The art of effective sales conversations

Most people’s sales conversation could be improved. Over the last 20 years I have seen many sales people do the following:

Talk too much, leaving the buyer with the impression that you don't understand their business, their industry, or their needs.
Grill the buyer with questions, making them feel like they are a part of an interrogation.
Talk too little, letting the buyer control the conversation.
Over eager, and the buyer can smell your desperation a mile away.
Talk about your products and services as if they are commodities, leading the buyer to buy based on price.
Are unprepared, and the buyer wonders why they are wasting their time with you.
Are uncomfortable talking about money, and the second a price objection comes up you cave and start discounting.

To improve your sales conversations try applying some or all of the following approaches

Identify your clients pain / aspirations – Asking questions to see how you can solve or limit a particular problem is well recognise however, don’t forget to ask about their hopes, desires and goals for the future and show how you can help them achieve them

Make your business case clear and simple – the prospect must see the value of your solution or they will not buy.

Help the client visualise the benefits – linked very closely to the two points above, you must help the client see the advantages and benefits of your solution and build excitement around it.

Balance your communication style – a good conversation requires give and take. You need to ask your questions but also allow time to let the prospect talk so that you can fully understand their situation. Good listening will help shape your questions as the conversation progresses.

Build rapport – people buy from people they like. Focus on relationship building and your sales conversations will go a lot smoother

Plan to succeed – go in to every conversation with a plan to succeed in place. Going into a conversation well prepared you will be much more likely to make the sale.