Selling can be a complicated process, especially when prospects have multiple objections to your solution. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by David Smith to discuss how he uses prospect-centered selling to overcome these objections and help prospects make authentic and genuine decisions. David encountered this issue when developing senior housing communities in St. Louis. His job was easy: to fill the communities. But David’s problem wasn’t generating leads; it was converting them to make a final decision. It’s a difficult decision to leave your home and move into a retirement community. It’s a decision many people don’t want to make, even though it is logically the right choice. Motivational speaker Brian Tracy says there are four prerequisites to a sale: Having a product or service Being able to afford it Being able to use it Having a desire for it - this was the critical missing from David’s prospects. The solution? David had to draw motivation out of them. It’s a complex, heuristic sale based on emotional resistance. And until someone recognizes and overcomes that emotional resistance, there’s no solution. David recognized that moving out of your home comes with a loss of identity. He needed to look at this transaction not from an investor perspective but the perspective of each individual prospect. When David sells, he looks for themes and values of the individual to build a foundation. And this approach applies to any product or service. Upon finishing this project, David could go back to law or help others fill their communities. He chose the latter. He built a methodology (with the help of his partner, Alexandra Fisher) based on the psychology of change. He also build the CRM Sherpa, which launched in June of 2014 and is now used by 1500 communities around the globe. With his CRM, David extrapolated helpful information that further guided his methodology: If you spend more time in direct selling activity, you’ll have better results. How you use that time in the selling zone matters. The more time per lead worked, the better results will be. Effectively use the time spent planning subsequent engagements Creatively and purposely connect and follow up with prospects. It’s not in the hearing; it’s in the telling. Hearing keeps interest and motivation along the way. But the most crucial part is for the prospect to articulate their thoughts and feelings. And you do that by asking clarifying questions and showing a genuine interest. His goal is to help his prospects make an authentic, autonomous decision that reflects their own values. His major advice? It’s not one size fits all when it comes to selling. Everyone responds differently. Be yourself, be heroic, and be authentic. For more content from David, check out his book “It’s About Time,” available on Amazon. Visit his website, oneonone.com, and check out his CRM at sherpacrm.com. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real. But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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