From the time you get up in the
morning until the time you go to
bed at night, you are negotiating,
communicating, persuading, and
influencing — trying to get people to
cooperate with you to accomplish the
things that you want them to accomplish.
So the pivotal question with
regard to selling is not if you are doing
it, but if you are good at it.
Unfortunately, over the years, a stigma
has grown up around the selling
profession. Many people feel that selling
is a low-level type of activity, and
they don't like to be associated with it
— even people who are in sales!
Virtually no colleges or universities
have a "Department of Selling," even
though almost 15 million Americans
make their living by selling something
to someone. It is the largest single
identifiable occupational group in the
United States.
Salespeople are the movers and
shakers in every business and industry.
They are the key people who create
the demand for all the products
and services that keep everyone
employed at every other occupation.
The 'Gap'
The basis for all successful sales
efforts is a discipline called gap analysis.
Gap analysis is clearly defining what
your idea, product, or service can do for
a person and then deciding how to
demonstrate that in a compelling way.
The very best persuaders, communicators,
and salespeople are those who
concentrate their attention on identifying
the gap that exists between a
prospect's current situation and the
ideal situation and determine how big
it is. They then focus on widening that
gap in every possible way, until the
prospect begins to feel more and more
dissatisfied with his or her current situation
and more and more desirous of
enjoying the preferable situation that
is achievable by the use of the product,
service, or idea.
Let me give you an example. I
recently took my car into the dealership
for a regular checkup and service.
I was quite happy with my car — it
was a nice car, it was paid off, and it
was running fine … or so I thought.
The service manager did an excellent
job of analysis and came back to me
with the sad fact that the car required
not only new tires all around, but also
a complete new set of brakes, a wheel
alignment, and a lot of other things.
The total cost would be about $3,000.
You can imagine my reaction. I was
shocked. I had no idea that the car
required that much service. Well, I
thought, what the heck, at least it's
cheaper than buying a new car. Then a
salesman at the dealership pointed out
to me that the car would drop another
$2,000 in value at the turn of the
model year, which was coming up in
about 60 days. He told me that if I kept
the car, and repaired it, I would lose
$5,000 off the total value of the car,
which I could never recover.
Suddenly, I went from complacency
about my car to dissatisfaction, and
then to great dissatisfaction and an
intense desire to improve my condition
in some way. The salesman then
went on to explain that he could take
my car as a down payment on a brandnew
luxury car, with no cash out of my
pocket, and he could spread the payments
over three, four, or five years so
that the cost to me would be very reasonable.
At that, all my resistance vanished.
I started out satisfied with my
car, then became so dissatisfied with it
that I bought a brand-new expensive
luxury car — and, surprisingly
enough, I drove away happy.
This sales person identified my
gap — my car needed a tune-up. He
then widened that gap, leaving me discouraged
with my present situation.
He then offered me a solution to fill
that gap and satisfied my discouragement
(filled the gap).
Remember that people buy solutions
to their problems, not products
or services. In fact, as a salesperson,
you need to be more of a problem finder
than a vendor. The more you focus
on the problem, or the gap that exists
between the real and the ideal in the
customer's situation, the faster you
will find a place where your product
or service can plug the gap.
Identifying the Gap
The bigger the problem that the customer
or prospect has, the bigger the
potential sale. One of the most powerful
questions you can ask a person is,
"How much is that problem costing
you?" Help him or her to identify not
only the obvious direct costs, but also
the not-so-obvious indirect costs.
Ask the prospect, "What are the
implications? What is the meaning of
that problem to you? What other
things does it affect in your work or
personal life?"
The most astute salespeople are
those who are capable of finding a
small gap and then expanding it into a
wide gap. They are capable of discovering
a small problem or dissatisfaction
in the mind of the prospect and
then, by questioning and commenting,
increase it until the prospect develops
an intense desire for the solution they
are offering.
If you are selling to companies, you
have to use questions to determine
what the decision makers in the organization
want to accomplish. What is the
gap between where they are and where
they want to be? How is the decision
maker rewarded, and for what? What
does the decision maker have to do to
earn the respect, esteem, and support of
his or her superiors and co-workers?
One of the deepest subconscious
needs of all people is the need for selfesteem,
for feeling valuable, important,
and worthwhile. If you can ascertain
what people need to do to
increase their self-esteem and their
perceived value in their organization,
and then show them that by using
your product or service, they can earn
the approval and appreciation of the
people around them and above them,
they will often be very motivated to
buy what you are selling.
When you meet prospects for the
first time, you will find that they are
usually unaware that a gap exists
between where they are and where they
could be. They will often say things
like, "I'm not interested," or "I can't
afford it," or "We're quite happy with
our current situation." These are normal
and natural responses. No one likes
to change. Your job is to describe a state
of even greater satisfaction that they
could enjoy if they did something different.
Virtually all advertising is aimed
at showing people how much better off
they could be with a product or service
that they have not yet acquired.
Ask Gap Questions
Gap analysis is based on asking
good questions — questions focused
on discovering problems that might be
troubling the prospect. There is a
direct correlation between the use of
good questioning techniques and sales
success. The more and better questions
you ask aimed at finding a problem
or uncovering a dissatisfaction,
the more interest the prospect will
have and the more sales you will
make. The person who asks questions
has control.
Good salespeople always plan the
wording of their questions, rewriting
them and practicing them before they
get face-to-face with a prospect. Poor
salespeople, on the other hand, make
up their questions as they go along.
Here are some great questions for
gap analysis.
The first question is an application
of the "magic wand technique."
Imagine that you have a magic wand
that you can wave over the prospect's
situation and you ask this question:
"Mr. [or Ms.] Prospect, if this situation
were absolutely perfect in every
respect, what would it look like?"
Then remain completely silent. When
the prospect begins to describe the
perfect situation, you'll uncover the
gaps you can fill to create his or her
ideal future. When you explain how
your product or service can bridge
those gaps, you will greatly enhance
your chances of making a sale.
A great set of questions begins with
the words what if? — "What if you
could do this? What difference would
that make to your current situation?"
Or, "What if we could achieve this particular
result for you? What effect
would that have on your current operations?"
Good questions that grab the
prospect's attention will start him or
her visualizing and imagining an ideal
future state, exactly the state that your
product or service is meant to achieve.
Fill the Gap
Now that you have asked questions
aimed at uncovering your prospects'
current problems, needs, and dissatisfactions,
you need to fill the gap with
your solution. Listen carefully to the
answers they give you, and ask additional
questions to help them expand
on their situation. Take a few moments
to feed their answers back to them, to
show that you were really listening
and that you really understand their
needs. Then position yourself to influence
and persuade your prospects by
showing them how your product or
service just happens to be the ideal
way to solve their problems, satisfy
their needs, or achieve their goals.
When you take this low-pressure approach to getting people to do what you want them to do, they will buy from you with pleasure, and they will recommend you to their friends. They will feel they are being helped to improve their lives rather than being pressured into buying something that they many not want or need.
Learn more about Brian Tracyand his bestselling program The Psychology of Achievement.