Have you ever built a proposal or recommendation around what you need to sell, rather than the prospects true needs? Maybe some rural faces we can bundle with other boards in town or on the interstate so we can get our occupancy up? Maybe a couple of flips on that new digital that isn’t selling out as fast as we had hoped?
You might think that the "hard sell" approach is a thing of the past in professional sales. That's because many OOH companies have adopted some form of "consultative" selling model, where the salesperson aims to "partner" with the prospect in an effort to develop an appropriate solution.
In theory, that approach makes sense. In practice, however, even though there's a lot of talk about "partnering" and being "consultative," too many OOH salespeople still rely on and structure their selling approach and eventual presentation around, things like:
• The features, benefits, and unique selling points of our boards
• Their company's history
• The avails I have right now
• Their customer testimonials
• And so on
Salespeople raise all of these subjects in an effort to guide the prospect to a buying decision - even though they don't know what, if anything, is causing business issues in the prospect's world.
When you build your sales approach around your reasons for the prospect to buy, it's still the hard sell, even if your demeanor is not aggressive or demanding. When people end up buying from you after making such appeals, they're buying in spite of your hard sell, not because of it. You need the prospect's reasons!
Make the effort to discover the prospect's specific reasons for buying your boards, as well as their criteria for buying from one media company rather than another. Then, structure your approach and presentation around what you have discovered.
If your locations, avails, your company, etc. can't meet at least some of the prospect's requirements, rethink whether it makes sense to pursue the opportunity any further. If there is not a connection between what you can offer and what's going on in this person's world, the "hard sell" - whatever form it may take - is not going to create that connection.
As I was thinking about what message I wanted to convey to you this week I came across a book in my personal library. It’s a little ratty, a little dog-eared and worn from use. My first advertising sales manager gave it to me in 1979. I was mesmerized by the philosophy communicated in that book, ‘See You at The Top’ by Zig Ziglar, copyright 1975.
To me that philosophy embodied the essence of the mindset I would set about striving to maintain in my career. It is at the very core of true consultative selling. That philosophy is this:
I believe –
You can get anything in life you want. If you help enough other people get what they want.
That is why we don’t end each OOH Sales Mastery session with “go sell something” but the encouragement to “go out and find businesses/people who you can help with OOH advertising”.
Need help with sales skills or coaching to take your out of home company to the next level. Learn more about OOH Sales Mastery at oohmastery.com or Contact Dan Nausley at dan.nausley@sandler.com, 423.702.5579.
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Lisa & Dan Nausley and Reggie Piercy of Sandler Chattanooga have developed the OOH Sales Mastery Program after more than a decade of training/coaching thousands of OOH Operators across the country in sales, leadership, and executive coaching.
