Hello all, take a minute and review the difference between a dialogue and a discussion. Both are valuable in any sales effort and it is important to know when to use either or both.
Use dialogue early on… with future customers, to promote bonding and establish a rapport. Use dialogue, with proper questions, to establish where your prospect stands on change or on their current level of service, budget concerns, the decision process, who will be impacted if a change is made, do we need to have a dialogue that includes others … etc. Pre-call planning is critical to building questions that will establish the dialogue.
Use discussion with future customers after the dialogue. If your dialogue was a healthy back and forth with the future customer talking at least 65-70% of the time… you will have a sense if this is moving towards a close or not… a fit will be apparent to all concerned.
The discussion could sound like this ” based upon our back and forth, what do you see as your next steps?” or “if on a scale of 1 – 10 … five was “we have a few concerns” and eight was “what is our next step” where are you on that scale?” If you hear “we have a few concerns”… listen and before you address them you could ask “how would you like us to address those in a perfect world…?” I like to say “I have my ideas about those concerns and we are customer driven … so our first question is how would you like us to address those in a perfect world…” the key in a discussion is under promise and help your company over deliver. Many salespeople make the mistake here of putting their company in a position to fail… you want to be in a position to win. Future customers have radar for the overpromising sales rep. When in a discussion, remember only to have the decision makers present … see the last point in the definitions. Too many cooks can spoil the soup…
Pay attention in the dialogue parts to how you feel and what you notice by being fully present and mindful. If you notice a shift in body language that is closed or you feel you might have made one of the participants uncomfortable with something you said, inquire about it right then and there. I have witnessed salespeople continuing to present when clearly something they said made the future customers uncomfortable.
With existing customers, feel free to have a full on discussion right away, unless they bring someone new into the decision process… now you have to go back to the dialogue rules…
Good selling and if I can help … call me or email me, my contact information is on the web site.
Gratefully yours.
Steve
Definitions of Dialogue and Discussion:
Dialogue: A dialogue is a conversation that takes place between two or more people.
Discussion: A discussion is talking about something so as to reach a decision.
Characteristics of Dialogue and Discussion:
Decision:
Dialogue: In a dialogue, the decision is not a key component.
Discussion: In a discussion arriving at a decision is a key component.
Flow of Ideas:
Dialogue: In dialogue, there is a free flow of ideas.
Discussion: In a discussion, the flow of ideas is often hindered by those who participate in the discussion.
