In my last post we discussed effective needs analysis questions, and putting yourself in your advertisers’ shoes. I received some good feedback and comments from several sales people in the US and Canada about the post, one in particular struck me. This person felt that their organization was doing needs analysis questions, but that it rarely changed the sales process or what was pitched. In other words, they were talking the talk, but not walking the walk. He wanted to know how to go beyond “going through the motions” with need analysis questions. Which is a good question in itself.

Whether you are making a buying decision for your personal life, or for your business, buying is often an emotional process. Many people don’t believe it is for business – that they simply research options and make decisions in a black and white way, and this is not the case. People buy what they think will make them feel good, and they buy from people that make them feel good. This is how relationship building sales techniques have worked for so long. It’s why building a good rapport is so important. And, why some reps click with some advertisers while others don’t.

Now that the economy is more difficult, and the choices for spending advertising budgets are so much larger, those of us in sales now recognize that having good relationships with our prospects and advertisers isn’t going to be the only basis we need to generate revenue. We need to dig deeper into our tool kits. And, that means building a deeper relationship with your advertisers by truly understanding their needs. While we covered several effective needs analysis questions in the last post, let’s go a bit deeper into the emotions of buying. You don’t just want to think about what your advertiser needs, you also want to explore how they will be making purchasing decisions from an emotional standpoint. Think about it this way – imagine their marketing needs (more customers, move certain inventory, etc) as a PAIN, and that an investment in advertising can help make that pain go away. By taking this point of view, it helps you take your needs assessment questions to a deeper level, and also helps you steer the conversation. 

Here’s how it works:

-          You begin by talking with them and asking questions to develop an understanding of their marketing needs: have them describe the pain. Notice how they word responses and in many cases it will literally sound like pain – “I just need more customers at lunch to keep the doors open”, “I need to get the word out about our services to as many people as possible, and I’m not sure how to do it”, and so on.

-          Once you understand what the pain is, resist the temptation to go straight to your offering, features and benefits. This is a key error of many salespeople that miss an opportunity to close. Instead, poke around a bit on the pain. Make them really feel it. Word your questions in a way that evokes emotion and relates to them personally. For example, “How long has this been a problem for you?”, “What have you done to try to fix it?”, “How is this impacting you personally?”  This exploration will bring your conversation to a deeper level, and you will get more detail. You will also be positioning your advertiser to be considering this challenge fully. They are a patient in your examining room, and you are the doctor.

-          Now it’s ALMOST time for your diagnosis, but again resist the temptation to diagnose too quickly! First, you need to identify their budget. Continuing with your emotional probing in your phrasing, ask questions like “With or without us, how committed are you to solving this problem /achieving this goal?”, “How much would you be willing to invest to solve this marketing challenge?”

-          OK, sales people, now it’s time for your diagnosis. Discuss your products / services or ideas for the prospect, and how you’ll follow up with them.

The key is to make the prospect or advertiser feel that you understand their needs, and that you are on their team, committed to their success. Good luck and happy selling!