Your sales success rate will improve when you resist the urge to tell everything you know.

by Art Sobczak

You finally reached that hot prospect on the phone. To make sure you don't lose him, you begin rattling off tons of information you're sure will impress him. It won't. If you really want your prospect to buy, you must learn how to avoid data dumps on calls.

Picture a dump truck, with its full bed of dirt slowly rising. At first, the material begins to trickle out, but then everything slides out at once, quickening the pace to avalanche intensity. That's a perfect illustration of what some sales reps do during sales calls. When these reps are on the phone with prospects, they spew forth everything they know about their products or services in a matter of seconds.

This act - called data dumping - usually takes place at the beginning of a call without any regard for what the prospect really wants or needs. As a result, the listener gets bored and begins to build feelings of resistance.

Don't fall into the data dumping trap. Here are some tips to help you avoid this bad sales habit:

Get before you give. 
Make sure you are in the habit of getting information from prospects before you give data. If a doctor wrote a prescription without first diagnosing the problem through an examination, it would be grounds for malpractice. Although there's no governing body to enforce the same rule for salespeople, the principle is just as important.

Use need-development questions. 
This type of question simply checks the prospect's level of interest in a feature before you present it. The need-development question determines whether or not the feature contains a benefit for the listener. 

For example, a sales rep can say, "Let me tell you about our chemical-resistant gloves. They protect against highly permeable solvents such as pentane, methylene and chloride." The listener might yawn and respond, "We don't work with solvents." 

A more appropriate need-development question would be, "Would chemical-resistant gloves have any appeal to you?" or, "Do your people work around solvents?"

Resist the urge to jump in with a presentation.
When your prospect talks about a need, problem or desire you can perfectly fill or solve, you will probably want to jump in because you are so excited. Don't. Let the prospect finish, then ask questions. You'll be in a much better position to precisely present the most persuasive solution.

Use trial closes.
To force yourself not to talk too much, and to get an indication of how your listener feels about your offer, elicit responses with trial
closes. After making a point or two, pause. If your prospect offers no response, continue with a question designed to unmask his emotion.

"Would that be useful?"

"How valuable would that be for you?"

The answer will signal the direction you need to take. If the prospect's answer is positive, you continue. If the prospect seems negative or neutral, the yellow flag goes up, meaning you
should uncover the problem that's brewing. 

Don't talk too fast.
When a person is very familiar and excited about something, he or she tends to speak rapidly. But when the listener is bombarded with features and benefits in a machine gun-like cadence, he retains and reacts to only a small part of the presentation, even if the listener might be interested in every feature.

People need time to reflect on your pearls of wisdom. They need time to let your message sink in.

Pay attention when you are the buyer.
The next time you are in the buyer's seat, be particularly aware of how the salesperson presents or attempts to present the benefits. One of the best ways to become better at anything is to adopt the good characteristics of successful people, while making a point of steering clear of bad techniques you observe.

Make it a goal to present only what prospects are interested in.  You'll avoid data dumping and achieve more of your objectives in the process.

Art Sobczak helps salespeople use the phone to prospect, sell and manage accounts more successfully. Call or reach him via e-mail at .

This article originally appeared in the November/December 2000 issue of Progressive Distributor. Copyright 2000.

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