Selling B2B can be easier if you follow this rhyme:

“To sell Jack Jones what Jack Jones buys is to see Jack Jones through Jack’s own eyes.”

A former colleague of mine rambled this one off as we were reminiscing our university days many many moons ago.

How do you become a better B2B seller?  Understand who Jack Jones is and become valuable to him.  What do I mean by this?  If you could imagine Jack Jones’ task list of running a department or running a business….where do you think you would rank on that task list?  I can pretty much guarantee that if you even make the list it’s going to be somewhere near the bottom.  Now, don’t take this as some slight against you because it’s not.  Your challenge is to get on that task list and move up the task list until you become the top 3 for Jack Jones.

How to move up on Jack Jones task list.

Help Jack Jones understand that you are more valuable in his life than out of it.  So if you’re selling to Jack Jones try to see his world from his eyes.  Running a business is about risk management.   A decision to buy from you will rest on primarily 2 things:

1. How will buying from you impact the organization.  How does it affect their quality, reliability, execution.  If they do business with you how deep is their commitment?

2. How does making the decision to buy from you affect the decision maker?  This is where emotions often come into play.  The biggest emotion that a seller needs to overcome is FEAR.  Is the buyer making the right decision?  How does the decision they are about to make impact the organizations resources of time and money?

Overcome points 1 and 2 and you will sell more.

I have always believed that the key to effective selling was through top notch listening skills coupled with great open ended questions.  That’s why we have two ears and one mouth.  You see the customer does not care about you or what you have to offer.  W-I-I-F-M is what the customer is thinking.  “What’s In It For Me”.  If you can explain your business and/or product in the terms of your customer…you will set yourself apart from the competition and win more often. 

I have ALWAYS followed the same model. 

• Develop rapport and trust.
• Ask the right questions to uncover motives for buying and develop the relationship.
• Help buyer uncover their reasons or WHY .

To uncover the key motive for buying you need to ask questions about experience, wisdom, past experience.  What things keep them awake at night?  What makes them uncomfortable?  What are some of their positive experiences…why?

| FEAR and GREED is what makes the world go around |

For the most part, I have relied on 2 motives: FEAR and GREED and have been successful closing deals simply by focussing on questions that helped me understand these two emotions.  There are at least 6 other reasons for why people buy.  The more you uncover the easier it will be to close.  Want to know more?  Keep reading.

Passion – sales are made with emotion and justified later by logic.  If you can uncover their passion you are on your way to a close.

Fear – probably the strongest motivator of all.  People fear loss greater than gain.  Want proof?  Take a look at any of the stock market crashes in any decade.

Greed – how much do they stand to gain by having what you have to offer can become a strong motivator.  If you can get them to mentally frame it i.e. get more profit or achieve “x” faster – it’s a homerun.

Need – determining this will determine their urgency to buy.  If you can attach how they will benefit as a result of using you or your product – move your probability of a close up a couple notches.

Want – create this or uncover this and you win.  The more they want it will equate to fewer roadblocks.  Classic example, the pet rock.  A more recent example, Nintendo Wii – I doubled my money a few years back when the Wii was released.

Win – people are competitive by nature.  Find out how intense the customer’s desire is to win.  If you can help them win you win!

Vanity – if it makes them look better…they’ll have to have it.  Can you make them look GREAT?

Pain – find out what’s causing them pain…the more uncomfortable the better.  Because if you can solve their pain…and fast…KA-CHING!

Inclusion – for the most part people want to be like one another.  They want to have what others have…it’s the “grass is always greener on the other side” mentality.  Find out who they want to be like, what they don’t have that others do have…if you can help them get it…YOUR IT!

Hopes and Dreams – find out what your buyer’s hopes and dreams are.  What does their ideal world look like?  Get them to imagine this…can you be the conduit to their hopes and dreams?  If the answer is yes…  YES = SOLD.

Now that I have given you the reasons.  Your homework is to develop your master list of open-ended, fact finding, relationship building questions that will help you close the deal.

Want to watch master sales people close deals?  Watch any kid who desires to have something.  Their key word that usually begins every question is…WHY?

Your QuikTipz of the day is start with Why?