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Hi, this is Jason Kanigan, the owner and founder of Sales on Fire and welcome to another sales triathlete minute.
Do not be an unpaid consultant. No unpaid consulting. Has this happened to you? You get this prospect who walks up to you and acts very interested in your offer. Maybe it’s over the phone. They ask a lot of questions, it’s all very enthusiastic. And our natural reaction as salespeople is to be the product expert, so you puff out your chest and you answer the questions
And then they go away saying well, I’m going to think about it, I’ll get back to you. You think you got a sale in the bag. And then guess what? You never hear from them again.
What happened? Well the problem is you became an unpaid consultant in this situation. The prospect got what they wanted. They got a free education about everything you do and then they don’t need you anymore.
When they don’t need you they just disappear and they go off and find what you offer at the lowest price. Why would they pay you when they know everything they need to know now?
So, to get out of this situation, don’t be an unpaid consultant. When the prospect says, some sort of enthusiastic sounding question, don’t answer it. Instead ask them a question in return. Why did they ask that question? It’s a great question Mr. Prospect, I really appreciate that. Can you share with me a little bit, before I answer, a little bit about why you ask that question, or what it is about whatever that subject was that sparked your interest.
You want to get a deeper level of understanding about why they are asking you this question. Are they tire kickers looking for a free education? If so, you want to find out as fast as you can and get rid of those.
However they may have a deeper level reason for asking that question and finding out the answer will give you an advantage over every other salesperson who is too darn lazy to figure that out.
Thanks for joining me, Jason Kanigan, for this quick sales triathlete minute. And check out our other sales on fire coaching tips.
