Reactive Selling VS Proactive Selling

When asked to list the important steps in completing a successful sales meeting, many sales professionals respond with the following:

1) To develop trust, rapport and a strong foundation for a long relationship.
2) To ask the prospect questions and actively listen to determine needs.
3) To target my features and benefits towards those needs.
4) To differentiate my company from my competitor’s by creating a unique edge.

Unfortunately traditional sales people do certain things, and fail to do others that quickly erode these important factors. Although most sales professionals believe they have some sort of “system” or “selling strategy” to follow during the meeting with a potential client, most in fact are unknowingly following the system used by the prospect and find themselves in “react” or response” mode. This defensive position is highly ineffective in that inevitably, you will be “chasing” a “decision maker” for the decision you failed to get. This reactionary method of selling creates a serious dilemma in the world of professional selling.

Get your Free CEO Growth Barrier Information Kit | Click Here
Identify and Remove the Top Sales Obstacles that Impact Growth with CEO Sales Tools
Business Owners and CEO's Take Actionable Steps 

Sales people are unfortunately not most effective at closing deals, or getting through objections, or setting appointments. They are most effective, at what we here at Peak Performance refer to as the “effective conversion”. They unknowingly and very effectively convert decision makers into procrastinators What is it that we are chasing them for?

1) The decision we failed to get!
2) To fix their problem!

Although they know what should be done, or what could be done to turn the tables, they fail to do so. Why? What occurs is that salespeople, somewhere during the process are led down a side street. In other words they are led astray by the prospect and have difficulty getting back on track. This is where they begin to sell emotionally as opposed to instinctively. This is the moment they begin to react and this is the moment that the game is over. Upon hearing their first objection or obstacle, something happens: They begin to defend themselves from what they believe inevitably will be the beginning of a barrage of questions.

Although they have read all the sales self help books and may have in the past attended sales seminars they immediately revert back to old ineffective selling habits. Why? This is the question that when answered opens the door to Pro-Active Selling.