Frances Pratt of Metasan contrasts outdated "crocodile selling" that manipulates buyers with modern selling that starts by deeply understanding what they actually need. Great selling means surfacing objections upfront and guiding buyers toward their own decision, whether yes or no.
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Hello everybody, it's Frances Pratt here from Metasan. I love talking about sales and selling, um, and today I've been prompted by a post on LinkedIn by, um, a great sales expert that I know by the name of Luigi. And he was talking about when he started selling that it was all about the end. all about focusing on what I wanted from the buyer, focusing on getting anything that I needed to do to get that sale. But that's not where we're at in today's world. And it reminded me of a term that I often use called crocodile selling. And so to me, crocodile selling is exactly that, that focus on the end, the dollar signs in their eyes, the thing that they focus on, the salespeople, the crocodile sellers, they focus on what they want, not what the buyer is interested in. And they use tricks and anything at their disposal to try and get you, the buyer, to do what they want. And that's the exact opposite of what we should be doing in the modern age. And the reason I call them crocodiles is because we can all look around, and I'm sure those people listening today, I'm sure you've been sold at like that, haven't you? You've been sold at where the person is absolutely only interested in themselves and not in you. But they are crocodile sellers. And just because there are crocodiles still on Earth today, it does not mean we're in the world of the dinosaurs. Dinosaurs and dinosaur selling and crocodile selling is extinct. So what's the opposite of that? What do we do now? Well, I call it great selling. And to me, great selling is about 4 steps. Firstly, it's about not you, but actually understanding who your buyer is. Who is your customer? Who is your client? What motivates them? What do they actually need? Once you know that and have really explored that a lot, then you find fit. Is there something that I can do that actually fits what the buyer needs? Is it actually going to help them in the problem that they have or the aspiration that they have? Then I want you to actively look for objections. help them sort through all of the questions in their mind. Is it about price? Is it about the timing? Is it about the delivery? Is it about whatever it's about for the buyer? So as you can see, it's about walking that client down their yellow brick road, their buying journey, and our jobs as great sellers is to be helping, helpful, helping them make a good decision for them. Now, it's still at the end of the buying and selling process. There's still a decision, but we're not wedded to that decision being a yes. It can equally be a no. A great sales process is just efficient. It helps the buyer efficiently get to a great decision for them. That's your job. And so, um, if anyone listening is interested in knowing more about how to do great selling in your business, I'd be more than happy to help you. So that's my tip for today. So get out there, listen to people, love people, and help them on their buying journey. Thanks for listening.
