking, if you’re trying to sell somebody.
For example, let’s say you are trying to sell the pen to someone. You don’t want to be focusing on the pen itself. What you want to be saying is:
“How would you like to have a pen like this?”
“What would a pen like this do for you?”
I always say this. People do not want to be sold something. People want to buy. What this boils down to is that people don’t want to know about a product or a service or even its features. What they want to know is how is it going to benefit them. It’s all about them. All the time.
TIP #2: Ask questions.
Questions are one of the most powerful sales techniques that you can use, and one the most underutilized sales techniques as well.
You will notice that only the top salespeople, in any profession, have really mastered how to use questions and which ones to use.
It’s not enough just to ask any questions. There are very specific ones that will get you to where you want to go, and there are others that will take you in a direction that is not going to land you a sale. So, be very careful about the type of questions you’re asking.
Not knowing what type of questions you can use is only one of many bad sales practices that can really hinder the performance of any salesperson and prevent them from reaching their goals. If you want to avoid this, you can read about the 17 Signs Sales Skills Are Holding You Back.
You can also watch my video on the 10 Smart Open-Ended Sales Questions.
TIP #3: Speak in the form of a story?
Moreover, if that story can be about the competition, it’s even better!
There’s nothing more interesting to a prospect than to know what their competition is doing, or what you were able to do for their competition. That is extremely, extremely powerful. It’s absolute GOLD for you.
A really good story will trump any sales pitch that you have, at any time. In fact, if you want to take your sales to the next level, make your sales pitch a story. Knowing that the best story is what you have done for another client.
TIP #4: Ask in a way to get the answer you want.
Make sure when you are asking a question, you are asking in a way that is going to give you the answer you want to hear. So, at the end of your sales pitch or your sales meeting, make sure that your request is something that you’re going to be happy with, regardless of the answer.
For example, you can say:
“Mr. Prospect, would you like to buy this pen today, or would you like to put a down payment and pay it in full by next week?”
By phrasing my question this way, I am not asking the prospect to buy the pen. I am asking him when does he want to get it.
Now, for me as a salesperson, do I care which option he goes with? Of course! I am always going to want the most money upfront. So, if he pays it all today, great. I might even give him a little incentive to do that. Be that as it may, I’m also ok if he decides to put a down payment on it today, and get it next week. A down payment is a commitment. Either way, I made a sale.
When you’re ending a meeting with a closing question, make sure that you’re giving options and that you’re going to be happy with either one of them. At the same time, by giving those options, you’re allowing the prospect to feel that they are in control.
So, use these tips to strengthen your selling skills. However, there’s much more work to do on body language, objection handling, negotiation, follow up and many more vital aspects that will define you as a top performing salesperson. Get started with my courses today and start on your path to sales success.
You can also visit my YouTube Channel and explore videos that cover a wide variety of sales topics, tips and mistakes to avoid.
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