THESE ARE LIKELY TO DEVELOP COMMITMENT

106 SUCCESSFUL SELLING SOLUTIONS CHAPTER FIVE

To distinguish between the two, you will want to ensure that you know at what stage you are in your questioning techniques phase (see previous Chapter 4 – Turning interest into commit-ment, (Having a structure), i.e. General, probing, expanding or confirmation questions).

Some of the key points to remember in gaining commitment are:

1 Don’t give too much information too early in a sales call, or offer a solution.

2 Uncover and develop a buyer’s needs.

3 Check that what you hear is what a buyer has said.

By taking the time to do this (even if it is over a number of sales calls) you are more likely to distinguish between ‘Would Like’

and ‘Must Have needs.

Take the case of a salesperson thinking that he/she has the right level of commitment to offer a solution.

• In Example 1 the salesperson only has interest.

• In Example 2, he/she has genuine commitment.

DEVELOPING A SALE CORRECTLY 107

A likely outcome can be illustrated like this:

The wrong path and the right path!

Don’t be concerned about going back in the sales cycle when you are not sure if you have genuine commitment. It is advan-tageous to check that your perception is correct. As we will discuss in Chapter 9 – Closing the sale, objection prevention is better than looking to overcome unnecessary objections from a buyer!

1. ‘Would Like’ needs = interest

2. ‘Must Have’ needs = commitment

Receive pricing objections (negative perception/rejection)

Receive agreement (for next steps/solution) Link your

solution to buyer’s need

Close sale/

negotiate

WRONG PATH RIGHT PATH

108 SUCCESSFUL SELLING SOLUTIONS CHAPTER FIVE

Another way of illustrating that you have the right level of commitment is to draw a line halfway across a blank piece of paper. Look at ‘Interest’ as above the line and ‘Commitment’ as below the line. Then compare the two areas and challenge yourself on each one. For example:

Interest or Commitment?

You get interest from understanding:

• General target account information

• Areas of buyer dissatisfaction/issues

• The effects of any area of dissatisfaction

• Why this has arisen

• The reason’s behind a buyer’s requirement These create ‘Would Like’ needs

You get commitment by:

• Getting a buyer to want to act on an area of dissat-isfaction/issue

• Discussing an issue and asking expanding and confirmation questions

• Discussing the effects of a buyer not progressing a requirement

• A buyer agreeing that your solution (best) fits his/her need

• Linking your solution to the benefit the target account will get

These create ‘Must Have’ needs

DEVELOPING A SALE CORRECTLY 109

By creating a table like this you will be able to have an objec-tive look at how much commitment you really have. This will allow you to work on any gaps between what you have and what you need. If this takes one meeting or several, the principle is the same.

In order to focus on getting genuine commitment before linking your solution to a buyer’s need, complete this exercise.

‘Would Like’ versus ‘Must Have’ needs exercise

110 SUCCESSFUL SELLING SOLUTIONS CHAPTER FIVE

4 A ‘Would Like’ need leads to a natural desire of a target account to buy something

3 Buyers often buy on price if you haven’t received genuine commit-ment from them

2 When a buyer shows interest, it is best to offer them an immediate solution

1 If you want to persuade, it is better to give information than to seek it

False True

Question

‘Must Have’

= Commitment

‘Would Like’

= Interest Statement

DEVELOPING A SALE CORRECTLY 111 12 If you can do that we can progress

11 I’m getting frustrated with their service

10 I’m interested in that

9 I’m not satisfied with one of my current suppliers

8 I want to rationalise my spend 7 I’m looking for a reduction in

your price

6 My current deliveries are too slow 5 One of the best ways of getting

commitment from buyers is to get them to raise objections (so that you can overcome them)

112 SUCCESSFUL SELLING SOLUTIONS CHAPTER FIVE

Answers:

1 False: It is better to seek information to gain understanding

2 False: This will increase the chances of a buyer raising an objection

3 True: They won’t see the value of your solution 4 False: Not on it’s own, it has to be turned into a

‘Must Have’ need

5 False: This will lead to a buyer becoming frustrated 6 Interest: This is an opinion, not a statement of

intent from a buyer

7 Commitment: This is a statement of intent 8 Commitment: This is a statement of intent 9 Interest: This is an opinion, not a statement of

intent from a buyer

10 Interest: This is interest, it needs another question to develop it further

11 Interest: This is interest, it needs another question to develop it further

12 Commitment: This is a statement of intent

If you are not sure about whether the above statements showed signs of interest or commitment ask yourself the following question: Will a buyer act upon this, yes or no?

If the answer is yes, then it is a ‘Must Have’ need = Genuine commitment.

If not, (or you are not sure), then it is a ‘Would Like’ need = Interest (and will need further development before offering a solution)

Look at the context of the situation and at how buyers convey a statement to you, their manner, level of conviction and authority. These are all signs as to how committed they are.

The next stage, once you have genuine commitment is to link the benefits of your product/service to a solution.