How Assumptions Can Kill Your Sales
Making assumptions is a frequent shortcoming in sales people. This can have baleful consequences during the needs analysis, as the salesperson doesn’t ask the necessary questions. The problem is that many sales people are convinced of the legitimacy of making assumptions. I don’t say you can’t make assumptions, but do it only if you also check their validity.
In its most innocent form, making assumptions could look like this:
- About the materials. You mostly use … I suppose?
Why not ask an open question instead?
- Which materials do you use for the most part?
Fortunately some customers will help you a bit.
- So you sell low ceiling fans to retail, no large volumes.
- We certainly do large volumes. There’s one client in Canada who…
However, it’s not always that innocent.
- I would like to suggest a three-year contract. Now I know what you’re thinking: “we don’t want to be stuck”.
This example shows a negative assumption that is totally unnecessary and harmful to your sales. Focus on the pros, not the cons.
If you make assumptions, it’s important to express and verify them.
- I would like to enter into a long-term relationship with you. Your annual sales are growing, which is prove of the great things going on here. am I right if I estimate the annual revenue over 4 million dollars?
It’s not necessarily a crime to make assumptions, as long as you share them with your customer and check whether they are right.
- I sense some doubt here: will a big company like ours still be able to give you a personal service? Is that your concern?
Your turn know
Do you ever catch yourself at making assumptions?
Have they ever directly impacted your sales?
What could we do to avoid making assumptions?
Wim
Related posts:
8 Responses to “How Assumptions Can Kill Your Sales”
Lorne Havisto on July 22, 2011
Another Winner Wim! Thanks!
Lorne
Wim on July 25, 2011
Thanks for the support Lorne, always appreciated!
Have a great week,
Wim
Tom on July 23, 2011
Hi Wim,
Excellent article.
We always warn people about prejudging prospects. Everyone Can have a sale hidden and you don’t find out what opportunity someone holds until you engage them with 100% of your skills and attention.
And yet it almost happened to me again yesterday! I had two scruffy looking guys in our office of who I assumed they wouldn’t be able to afford my services. Wrong!
Turned out they were running their own successful interior decorating business and they just came from a paintjob. I was lucky to have given them five minutes in my meeting room whilst waiting for someone else.
If we don’t watch out for these assumptions, we can miss out and it can happen to anyone of us.
Best
Tom
Wim on July 26, 2011
I had a similar experience once Tom.
I was visiting a prospect at home. She lived in a shabby apartment, so I immediately thought what the hell could she do with a webshop…
Turned out she was a quite well-known medium or clairvoyant or something. She was selling thousands of amulets a year, just through a mailorder catalog. There was an enormous potential to take things online! So we did
Sometimes there’s more than meets the eye!
I was great to see you here again buddy,
Wim
Ryan Critchett on July 23, 2011
Huge deal bro. It’s funny you write about this man, because I actually use to do this all of the time, and now that I think about it, it totally got people like “huh? No.. that’s not what I think,” if I assumed they were thinking something.
I did a lot of negative assumption and it definitely was harmful to my sales.
Love how you’re cranking out all these small little nuances and sales identifications. This is the stuff that really matters. It’s like… layers and layers of stuff.
Wim on July 26, 2011
You’re not alone Ryan. We all make assumptions about people, it’s how we are programmed I guess.
The only thing we can try to do is keep an open mind. If we are aware of our assumptions, we can see them for what they really are: projections.
Thanks for adding to the discussion my friend,
Wim
Nick Robinson on July 27, 2011
Ah ha! Awesome post Wim! I’ve gained enough will power to quit assuming and asking more questions, and more importantly…….listening. Then, once we have enough information, we can bring them a proposal that does assume to a certain extent.
Wim on July 28, 2011
Thanks Nick! You said it, listening is crucial. It’s one thing to ask questions but it’s another thing to truly absorb what the other person is saying and translate that in business opportunities.
Thanks for weighing in man,
Wim