Reversing requires the salesperson to (in most cases) surprise the prospect by asking a series of disarming questions, as opposed to trying to jump right into the sale. The goal is to make the prospect quickly feel at ease and comfortable with revealing his or her personal pain when it comes to business issues. Remember, no pain, no gain. The Sandler method of reversing is simple and can be implemented with three simple steps when first talking to the prospect:
- Give a stroke or compliment: Hey, that’s a great question, or I get that question a lot.
- Repeat: The second part of a reverse is to repeat a prospects question or use a softening statement, such as, do you mind if I ask you a question before I answer that?
- Question: Propose the question you want to ask the prospect to understand how the stroke works, picture an angry bull behind a heavy-duty fence; the fence is there to protect you from this angry bull. Do you think the bull is going to charge at the heavy-duty fence to get to you? Not very likely. A stroke or a compliment works the same way. It protects you from a potentially angry prospect, because you have just said something nice. Softening is very similar; it lowers your risk of making the prospect angry or leery. By saying, do you mind if I ask a question, you are paying respect and asking for permission. The prospect is most likely going to answer affirmatively and let you ask the question, if you have the proper pitch, tonality, inflection and volume in your questioning.
Practice and perfect these three steps, and you will go a long way towards closing more deals.
Most prospects expect salespeople to pitch them with features and benefits, so when you change that approach with friendly questions, you will most likely be warmly received. With that said, always remember that selling is like acting. It’s not just the words that make reversing work; it’s the combination of the words and how you say them together that gets you the results you desire. Think President Ronald Reagan, also an accomplished actor.
Let’s look at several quick examples of reverses to help you understand the concept even better. I’ve marked 1, 2, or 3 throughout the question to show how these reverses are set up. Note how each is constructed to soften the response before proposing the reversing question. 1 Hey, that’s a great question; there are a lot of different ways we could go with what you’re asking. 2 Before I answer that, do you mind if I ask you something? 3 I get the feeling you had something in mind already, did you? 1 Thats a very interesting question. 2 But before I dive in, can you help me with something? 3 Why did you ask me about that particular issue at this point in the conversation? What made that important to you? 1 OK, it makes sense why you’d ask that. 2 Can you help me just a little? 3 Why did you ask that question just now?
Reversing means you aren’t talking about your offer, instead, you are asking simple questions relevant to the prospect and designed to uncover the motive behind the prospect's questions to you. The prospect will feel like you want to figure out the challenges they face and help him or her overcome them. Because reversing helps you maintain bonding and rapport, the buyer will most likely help you figure out whether your product or service is a good fit, so nobody wastes their time. As a rule of thumb, it takes three or more reverses to get to the pain.
A reverse doesn’t have to be long and wordy to be effective; sometimes, short and concise works just as well. For example, a prospect might be talking when she suddenly reaches a stopping point. You can just say: And? She will take your cue and lead you down to the next layer of what she’s really thinking. Reversing is extremely effective during pricing discussions. For example: Prospect: You guys are expensive, or that seems quite high. Salesperson: You must be telling me that for a reason. Without a reverse, you have no idea what’s behind that comment. A lot of times, the person will respond to your reverse by saying, “You must be pretty good!” What you thought was an objection was not an objection at all but a recognition of quality.
On the other hand, the buyer says you’re expensive, and I honestly don’t think I can afford you. This also is helpful information for you, so you won't waste time proposing a service or product they aren't going to buy. To have prospects handle this objection, reverse or go back and re-investigate their pain. You’ll always find a direct relationship between how much pain they relive and how much they are willing to pay to make that pain go away. This is where Reversing can be most effectively used.
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