Lee Salz is a Featured Columnist for The Business Journals.
This is a big election year in the United States. Politicians and the media are making the case for change. Come Election Day, despite the pleas for change, more than 90 percent of elected officials will keep their jobs.
It’s similar with salespeople. When salespeople are making prospecting calls, they don’t often hear dissatisfaction on the other end of the phone. More than 90 percent of buyers say they are happy with their current supplier when first contacted by a salesperson.
Despite the frequency of hearing that prospects are happy with their supplier, salespeople are often caught on their heels when they hear it.
What does it mean when buyers say they are happy? Let’s start with what it does not mean. Did the organization conduct a massive satisfaction survey gauging happiness with the current supplier? No, the sole measure of “happiness” is that no one is complaining. Thus, when a salesperson calls and the buyer doesn’t want to have a conversation on the subject, the easiest route to take is to say “we’re happy.” That should make the salesperson go away. At least, that’s the buyer’s hope.
However, given the frequency of the “we’re happy” stall, salespeople must be adept at resolving it. Over the years, salespeople have incorporated three strategies into their selling repertoire to address this one.