Do you routinely fill those uncomfortable silences?
- Is what you're about to do or say in your best interest?
- Wait out the silence.
- Sell like a doctor.
David Sandler always taught you should never ask a question, make a statement, or behave in any way unless it is in your best interest to do so for the sale. He also taught that, as a general rule, a good sales discussion is one in which the prospect does the talking 70 percent of the time.
With both of these principles in mind, consider this question: How are you are supposed to get your prospect to talk 70 percent of the time? Here's one answer: Know when to answer a question with a question (See Rule #12), and then stop talking. In other words, act like a dummy- on purpose.
You must learn to be brave enough to ask the "dummy question."
Then wait out the silence!
For instance:
Prospect: I have to tell you: Your competition's price is a lot better than your is.
You: Okay. Is it over? (Now wait out the silence!)
If remaining quiet in such a situation makes you feel uncomfortable or unprofessional, it shouldn't. Consider your relationship with your family doctor. Doctors are some of the best "answer a question with a question" practitioners on earth! Your doctor will often answer a question with a question- and when she does, you may be quite sure she will wait until she gets a straight answer from you before she recommends a course of treatment!
What happens when you arrive at your doctor's office complaining of a sore shoulder? After listening to your complaint, does the doctor simply accept your diagnosis? No. She asks series of questions...and then waits for your response. It would be hard to have confidence in a doctor who asked her patient a question, then nervously filled in the silence by changing the subject before getting an answer.
For another example of the "dummy" technique, consider the old television show Columbo. Maybe, you've seen the show. The rumpled detective is almost out the door...then he stops for one more question, a "dumb" question that he apologizes for even asking. He waits for the answer. After a series of seemingly "dumb" questions, Columbo has the guilty party pretty much trapped. Another successful "dummy!"
"Is it over?" is a classic "dummy" question. (See Rule #31). The answer to "Is it over?" will, if you wait for it, tell you precisely what is happening in the relationship, and will often lead you toward what you need next to regain your footing.
Sometimes, though, we ask the opposite of "dummy" questions, questions that are too smart for our own good. For instance: "Did you take into account all nine equipment categories covered by our service plan when you decided that we were expensive than the competition?" It's easy for salespeople to go down this road when they've been selling for a while and know a whole lot about the features of their product or service. They're so proud of what their knowledge that they can't wait to share it with anyone who will listen.
This brings us to one of the ironies of our profession. Back when we began our career, we asked prospects more "dumb" questions. Then, as the years went by, we got more and more certain that we knew what we were doing, and absorbed more product knowledge that we just knew we had to share with our prospects - somehow.
If we're not careful, our product knowledge, and our certainty that we know exactly what to say and do next, can overwhelm our own process and we may stop asking "dumb" questions. Typically, when this happens, we will start doing more of the talking in the sales meeting!
If we're lucky, we will learn to ask questions like a dummy again- and get back to the job of spending most of our time listening to the prospect.
That's the best way to make a medical diagnosis... the best way to crack a tough criminal case... and, eventually, the best way to forge a business relationship.
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