Need assistance with my sales presentation.

Sales is a hurt them and rescue them proposition. Where is the pain in "have you considered?"

Skip is correct in asking questions as long as one is searching for the pain or the impact the prospect, their family or company is experiencing because of the pain.

No Pain - No Change

"I have been working with timeshare owners for the past 4 years and found they are totally frustrated making payment for a beautiful vacation spot they never use. I have helped owners like you solve this problem and would like an opportunity to tell you how..."

The pain is shelling out cash for something they are not using and the rescue is the service being sold. If you hit on a pain the prospect is experiencing, the response typically is: "I have that same problem" or "tell me more." As Skip says, you can then use "good questions" to discover how bad they are suffering, the impact and what is their vision of a solution.

This discovery must all be done before your "product" comes out of your pocket because if you don't fully understand the pain; how can you ever prove the value of your product or service? If they have a $5k pain and the cost of your service is $10k; will they ever buy?

Pain is always the most important factor in a sale. "Good questions" qualify the opportunity in the prospects mind and helps you decide if the prospect is worth pursuing.

"Have you considered..." is a fishing expedition; conversely, nailing them with a pain you know they probably have (learned from talking to hundreds or other prospects) gets directly to the point. If they don't bite on the first pain, have a couple others to try. If none of your pain probing works; they don't have a problem you helped others solve. Disengage because you're wasting valuable prospecting time; however, ask for referrals and keep them "on-the-line" with something like:

"Thank you for this opportunity, you don't have any of the problems I/we have helped our clients solve; however, in the future these issues may come up... If you don't mind, every once in a while, I will send you an article or insider information on timeshares. I promise NOT to spam you but knowing what is happening in the timeshare marketplace could be very valuable information to you as time passes. My I have your e-mail address?"

Make the next call, search for pain, ask good questions and prosper!

Rollie
Helping you help others...

Thank you for your input Rollie...it is always good to hear from someone that works in the industry to get a clear understanding of what the prospect may be feeling. So what you are saying is that in your opinion it is okay to ask, "have you thought about" or "have you considered" when you are in that situation? Is that what I am reading from your post?

Warmest Regards

If you have time for "fishing" asking "have you thought about" or "have you considered" may work because it does start a discussion. Does a salesperson have that much time when prospecting? My experience is 20 seconds on the first call...

Credibility is critical when prospecting and one gains credibility by the inch and loses it by the mile. Since the salesperson has spoken to (hopefully) hundreds of prospects they know what pains their prospects are experiencing and if their product or service solves them.

Make them feel the pain that others have experienced by owning a timeshare. I am not in the timeshare business, but, in my opinion there are only a few "bleeding neck wounds" that would make it urgent enough for the prospect to act NOW.

I can live with a pimple on my cheek by rolling over to the other cheek (or put make-up on it depending on the cheek we are talking about - LOL) but I cannot live with a bleeding neck wound. If the pain isn't great enough for immediate action - "no decision" or "let me think about it" will be the ultimate winner. If the prospects pain is a bleeding neck wound, they will pay for a "care flight to the hospital" to get it fixed!

Concentrate on the pain and expand it to others in the family (or company) because pain is felt by everybody. Example, that $4k/year they are spending on a timeshare could be used to buy a better education for their child or a hearing aid for Mom to improve her quality of life or Grand Pa could get a GPS monitor so when he walks away he could be tracked...

The faster pain is "discovered" (the salesperson should know what pains their products solve) the better chance of a sale. Until the pain is quantified, a salesperson shouldn't talk about a product because PRODUCTS DON'T SELL. Hurt them with the IMPACTS felt of NOT having the product and selling gets easier. That's the impact of a pimple compared to a neck wound. Find the bleeding neck wounds and then PROVE with your product that you can solve the problem and they will quickly sign the contract.

No pain - No change!

Rollie
Helping you help others...