Read Time:  1 1/2. Minutes

Are your sales reps selling to the right people?

It’s a simple question, but it can be a real eye-opener for newer reps.

I see this a lot during the first 5 minutes of the Rapid Assessment Review I teach in the Winning the Six-Figure Sale training program.

When the rep pulls out the Relationship Map and starts to describe whom they are selling to, I ask a really simple question.

• Are you selling to people who can say YES?

Reps often get defensive and say of course I am; the customer told me they are making the decision!

Really?

Then I ask one more question.

• In addition to the person you’re selling to, who else needs to be involved in approving the deal?

Have you asked that question?

This is where the penny drops for most newer reps, and they realize they’ve been selling to the recommender, not the actual decision-maker!

Recommenders can only say NO

They don’t have the authority to say YES because they don’t have the discretionary ability to spend the budget or reallocate funds from other budgets.

Recommenders are important and must be convinced your solution will solve their problem, or there is no deal.

But reps need to understand that getting a YES from a recommender means they like the solution but still need to take it upstairs to get it approved!

• See you next week when I share: The Top Sales Leader lessons from the 2008 Recession.

See you next Saturday.

Great Selling – Jeff@SalesLeadersOnly.com