As you look at the picture above, you’ll see that it creates an illusion. It can appear that you’re looking at a man’s face from the front, or it can appear that you’re looking at his face from the left side. Which is correct? It depends on the person viewing it. Communication is much like that. We can believe we have communicated our ideas and thoughts perfectly, only to find that it was an illusion, our illusion. How do we know what we have communicated? Because of the results. If you don’t receive the results you intended, check to see what you communicated. The onus is put on the one transferring their idea. Not the recipient.

In sales, this can be the difference between your prospects buying from you, and not. With four decades of sales experience, including sales management and sales training, I’ve observed, or made, almost every possible mistake in sales and I want to focus on the idea of the illusion that clear communication has taken place. In this article, I’m mainly directing the content to seasoned sales professionals, but it serves as a warning to newbies, as well.

When we first get into a sales role, we have to learn all about the product and/or service we will be selling. As most new salespeople do, we want to share more details than needed because we are so enthusiastic about what we’re selling. We may feel the need to repeat the basics for the sake of the prospects…and our sake.

Then, because we have become so familiar with our product and/or service and have sold to many customers, we begin leaving out important information. We begin assuming that our prospects have a level of knowledge about our products and/or services that we do.. To our prospects, it’s as if we are telling them a story, but we’re starting in the middle of it. They weren’t introduced to the characters, the setting, and many other important details. We conclude the story all proud of our presentation and expect a round of applause, but all we get is a confused look.

As I said previously, If you don’t receive the results you intended, check to see what you communicated. If, instead of a sale you get confusion, several questions about the most basic part of you’re solution, and/or a wealth of stalls and objections, then you know you didn’t communicate what you thought you did.

The Solution

The solution is very basic. When first interacting with prospects, and even customers, ask them to rate themselves on their knowledge base of what you’re offering. “Ms. Prospect, you said on the phone that you’ve been researching a solution for (Their Problem). How would you rate your knowledge on the subject on a scale of 1-10, with “1” being you know very little and “10” being you’re an expert on it? From experience, I suggest taking the number they give you and dropping 1-2 numbers lower when you start educating them in your presentation. This is because people have an ego to protect and will rarely admit to knowing very little.

This one question will make your closing ratio go through the roof and make a significant contribution to your compensation!  You see, you now have a tool to help you tell your story and to start in the right chapter that will make the most sense for your prospects. If they need the most basic information, then you will be the one to share that with them. If they are already educated on the subject, then you won’t lose them in information they already have, making feel like they’re watching someone else’s home movies.

Once you used this question, I’d love to hear back from you about how it worked for you.

Call me at 972.900.9207 or email me at ed@trans-think,com.

Dr. Edward Lewellen is the leading peak performance and mindset expert, a Master Executive Coach, leadership and sales expert, and a keynote speaker for some of the largest global organizations. His list of clients include executives from small to Fortune 500 companies, as well as the NFL, MMA, Professional Boxing, and more.