Sell Naked!
You know the picture all too well. You agree to see a salesperson in your office. Weather you asked to see them or they called on you, you have reluctantly agreed to the appointment.
So on the scheduled time and date, in walks the salesperson. How do you know it’s them? Oh, there is no mistaking it! A briefcase in one hand, a portfolio in the other and something you can’t seem to figure out is under their arm.
You close your eyes because you just know what you’re in for. Some big dog and pony show of all the latest and greatest that they have to show you. Ahhhh!!
Why do you despise this so much? The whole time you are thinking, can’t you just get to the bottom line?! You hate it because you may be interested in some parts of their product/service but you really just want to know how it can help you. You probably don’t even need to know that it slices and dices too….or do you?
Certainly the salesperson believes that if they show you all of the “features & benefits” you will find something that you like and that will convince you to buy it. Why does it feel like so much work for you when it’s their job? Or is that just their job, to show you all the stuff? No! They should figure out exactly what it is you need and then show you only that.
How?
Sell Naked!
What? Yes, they need to sell naked. That means during the initial visit nothing should happen other than a conversation. They should not bring you any brochures or product samples, no, nothing. Simply a conversation between you and them to see if what you need fits what they have. Selling Naked means to go into a sales call with nothing but a pen and a pad. Your ears are helpful here but that’s it. Why? Because it takes a good, deep investigative dialog to figure out what a prospects needs are. If at that time there may be a fit, fine go get your clothes…or your product. But not until then.
So go ahead, try it. Sell Naked. You will be surprised at the reaction!
