1. 

   Greg Alexander
   January 30th, 2007 - 20:04

   Tuesday’s Sales Truth is common sense but sometimes remembering the basics and paying attention to the fundamentals is a wise thing to do. The question is “How to get the prospects to believe you?” In my experience it comes to one of three things: 1) What have you done for the prospect in the past and has it been quantified? 2) What have you done for the prospect’s associates and can it be quanttified? 3) What have you done in the industry and can it be quantified? There is no substitute for proof.
2. 

   Bill Brooks
   February 1st, 2007 - 10:50

   Great response. However, here’s the problem:

   #1 Assumes you’re dealing with an existing customer – not a prospect.

   #2 Assumes you’re selling a totally quantifiable product/service – some aren’t. Plus, it also assumes that you have either worked with this organization or in their industry in the past.

   #3 Assumes that what you sell is industry specific – it may not be.

   Here’s the dilemma. What if a person is new to sales, new to their organization, sells across industries and/or has no existing customers plus doesn’t sell a quantifiable product/service (or does and has erroneous data)? All three of the suggestions may prove to be problematic.

   Appreciate your thoughts – maybe some more discussion?
3. 

   Will Brooks
   February 1st, 2007 - 14:59

   This concept of social proof and testimonials is dealt with extensively in the “Convince” step of our IMPACT Selling(tm) System. Your comment really addresses the following sales principle: “a prospect expects the salesperson to make claims for his or her product or service; they are impressed, however, when others make those claims for them.”

   This is exactly why it’s important for a salesperson to respectfully, tactfully and appropriately request letters of recommendation, permission to use a client for a case study and other such forms of “proof” to use in their future prospecting efforts. Here’s something critical to remember, though: This must ONLY be done when – and only when – you’ve earned the right to do so.

   We see this all the time: it’s far too easy for the salesperson to be caught up in the excitement of making the sale, not to mention the ensuing service and follow-up demands, to remember to request these critical – yet often overlooked – sales tools.

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