How Many Times Have You Heard . . .

In 2006 I heard 58 times from prospects – “It’s not in the budget, that’s more than we had planned to spend, maybe next year we’ll have more available cash, we need to do it but can’t afford it at this time but keep in touch, get back to us next year - whatever,” or something similar. Ever heard any of these? Well, if you have been selling for more than twenty minutes I’ll guarantee you have heard something similar until you are blue in the face.

Here’s the problem from my perspective. What I am offering (selling) is a solution to these circumstances or conditions. What I provide is sure-fire techniques, ideas, concepts and solutions that will improve sales performance, income, margins and results that will solve this problem of a shortage of cash – or sales.

Believe me, either I am really lousy at selling or this is just a lame excuse to maintain the status quo.

If you offer solutions to your prospect’s problems, needs or circumstances that will improve their business or their personal life in some vital or important way and they tell you they can’t afford it – I ask you – what else could they be saying other than – we are really happy the way things are! We don’t want to change our state of affairs!

Or, could they be saying that you just haven’t convinced me that what you are offering will really do what you say it can or will do?

I have to believe that out of the 58 times I heard this reason for inaction last year at least some of them (I would like to think all of them but I have a lot to learn too) were just techniques used to get rid of me. Boy, does this really hurt when all I have in mind is their best interests at heart. Sure, we all make money when we sell, but I am sure you have figured out that the money you earn just comes and goes.

If you don’t get a certain degree of personal satisfaction and pleasure out of helping others, I urge you to seriously consider another career other than selling.

So, why don’t prospects just tell you and I that we just haven’t done a good job of selling or creating perceived value for them? Why the need to be illusive and give us some lame excuse for not buying? Why can’t they just say, “You are not any good at this selling stuff. Or, “We have bigger problems than the one you product or service will solve.” I don’t really care. Why do people feel they can’t just tell the truth? Are they trying to avoid hurting our feelings? Are they just lying and don’t want us to know? Who knows!

What I do know is that two things are going to happen.

First -They are not going to solve their problems or improve their circumstances or conditions unless they take corrective action. I don’t mean to imply here that there are not other sales training programs out there that are not as good or even better (Although unlikely) than mine. I love the line, “Expecting different or better results from repeated or not improved behavior is a mild form of insanity.” If you have heard this line before you may have noticed I took a little license with it. Delaying this corrective action only says that, “It’s not a problem or we have bigger problems to deal with.”