The #3 Mistake Sales People Make & Free Webinar

Craig Elias | February 9, 2009 - 8:58 am

The number three mistake sales people make is they ask for, and get, the wrong referrals – referrals to those who are still in the buying mode of Status Quo – when prospects perceive that the product or service from their current supplier meets or exceeds their needs and are unlikely to become your customer.

What you want are referrals to highly motivated decision makers who recently experienced a Trigger Event and are in the Window of Dissatisfaction.

Next time ask for a Trigger Event Referral – a referral to a highly motivated decision maker that is 10 times more likely to become your customer.

E.g. Instead of asking a current customer for a referral to someone they think might have interest in your products/services, ask those ‘in the know’ for a referral to someone they know recently experienced one of the Trigger Events that create highly motivated buyers for what you sell.

My question, to be answered by commenting below, is “What are the Trigger Events you should focus on when asking for Trigger Event Referrals AND who is most likely to be your best source of referrals because they are very often ‘in the know’ when these Trigger Events happen?

Win $1,500 worth of Trigger Event services to help you identify the best Trigger Event Referrals to ask for and who are the best people to ask, by getting the most votes for your answer.

Answers are voted on by clicking on the Top Seven Mistakes in Sales Voting Button - Trigger Event Selling button that appears at the end of each answer and voting ends on Monday March 2nd.

Answers/Comments need to be approved – to avoid spam – which typically takes just a few minutes. Call me (+1.403.874.2998) or Skype me (Craig.Elias) if you don’t see your comment approved within a few minutes of posting it.

Stumble!, Digg, Tweet, and email your friends so you get the most votes, because the voting system I use does not allow you to vote for your own answers.

Have an EVENTFUL week!

Craig

P.S. Identify the best Trigger Events for what you sell by registering for the FREE Trigger Event Webinar being sponsored by Dow Jones the providers of SalesWorks and G2. Registrants have the chance to win $3,000 in prizes and are eligible for a free trial of Dow Jones’ SalesWorks.

P.P.S. A recording of this Trigger Event webinar will be made provided to all who register.

  • Ken R

    Anything that exposes the client to “loss” or “perceived risk of loss”. Even if the actual event was a close call, ie a “whew it was correctly insured/licenced/recorded/etc, I just didn’t know it”. This type of event leaves open the “but what if it wasn’t” perceived risk which can be exploited.

    The nature of these events will be dependent on the nature of the client’s business – so you need to understand the client’s business enough to evaluate these. Further the emotional impact of the events to the client will not necessarily be the same as to you. You need to put yourself in the client’s shoes to evaluate the emotional impact to the client. Selling is an emotional (manipulation) based game after all.

    As for who, this is a function of the size of the client. For the really large ones, the media is best, although the sources for mid-sized clients also apply. For mid-sized clients, a gossipy contact in the same industry or professional organisation with whom you can have a casual conversation about the industry. For small clients, casual conversations with as high up the food chain of that client as you can arrange.

  • http://www.jawspublishing.com Janet Stone

    The trigger event that would generate the quickest level of dissatisfaction, and thus the best chance for a change in how a company does business would be a “bad experience” with a product or service. There is an immediate reaction to something that is not what was expected. If you are holding something in your hand that is not what you thought it should have been, be it quality, features, performance or a combination of those and more, it is very easy to experience a trigger to make a change. If you can be there when that trigger occurs, you can emerge with their business with very little effort. Depending on the nature of the company you are dealing with, the person who would be positioned just below the department head or manager would be an excellent source of information for trigger events. They would be in the know on what is going on that led to the trigger event, and can provide valuable information as to what went wrong, and what the correct product or service should have been. So, not only are you walking into an excellent opportunity to convert the client, but you are aware of exactly what they need or want – which gives you a leg up over competition.