As I stormed out the door of the building my blood was pumping and all I could think of was how dumb the buyer was. How could this idiot not choose my deal over the one they selected? If you haven?t felt like this at one time or another, you haven?t been in sales very long. All I needed to do was sit in the car, look in the mirror and realize who the dumb one really was. I was looking at him.

I?ve set myself up more than a few times and each time I tell myself ?this is the last time.? After a few times, I did learn my lesson and realized what my sales manager told me was correct. He warned me ?buyers are liars?. I had to learn to trust my instincts and evaluate the situation from facts and human behavior signals.

There were signals the buyer was sending to me when we met. I was too busy thinking about what I was saying, instead of asking good questions and listening to the answers. Some of what the buyer was saying just didn?t add up. Since the buyer was telling me how much they liked my company, I felt the deal was all sown up. It was what they weren?t telling me and what I wasn?t asking that got me in trouble.

Ask the Tough Questions

In time, I learned that asking the tough questions made the difference and allowed me to flush out any problem in most opportunities. My listening skills improved and results became apparent when tough questions were asked. Unless you want to be the idiot salesperson, you will learn how to ask the tough questions, listen to what the buyer is and isn?t saying and follow your instincts in their behavior.

Steve Martinez implements sales management strategies with a focus on automating sales for printing organizations. Selling Magic teaches businesses how to automate and customize ACT or Outlook with the best practices of sales management while integrating email marketing and technology for greater profits. http://www.sellingmagic.com

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