Show notes
If you want to create desire in sales, it has to be about them. Their wants, their needs. The things that they're looking to accomplish from the relationship, because that's where all their desire comes from.
David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. In today's episode, co host Jay McFarland and I will discuss creating desire with your communication in sales. Welcome back, Jay.
Jay: Hey, David. It's great to be here, as always. read this title and I've been thinking about it, but I'd love to hear your perspective up front. What do you mean creating desire with your communication?
David: Well, I think if we're In the business of conveying value and providing products and ultimately selling something to someone else, the only way that happens is if there is enough desire created in the other person to make them want to move forward. Without the desire to move forward, it's never going to happen.
It's kind of a funny word, particularly in sales. We tend not to use words like desire a whole lot. We tend to think in terms of qualification and segmentation, and we keep it all very clinical. But without the component of wanting it, if the prospect or client does not want what we're selling, then absolutely nothing is going to happen.
And the only way that desire is either created or channeled is generally with our communication. Now, if we're offering something that they already want, then the desire is already built in. But if not, if they don't see all the benefits, if they don't see what it can do for them, then they might not be feeling it enough yet to pull the trigger.
And at that point, it becomes our job to say, all right what do I need to do in terms of my communication with this person to help either create some of that desire or ideally uncover the desire that's already buried inside there?
Jay: Mmm. That's great. I think about my own sales process. One of the things we do in our company is we offer a free consultation, and that's my job. I give the consultation.
And there's nothing I hate more than when somebody says free consultation, and what they really meant was free sales call, right? And so the minute you get them on the phone, they're pitching you their product, and I don't.
I listen, I ask questions, I tell them about their circumstances, I tell them what steps they can take to make their life better. And I always start the call saying, "just so you know, this is not a sales call. My goal is to give you the information that you need."
It never fails. I've never had a call in my life, and I've done probably a thousand of these. At the end of the call, they say, "well, how much do you charge for these services? And I'd like to move forward with you."
I never, never tried to sell them on anything. And to me, if you can do it, you can't do it with every situation. But to me, that's just ideal. They're asking me how much I charge. I've created that desire in them without one word that sounds like a sales pitch.
David: Right. Because if you go immediately into sales mode, if you start out with that, if you lead with a sales pitch, it's not going to create desire in anyone. Because a lot of the desire that we're going to be able to uncover in our prospects is going to come from the answers we get to the questions that we ask them.
And so, you know, the whole diagnostic approach to sales, just like the diagnostic approach in medicine. First, you have to examine the patient to find out where it hurts. Examine, and then diagnose, and then and only then can you prescribe, right?
So you have to examine the patient, find out where it hurts, find out what their needs are, find out if they need what we have to offer. If they don't have a need for what we have to offer, then yeah, there's no need for a sales pitch, right?
And once we've done that examination, then we make the diagnosis. Based on what you've told me, it sounds like you're looking to accomplish this, and this, and this. Is that correct? And if it is, and then if we have something that can help them with that, then the prescription would be, this is how we can help you if that's something that's of interest to you.
But you're exactly right. That desire is not going to be created in the pitch portion of the presentation.
Jay: Yeah, that's right. And in fact, I hear from a lot of our potential customers. They're like, "I talked to three of your competitors and all they wanted to do was sell me on product and they confused me even more."
In fact, I think their tactic is if I can confuse you enough, you're going to feel like you have to use me 'cause there's no way you could possibly understand what we're talking about.
Of course, I'm in the tax business, so it's pretty easy to, you know, convey to people that you're ignorant, you need us, whereas we spend the first 20 minutes educating them and then they're like, "wow, this is somebody who knows what they're doing. I want to use you. How do I use you?"
And then it just comes down to price. Can they afford us? And can I convey to them why paying our price is absolutely the benefit that they need.
David: Yeah. And what you just described there, from competitors who lead off with the hard sell approach, that is so common in so many industries. And it is absolutely deadly to sales.
Jay: Yes.
David: And unfortunately, a lot of the sales tactics that people are trained on are things like overcoming objections, which is not a bad thing, right?
But, if you're on the defensive for the whole call, it's like if you ever watched a boxing match, you don't want to be on the defensive through the whole match. You can't do that, right? And if you're in a situation where that's what's happening, where you're just trying to get in there and make your point and have them understand it and have them buy it, then you're at a disadvantage right from the beginning.
But when you're able to create a situation where people are free to ask you questions, disagree with something that you're saying, question what you're saying, and find out if there is a good fit there, that's what's ultimately going to create the desire.
Because until they feel like, and this goes back to the whole know, like, and trust thing, until they feel like they know enough about what it is that you're talking about, and they like you enough to pay attention to what you have to say, and they trust you enough to say, okay, maybe I'll give this a shot, none of it's going to happen.
There's not going to be any desire created, if you're interacting with somebody that you don't know too well and don't like a whole lot and don't trust very much.
Jay: Yeah, and in fact, it's a funny thing. People tell me, "well, thanks for the call. I want to check in with some of your competitors first."
And I'm like, " yeah, go for it." Because I know they're coming back to me. 'cause I know how all of them act. And. They always do. They always come back to us because we didn't give them the hardcore sales pitch.
We actually educated them, which made them feel like we were really experts in the field. So I think sometimes taking the whole feeling of the sales process out of the equation, if you can do it, it's not always possible depending on your product. But if you can find that formula, wow, can it be more successful.
David: Absolutely. And when you're looking to communicate with someone in a way that is designed to ideally create desire in the mind of the person, in the heart of the person that you're talking to, assuming they have a need for the products and services you offer, a good way to do that is to make sure that the conversation is primarily about them.
Jay: Yes.
David: If you're talking about yourself the whole time, and you're talking about me, me, me, and I, I, I, and we, we, we...
Jay: Yes.
David: That is not the kind of conversation that's going to lead to that desired result. If you want to create desire in them, it has to be about them. Their wants, their needs. The things that they're looking to accomplish from the relationship, because that's where all their desire comes from.
Jay: Yeah. and I, think that if you do spend that time talking about them, they will come around to the point where they realize they want to work with you. And they'll start asking you about your pricing and your services. And then there's oftentimes now where they say, "well, what is your pricing?" And I'll say, well, I just try and make this a, consultation call.
Let me send you my list of pricing and I'll follow back with you in a day or two. And even that takes them back that I don't jump right in to the sales process. I give them time and space. And I realize in some sales cycles, you want to close them when you have them on the phone because you may never get them back on the phone and you may have to reestablish that relationship every time.
So you really have to decide what your own sales cycle is going to be. But in my situation, I've found that's the most successful way to never feel like a salesman. I always feel like a friend, a consultant, somebody who cares for them and just wants to provide the best product for them.
David: Yeah, and that's what's going to lead to those levels of desire to work with you when they are actually able to feel that.
Jay: Yeah.
David: You know, when we talk about a word like desire, I mean, a lot of times in sales, we think in terms of interest. Are they interested in what we have to offer? And obviously, interest has to come first. I'm not going to desire something until I first express interest in it.
And this also leads back to the idea of disqualifying people as well. If you're having a conversation with someone, you're asking a lot of questions and they really have no interest in what you're talking about. They appear to have no desire for it at all.