Decision Making

First, thank you for your permission.

In your last response you said "As a result, sales take at least - AT LEAST - 4x longer to close than necessary." which I want to comment on.

Sometimes people don't like to work in call centers as they're stats driven. In my case it became an advantage as they (a cable company) kept track of certain numbers for me, one of them being calls per hour I handled.

I've developed a system allowing me to exceed quota by over 10X implying I've done plenty of selling. Yet my calls per hour didn't deteriorate staying about the same (in my last three months I averaged 11.6 calls an hour exceeding the 10 calls per hour quota by 10%).

It's really a myth that, on average, sales take anywheres from five to ten minutes per customer. From my comparison studies, on average they take between two to three seconds (not enough time for even two words, again two to three seconds).

I regard my system as the best of its kind allowing customers a certain type of freedom not given by any other system (this doesn't rule out other ways of improving your sales, but it is basic
and works with any product, service and offer; it also works with
any almost personality or selling style, around 90 to 95% of the time I've estimated).

I'm glad you're doing so well! Sounds great. So long as there is no manipulation or coercion.

Buying Facilitation was able to reduce successful phone calls to under 3 minutes, and ferret out non-buyers in about a minute. but of course it depends on what you are selling - some of my more complex calls can last 30 minutes, depending on how many iterations of Facilitative Questions i must use.

So it sounds great and i'm glad you're so successful.
sd

I have 2 problem areas. When I'm cold calling the timing usually isn't right when I call. I think the prospects haven't got to the decision to use a service like mine. How can I speed up the decision?

The other problem area is discovery. I ask the questions you are suppose to ask but a lot of the answers are "I don't know". How can I get people to know?

you can't speed up the decision using conventional sales as information doesn't teach someone how to make a decision. that's what Buying Facilitation is for: it sequences the mental/systemic decision making in line with the way the brain makes decisions and teaches the buyer and buyer's decision team to go to each decision point in their brain. they will eventually figure it out on their own (and therein lie the sales cycle) but you can help them with Buying Facilitation. you might want to get my ebook Buying Facilitation: the new way to sell that expands and influences decisions (www.buyingfacilitation.com).

'I don't know' merely means they don't know where that data is stored in their brain and you are asking the wrong question - or a question out of sequence, or a question that YOU need an answer for. conventional questions pull information in re decisions already made. Facilitative Questions point the brain to where the decision lie and doesn't elicit 'i don't know' responses.

you are discussing some of the problems with conventional sales. you really might want to consider getting my ebook - it's only $20 and will tell you how to fix those problems.
sd

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharon Drew Morgen

you can't speed up the decision using conventional sales as information doesn't teach someone how to make a decision. that's what Buying Facilitation is for: it sequences the mental/systemic decision making in line with the way the brain makes decisions and teaches the buyer and buyer's decision team to go to each decision point in their brain. they will eventually figure it out on their own (and therein lie the sales cycle) but you can help them with Buying Facilitation. you might want to get my ebook Buying Facilitation: the new way to sell that expands and influences decisions (www.buyingfacilitation.com).

Your book explains how to teach people to make a decision? The sequence and the questions are in the book?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas

Your book explains how to teach people to make a decision? The sequence and the questions are in the book?

Don't be disappointed if the book doesn't doesn't give all the answers. That's a lot to accomplish for a book plus it would negate the need for training with the author.

1. it's impossible for me to teach the HOW in a book when it takes 3 days of very complex training to teach the SKILLS (other training programs teach BEHAVIORS) of Buying Facilitation.
2. the sequence of decision making is in the book, as well as many, many examples of Facilitative Questions, what they do, and how to use them. The book is the best i can do to help you learn the material without a training program, but it can't get you all the way there due to the need to learn to LISTEN for SYSTEMS which is very different listening than we are ever taught to do, and to learn how to use the brain sequencing that i've developed.
3. when you use the sequencing, the questions teach folks WHERE to make a decision in their (group/individual) brain, and includes all of the criteria they need to do that. so, yes, it teaches people HOW to make a decision - but probably in a new way than you're used to. but at a systems level, all decisions are made the same way.

sd

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharon Drew Morgen

The book is the best i can do to help you learn the material without a training program, but it can't get you all the way there...

Here's a crazy question Sharon Drew, how far will the book get you in the training?

Two different things, although there are two different training programs.

The book explains (concisely) what systems are, and how buyers (and everyone) lives within systems; why one can't see the entire system while inside it; how the system is convoluted around its make-up and how it holds it in place, and won't change until it can ensure to not disrupt system, and how facilitative questions find those parts of the system that much be managed. Book takes an hour to read the first time and 3 hours the second.

the Buying Facilitation training makes each learner discover their own internal systems, how the system hangs on to beliefs - and the beliefs that need to be maintained no matter what - and how their sales skills play into, support, and maintain their daily sales behavior while maintaining internal systems. Then we learn how to ask/use/formulate Facilitative Questions to inhibit/change these systems so learners can learn, and recognize that this is the exact range of systems, change, and decisions buyers go through before they buy. this program brings appx 200-600% revenue increase over sales skills (as per IBM, Intuit, Wachovia, KPMG, Kaiser, etc) because the time it takes buyers to discover their own answers and make internal changes without disruption is the length of the sales cycle.

Learners walk away with life skills to communicate, listen, support, serve each other. program changes lives. I train this program myself in corporations (occassional public programs, but not often) and include 8 weeks of coaching following the corporate programs.

I also have an easier program that gives participants the ability to get inside of every decision that buyers go through so they can understand the entire Buying Side of the equation. I give 6 Facilitative Questions for participants to take away and use with their normal sales skills. Easy to train, easy to use right away. I have trainers that deliver this program.

So the book is kinda an intro, but doesn't go anywhere near as far as the training, and doesn't teach 'skills'.

Here is a link to the two courses so you can see them. http://newsalesparadigm/pdfs/sdm53.pdf

Also if you go to www.buyingfacilitation.com you can read two free chapters of Buying Facilitation: the new way to sell that expands and influences decisions.

Hope this helps...
sd

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wonderboy

My understanding from checking the sales literature is that the toughest challenge is to get the prospect to make up his mind.

I bumped into a guy I know a few months back at a community fundraiser sale. He tells about some signs that someone in the community had donated that he wanted me to look at.

I didn't need any more signs but I've known the guy a long time and I didn't want to seem abrupt or cold by not even looking so I took a look.

It turns out he has a couple dozen nearly new heavy-duty metal a-frame signs which I know I can buy these elsewhere for about $40 each. My mind starts racing and I quickly come to the conclusion that although the signs looked great I didn't need anymore signs, I probably wouldn't save that much money buying them now, plus how would I explain spending hundreds of dollars on more signs to my wife. The last time I shelled out that kind of cash on signs I really didn't like the look my wife gave me. Right then and there I told myself that I wasn't going to buy the signs and would break the news to this guy immediately.

He asks me how much I would pay for the whole lot and I tell him I wasn't interested because I already have so many but I'd give it some thought and get back to him if I changed my mind.

After hearing my response he looks me in the eye and tells me I can have them all for $3 each if I bought them right then. Without hesitation I say, "$3 each? Sold!"

So much for wresting with the decision to buy or not buy.

What did I tell my wife? I told her with enthusiasm how much money I "saved" us by purchasing the signs.

I'm sure there is a lesson in there somewhere.

Decision Making

Closing the Sale Forum