Sales Success is About BDMs Asking Questions, Not Answering Them
I often have conversations with business owners about why they can’t find successful Business Development Managers. I ask them what they look for in a BDM or what the background is of the sales staff they have tried in the past. Too often the CEO tells me that they have people who are well networked into the industry that they serve but admittedly have been a disappointment in sales. In defense contracting it is usually someone who had a career in the military, retired and is now on their second career; in the security industry it is a retired law enforcement professional; in maintenance products and services it is someone who has had a career in facilities management. When I ask “Why”, the business owner’s answer is “that is the type of person who fully understands my company and they know lots of people who will use my product (or service)”. When I ask “Why” that is important I am told so they can explain how important our product (or service) is to the potential customer and that they can educate them on it. I then ask what the individual’s experience is in “Sales” and get a puzzled look and a sheepish reply “Well none actually, but…”.
A misconception in sales is that we need to educate our prospect. The ineffective sales person either memorizes the benefits and features and regurgitates them ad nausea putting the prospect to sleep or over explains them doing the same. A wise sales manager taught me early in my career that God gave us two ears and one mouth and that a successful salesman uses them in proportion. We ask probing questions, listen and learn.
I am not saying that it isn’t important for the Business Development Manager to fully understand the product or service they are representing, but it is perfectly acceptable to respond to a question with “I’ll get back to you on that”. In fact, in a higher dollar sale that isn’t a “one-call close”, I have seen several successful sales people use that response, even if they know the answer, in order to have another reason to get in front of the prospect again. The successful sales person knows that the key to presenting the solution to the prospect is to uncover his pain points first. Probing questions will uncover the problem, what the prospect sees as potential solutions and any obstacles to implementing a solution. Once those questions have been answered the salesman is informed enough to offer viable solutions provided by his / her company.
Probing questions will also help identify the level of authority the end user has in the purchasing process, what other company employees need to be accepting of the solution and the capital or budget considerations that need to be addressed. Question, questions, questions. A successful lawyer asks the right questions for the jury to come to a decision that is in the best interest of the client. The successful Business Development Manager asks the right questions for the prospect to come to the decision that is in the best interest of the client AND the company the salesman is representing.