How to get a prospect to WANT what you have.

As it has been discussed before: Now the question is, "How do you do that?"

Suggestions anyone? -Seth

Back up. It's now the question only if one accepts helisell's premise.

Discussed doesn't mean concluded.

How about some real life examples of "MAKING" somebody "WANT" something that we have. -Ace Coldiron

by appealing to thier emotional side. If you are appealing to thier emotion, it will outweigh, I believe, even what a persons needs are. I for example, may need one thing when a walk into a store, but a good salesperson could "sell me" on a number of different things! ;bg -lisamom

Personally, I think we're much more successful in welling when we work very hard at understanding our customers needs than we are trying to "make someone want something we have."

Ace: good point.

Skip -Skip Anderson

So I've spent time to establish rapport and find out the customers'needs.

They agree that these are their needs and that my product completely fulfills their needs.

They haven't bought though.

What should I do now? Leave?

Or would it be better to get a result?

Showing people that a product fulfills their needs is a marketing job.

Getting them to want the product is something different I think. -helisell

Oops P.S.

If marketing can show them that our product fulfills their needs AND it can make them want the product....then their is no need for intervention by salespeople.

Amazon are a case in point. -helisell

It was your premise that the thread was based on, arbitrarily by Seth. Not everyone accepts your premise. I'm hoping either you or Seth can--or will--answer Seth's question. So far all we have from your post is three more questions.

How? -Ace Coldiron

Yes. Like so many others have said here in the forum, fan the flame of desire. thmbp2;

Great point! thmbp2; -Seth

I don't know about anybody else, but I absolutely love these debates. And I don't think they're a waste of time, either. They all help us to better understand this thing we call selling.

Anyway, to respond to your question, no, of course I don't believe you should leave. I think you need to close the sale.

But you don't close the sale by "making them" want your product. You close the sale by utilizing closing skills.
It's our job to identify what that want looks like, understand it better than even the customer does...once we do that, we can position our product or service to fulfill that want that already exists.

I'm quite sure that I don't believe that "Showing people that a product fulfills their needs" is a marketing job. -Skip Anderson

Who besides you?

I know you said "Strike while the iron is hot."

Seth, were you a blacksmith in another life? -Ace Coldiron

Which skills are you calling "closing skills"?

Let's say that you are working with a prospect who wants to purchase another vehicle and is just starting to look at her options. You are the first person she meets. You identify what her want looks like, you even understand it better than she does, you position your product to fulfill that existing want and the prospect agrees that your car would work but does not purchase at that time because she wants to look around at other car dealerships to see what else is available in her price range.

Now what? -Seth

Without getting into specifics in this thread, because that's a different topic, any skill that is related to bringing the transaction to completion.

Now you use objection handling skills. -Skip Anderson

"People don't buy because the salesperson answered the objection effectively, nor do they buy because the salesperson had a good closing technique. They buy because they want something. Turn on the "Want" emotions and they will buy." - D. Forbes Ley -Seth

I don't believe WE can turn on a prospect's want emotions. Only they can do that. It's our job to identify those wants and understand them.

I respectfully disagree with Mr. Ley regarding handling an objection effectively (by definition, handling an objection effectively results in a sale) and having a good closing technique (except I think it's more accurate to say a successful closing technique). -Skip Anderson

Do you believe it is possible for a television advertisement to evoke a certain emotion?

Which definition says that handling an objection effectively results in a sale? I haven't seen that one. -Seth

Of course, lots of things can evoke certain emotions, including TV ads. But we aren't talking about TV advertising, are we? Or did I miss something?

I agree that emotions are involved in buying. In fact, I call "the need to feel good" the super-macro need of all prospects. But the topic of this thread is "How to get a prospect to want what you have" which is a separate issue imo.

You aren't handling an objection effectively if you don't get beyond it and make the sale. That would be ineffective handling of the objection in my book.

Skip -Skip Anderson

If an effective TV ad can evoke specific emotions from its audience, which it can, I don't see any reason why a skilled salesperson couldn't achieve the same outcome. -Seth

Sure, a salesperson can evoke emotions. But I thought this thread was about how to get a prospect to want what you have. Those are two separate issues.

Skip -Skip Anderson

This looks like what you are saying is IF you can handle your prospect's objection(s) effectively they will buy. Did I get that right? If that is right then it makes sense why so many salespeople are fixated on finding sales training scripts on how to answer objections. -Seth

Yes. That would be effective objection handling. -Skip Anderson

When it comes to selling cars, the most skillful effort I saw was a manager who sold spillproof seats, curbside doors that didn't open into traffic, something she could marshall around neighborhood kids safely while going to soccer, or tennis with her "moms".... This last question I remember was like... " Maam... the car you brought in was somewhat upscale, do you want to stay with that or upgrade a little?

When this lady drove in, this guy I was with, introduced himself to this lady and immediately complimented her on her car and how well maintained it was and how it looked almost still brand new.

All of this, by the way, without me even hearing him mention a particular vehicle.. mostly safety and convenience for her and her chidren.

Aloha... shds; ;bg -rattus58

What percentage of salespeople are fixated on finding sales training scripts on how to answer objections. In your opinion, 10%, 20%, 70%...etc? What would you say, Seth?

And where do they look? -Ace Coldiron

A sales script can be a valuable tool for certain situations. They certainly are not cure-alls, but they have their place in a variety of selling situations. Language is important. Words mean things. Using the right words will help a salesperson get the right result.

I don't know of anybody who is "fixated" on finding sales training scripts. But some certainly should be finding scripts to handle objections or do other things in selling, imo.

skip -Skip Anderson

Fixated was probably a poor choice of words so let me try again.

I don't think it comes to anyone's surprise that salespeople have been looking for silver bullets in sales primarily in "Closing" and "Objections". To those who know better this hunt seems terribly misguided. But then again, even you have essentially given credence to the notion that if you can handle your prospect's objection(s) effectively they will buy.

"People don't buy because the salesperson answered the objection effectively, nor do they buy because the salesperson had a good closing technique. They buy because they want something. Turn on the "Want" emotions and they will buy." - D. Forbes Ley -Seth

There are thousands of salespeople selling all types of products and services. Some are very successful and others just barely make the grade. What separates the successes from the failures has much to do with the salesperson. It doesn't mean that the great salesperson is necessarily smarter, more ambitious or knows every single detail of their product or service for sale, even though these factors do play important roles. It is primarily that the salesperson that will make that prospect "want" to buy from them rather than someone else selling the same thing. -MatthewFerry

I think Ley probably had more to say about that, because, by itself, it's merely an over-simplification.

The determinants of human behavour gets into very advanced studies, and even the greatest names in psychology have been at odds over that.

The important thing to remember for those people who look to SalesPractice for guidance in their sales career, is that this forum is about selling, and amateur psychology wisdom has to be taken with a grain of salt.

Wants, emotions, motivations, human behavour--look to Jung, Adler, Frankl, Berne, Hawkins, Brandon, Ellis (Rational-Emotive Thinking), and others.

Also--this site has not designated a resident guru, or authorized "last word". That includes Ley.

Every post, every quote--can be discerned. We can agree with some--disagree with others, and sometimes ask for examples or clarifications. Sadly, there are many more quotes on SalesPractice than there are examples. -Ace Coldiron

Silver bullet is your word not mine. Silver bullet is not an appropriate designation for properly handling objections or proper closing of a transaction. Those are merely skills that are in the playbook of any sales professional, just as understanding how a wood finish applies to wood in humid weather is to a woodworker; or how making a hollandaise sauce without breaking is to a cook; or how to properly execute a B flat on the clarinet so it isn't sharp but is in tune. Those aren't "silver bullets" they're tools of the trade.

I don't know what kind of selling you do, Seth. You say you're in B2C sales according to your profile. The customers you call on must be much different than the ones my clients call on. If you don't effectively handle objections and I do, I'll sell more than you. Far more than you. So don't develop the skill of appropriately handling objections if you wish; but you will be the worse for it.

I think the appropriate sentence would have been "to those who think they know better..."


Yes, "even me" Seth. It sounds to me like you never learned how to effectively handle an objection, so you don't understand that doing so results in a sale. It sounds like you've been caught in a string of unsuccessful objection handling scenarios, which lead to no sale. As I stated before, you can't "effectively" handle an objection if the prospect doesn't buy...that is ineffective handling of the objection. -Skip Anderson

Me Me!! Emotion = desire... create emotion and you have desire to flame! thmbp2; -lisamom

-Skip Anderson

True, but....I believe whole-heartedly and I would say that experience has proven, at least for me in my business, which is not a straight exchange-dollar for product (so the ballgame is a little different), but what I am offering people is a means to an end and if I show them how thier means can make my end, typically they don't care. My goals are differerent from most people I talk to and even successfully "sell" to BUT if I show them how what I am offering is a means to thier end, my success rate is much higher. I have had to realize that my dreams are not thier dreams ;co .

Lisa -lisamom

Hi Lisa. I think we're talking the same language. My point was that skilled salespeople CAN evoke emotions in their prospects, specifically the emotion of Desire. -Seth

Several possibilities to consider here ...

• There's a trust issue with the product or company
• The product fulfills the need but the price outweighs the benefit.
• There's no urgency
• They're patronising you
• They have no money

So you may as well leave but next time go back to basics and sequentially ensure that you ...
• Build trust
• Build value
• Create urgency for a decision today with progressive commitment and you'll find that ...
• You won't be patronised.
• No money? ... Improve your prospect qualifying process ... ;sm -Tony1905

Yes! That is very good indeed! -Skip Anderson

Anther possibility is that the prospect doesn't want it bad enough to take action now. msnwnk; -Seth

Absolutely Seth, as I said, there's no urgency! This is where the salesman, having done a good job understanding the prospect's situation & his needs, problems etc (which apparently was the case) must ...
1. Set up the prospect for a decision today by summarising the revealed 'hot buttons' and asking if the needs/problems can be satisfied/resolved by his product, is there any reason in the world why he wouldn't buy the product today ... and ...

2. He must gain agreement (read commitment) progressively as the features are presented that the prospect sees the value and agrees to the benefits. (this won't work well without an effective decision today set-up)

BTW, another possibility is that he may not have been talking to the decision maker and if that were the case (1.) above will usually flush that out. Tony -Tony1905

Nobody is saying don't develop the skill of appropriately handling objections.


How bizaare. It sounds to me like you jump to conclusions a bit. Do so if you wish but as a salesperson you will be the worse for it.

I don't want to take this thread off topic so anyone who wants to continue with this topic let's go over here:
http://www.salespractice.com/forums/t-10582.html -Seth

Fair enough! shds; Emotion doesn't automatically means something positive, that's was just me thinking positive msnwnk; and you mentioned boredom as an emotion... that's an interesting thought, it has never occured to me that way but I guess how else would you describe boredom?

Thanks for the feedback! -lisamom

I was thinking "priority" but urgency works. thmbp2; -Seth

This thread appears to have ran its course. I am going to close it down. -Jeff Blackwell