The software he sold tracked user behaviour on websites, and their target market was large multinational corporations.
Now, Ari wasn't a novice at this stage in his career. He’d been trained by a lot of the big name sales gurus, therefore he knew how to handle a sale and he knew the right questions to ask.
And because of the size of the deals, Ari would spend a lot of time prospecting and working relationships JUST to get to a first meeting.
Which is how he found himself conducting a conference call from San Diego, California with all the stakeholders from a large company in New York that had finally agreed to meet with Ari and hear his proposal.
After all of The pleasantries were exchanged Ari then took the stakeholders through his demo.
The responses on the other end of the call were exactly what he wanted to hear. “This is fantastic!” “Incredible!” “How long have you been in business?” “How many clients do you have?”...all questions containing buying signals.
You know what it’s like as a builder when that happens don’t you?
You’re in the zone, it’s exciting. The questions roll in and the answers just dance out of your mouth…
You’re on a roll and you know you’ve got a red hot opportunity in your hands….
So Ari wrapped up the demo and the compliments kept coming through the speaker... “Fantastic Demo!” “We sure do like the look of this.” “Call us in two weeks.”
And with that, Ari reached forward to switch off the conference call…
Only he missed, and instead of hitting the ‘off’ button, he inadvertently pushed the ‘mute’ button…
It was a total accident, yet instead of trying again, a thought crossed his mind.
He thought, “Maybe I’ll just wait a moment…”
On the other end of the conference call, all of the stakeholders we’re under the impression that Ari had hung up and were embarking on a debrief of the call…
All the while Ari was listening in…
However, what Ari heard shocked him to the core.
“We’re not going with him,” was the first instruction that came out of the speaker…
“Keep using him for more information…”
“...And find someone cheaper.”
Ari was in a state of shock…
He could not believe what he’d just heard.
He’d done everything he’d been trained to do, so how was this happening?
Which is why they say, “Send me more information,” or, “Send the proposal,” or, “Call me back in two weeks,” when they have no intention of ever buying.
So why do they do it?
Why don’t they just tell the truth?
It’s because they know what happens next.
Salespeople are trained to overcome objections, which means in a lot of cases, applying pressure.
It’s second nature. It’s what they do. And the way prospects protect themselves from having pressure applied, is to avoid telling the truth.
It’s not their fault, they are simply reacting to the sales process they find themselves in.
Which means until you learn how to take the pressure out of selling, you will never get to the real truth…
And until you get to the real truth, you can’t build real trust.
And real trust is what every professional builder wants to base their business on.
In order to get to the real truth, you must establish very early in the relationship if this person is a fit for your building company.
And that’s not easy when you are desperate for more work.
However, by being objective when you qualify your leads, you will save yourself a lot of time and heartache later down the track.
When Ari decided that truth-based selling was the only way forward, his life changed forever.
Because instead of being a salesperson, he transitioned into becoming a trusted advisor.
Trusted advisors act in the best interests of the prospect, regardless of whether it leads to a sale or not.
And the best part is, that when you focus on helping your prospects rather than selling to them, the process becomes very easy and even...enjoyable.
Seriously, if you hate the thought of selling, and most builders do, then using truth-based selling as a part of your sales process is essential in order for your building company to survive and thrive in the 21st century.
If you’d like to discover some more tips on how to master the sales process for a residential building company, check out our latest book, Professional Builders Secrets.
Inside you’ll discover how to generate more quality leads, and convert more of those leads into sales at higher margins while improving the client experience.
Click on the special link below to receive your free copy.