Key Mistakes People Make In The Sales Conversations
We were invited to lunch at a relatively new hotel. You want to read this if you are an entrepreneur because there is a powerful sales lesson here for you.
So we arrive and are escorted to a private office area not really knowing what to expect although I had a pretty good idea that we were here be sold something.
There we had to complete a form which also asked to indicate our annual income (pre-qualifying the sale). We were then introduced to
The lunch was amazing.
Being a marketer, I was watching the process outside of myself as a prospect. In the world of sales, she is what you call a SETTER. Meaning she conducts the full interview asking specific questions designed to qualify the lead.
She started her sales process asking us about our lifestyle. She established that we had 10 weeks vacation typically and how much we had spent on vacations.
She then took us on a tour of the presidential suite and began to paint a picture of what life would be like if we bought into their time share program.
Once she was satisfied we were a fit, in came the hand over to the CLOSER. She introduced us to him as people who are “COMMITTED TO VACATIONS”. I giggled as I had never thought of it that way.
But the Closer did more damage to the sale than good. That was when the sales pitch went down hill. He forgot his calculator and couldn’t probably share the cost of the program.
He forgot his laptop and a key brochure required to close the deal and had to leave us several times to get these items.
He started to share his story of buying similar products but we were turned off by the particular example and even more so realized that this program did not match our lifestyle and how we like to travel.
First of all it was an amazing program but in all the pre-qualifiers they never asked questions about what we like to do on vacation and when we travel.
We are not people who check into an all inclusive hotel and seat on the beach all day. A great buyer persona for their program.
I travel frequently but for business and prefer hotels that in accessible locations in cities. The closer started talking about their network of 4,000 hotels close to Disneyland. Great if you have kids and family vacays.
The book of 4,000 hotel partners didn’t have one I highly desired to stay at.
We sail a lot. My partner is a very experienced and avid sailor. Which means on many of our vacations we live on a yacht.
They never asked the type of hotels we stay at. I love boutique hotels and if I use chains I generally prefer SPG hotels like St Regis, and Four Seasons. Especially for hosting client retreats and meetings.
The point is, the setter was trained to establish our commitment to vacations and not how we like to or are committed to travel. If she had, she would have realized that we were not an ideal client.
In the sales process, it is not enough to establish whether the person is a great buyer of your product or even whether they can afford it. You need to align with their own interest and desire for their life. We are committed to vacations but more so to travel and we like to do it in a certain way. She needed to uncover that certain way.
However, I must admit that we did enjoy our time there. I was targeted because I use their spa services but the lunch Made us realize that we could occasionally go there for lunch or dinner. So there was an upside.
But very important to qualify leads well, you’ll save yourself and them time.
Remember that on your next sales call to find the alignment.
As always, live the cultured life.
Cheers to you epic life!
Hanna