You ever have this happen to you?

In the midst of an otherwise average or rough week, you suddenly find yourself on a sales call that seems as if it has fallen down from heaven itself.

You have to pinch yourself to see if you’re dreaming.

Your prospect is nice, cordial and appreciative of you and your time. On top of that, he’s in pain — massive pain. He’s got a big problem and he knows it. He’s tried everything he could think of to fix his situation and nothing’s worked.

He’s desperate.

In fact, he’s ready for a solution – not now, but yesterday!

And the cherry on top?

Money is no object. He’s willing to pay whatever it will take to make his problem go away.

“Whooo boy,” you think. “This is a slam dunk!”

The Unexpected Turn

You can barely contain yourself as you listen to him spill his guts to you like you’re his last ray of hope.

Finally, it’s your turn.

With all the charm and enthusiasm you can muster, you make your pitch, lay out your case, and prepare to call your boss with the good news about your new advertiser, when the client suddenly says…

“That makes a lot of sense, but I’m gonna have to think about this. I’ll catch up with you next week, but hey, thank you for your time! I really appreciate it.”

To unintentionally add insult to injury, he might even say, “You’re a really good salesperson!”

Ouch!

“You sulk all the way back to the office and replay the whole thing in your mind.

“What the heck just happened?  Where did I go wrong?”

You did the thing you read about on the radio blog where you let him correct you to get him talking (worked like a charm!), and you did the other thing where you repeated his words back to him to keep him talking — also with stellar results.

In fact, your prospect checked every buying signal box that you knew about – and a few you didn’t.  He was ready to buy in every way, so why didn’t he?

The Solution: Let Your Prospect Do the Selling

The problem? You got excited and jumped the gun. You started selling before the prospect was ready to buy.

Remember, your job isn’t to convince your prospects to buy, it’s to help them convince themselves.

So how do you do that?

By asking the right questions.

The problem is, most salespeople jump straight from probing questions to closing questions.

One minute, they’re sympathetically listening as the prospect reveals the pain that’s keeping him up at night and the next they’re using every close they know to get him to sign on the dotted line and hand over his hard earned cash.

That’s asking a lot of your prospect!

Here’s the deal: you want your prospects to close themselves. So, you need to ask questions that help them do that – and, as we’ve discussed in previous articles, you need to break them out of the script that’s in their head.

You accomplish both of those things by telling them something they didn’t expect.

For example, if your prospect expresses interest in your offer, say something like, “Oh come on! You’re not really interested in radio advertising.”

You could even add, “You’re just being nice; you don’t want to hurt my feelings.”

If they’re really interested, they’ll double down. They’ll start selling you on why they need your service.

Most people would see this as the opportunity to start talking at a mile a minute, but try to control yourself. There’s still more work to do.

Instead, express surprise and ask, “That surprises me! Well, what do you see us doing for you that your usual form of advertising can’t?”

This question accomplishes two things: It makes them articulate the benefits of your service in their own words, and it reveals what they value most about your offering.

Why It Works

Don’t underestimate the psychology of this!

When you challenge their interest, you trigger a natural response to defend their position. Suddenly, they’re the ones convincing you why radio advertising is perfect for them. And let’s face it, people believe their own arguments way more than they believe yours.

The No-Close Close

When it does come time to make a pitch, keep it simple — very simple. Make it short, sweet, and to the point.

Pepper in a story that’s no more than two sentences long. “So and so across town started advertising with us and within two months he cut his direct mail budget in half because he got twice the return with us.”

Then, use a technique out of Tom Schreiter’s playbook and ask, “What else would you like to know?”

Then tell them — again, simply.

Finish by saying, “What would you like to know next?”

You may have to repeat that question a few times until they know everything they want. Then, you ask them your closing question…

“What would you like to do next?”

This simple question lets them feel in control and puts the decision in their hands. If they’re truly ready to buy, they’ll tell you. If not, their response will reveal what’s holding them back, giving you the opportunity to address any remaining concerns.

The Power of Silence

Remember, the key is to resist the urge to over-sell. By letting the prospect convince themselves, you’re not just making a sale – you’re creating a customer who believes in your product and is more likely to stick around for the long haul.

So next time you find yourself in that dream scenario with the perfect prospect, take a deep breath, ask the right questions, and let them do the selling for you. You might be surprised at how often they’ll close themselves.

Pic designed by nd3000 for Envato Elements Envato Labs.

Brent Hoodenpyle is a Texas-based digital marketing and sales specialist with over twenty years experience working with a wide range of companies to improve their digital stats and revenue.