Don't Be An Unpaid Consultant - Sales Influence Podcast - SIP 605

Welcome to the Sales Imploiance Podcast where we talk about finding the why in how people buy. I'm your host Victor Antonio, super excited that you're joining me again today. Thank you for listening. Today I want to talk about this is more of a rant. So I'm just warning you, this is a rant and have you ever had that customer that all they want to do just like a vampire is suck the information out of you at the same time sucking the life out of you. All they really want is information from you and they never really have any intentions of buying. And at that point when all you're doing is giving information you've just become an unpaid consultant. Let's talk about it. See not all prospects are created equal. Some prospects will call you obviously with the honest intent of having someone come over to solve their problem, right? But others, unfortunately, and I've had this happen simply want the education or the information for whatever purposes they intend to use it. Have you ever spent like an inordinate amount of time, just a lot of time with the customer and they look like they're interested in buying from you. They're learning and again, they're listening, they're taking notes, they really seem to be coming with you. They're coming along, they're walking along with you, they're in stride with you, they're in sync. And then as you begin to move towards getting some type of commitment, they tell you something like, well, you know, Victor, that's all well and good. But right now, I'm not ready to make a decision. I'm not ready to make a decision right now. Or they'll say, you know, I'm still in the information gathering phase. Oh, I hate that phrase. Or my favorite, send me an email with the summary of what we discuss or any additional information you think I might want to know about. So in other words, they just want me to load them up with information. Has that ever happened to you? As you're listening to me, has that ever happened to you? You're all you're doing is giving them information. Now keep in mind, you've prospected, right? You're now you're meeting with the customer, you're taking up your valuable time, you've driven to the location, they're sucking the life out of you, the information. Now you got to drive back to the office. That's about a one to two hour commitment and all they want is information. Now why do they want the information? I don't know, it could be different reasons. Sometimes people just want to learn how to do it themselves. You're just there to consult them because they really want to know how to do it themselves and that's why they may be asking you certain questions. Like they'll ask you, well, how would you do that? And all they want, and that's usually a signal, right? A signal that says, hey, they're just trying to get more information from you. Well, how would you do that, Victor? Well, can you walk me through how you would do that? And what they're asking you to do is give them the answer so they can do it themselves. Now this is a, this, this topic is hard to judge because it's hard to judge whether somebody really wants to know, has a sincere interest in knowing how to do it or are they simply just trying to grab information from you. This is a tough one. And so there's no black and white answer to this one. I just want you to be cognizant that there are people out there who will just suck your time and your knowledge from your brain without wanting to pay you a single dime. And sometimes they'll want the information not because they want to buy from you, but because they want to use it to leverage another vendor. Many buying departments, purchasing departments do this. They'll just talk to a vendor because they know they have to get at least three bids and then they'll suck you for all the information. Also push you down on price, not with the intent of buying, but with the intent of taking the information you've given them, you've educated them now and you've given them the base price. In other words, you've reduced your price to as low as you can go and they'll take that information and that price point and now go over and beat up on another vendor with your information. And they never had any intentions, intentions of buying from you. So we've all been there. I've been had like this a few times in my career where I became an unpaid consultant without me knowing it. So what's the trick? The trick is to always make sure you qualify a front. Is this a legitimate source? Remember one of my podcasts in the past. Look it up. I talk about the BANT model. Do they have the budget? Do they have the authority? Do they have a need? And when are they going to be making a buying decision? This is one way of qualifying. Are you talking to a real buyer? And again, clients can lie. So we're hopefully talking to people who are not doing that, but it happens. There's people who will not tell you the truth. So the question is from your perspective, as you're listening to this podcast, what questions do you ask? What questions do you ask to make sure that you're talking to somebody who is qualified? In other words, qualified by means they have the budget, they have the authority, they have a need, they're willing to make a decision and they're willing to commit. What questions do you ask? I'm always asking those four questions. Do they have money? Is there a need? And what is their time frame? So I'll say Mr. Customer, when are you looking to make a buying decision? When do you think you'll execute on this plan? When do you think your company is ready to make a decision to move forward with this purchase? I want answers from that. And again, a lot depends on the answers you get. Remember I've said in the past podcasts, you listen to what they say, you listen to how they say it, tone, voice, and then watch that body language if you are face to face with them. And then maybe the other way to protect yourself from information hunters is maybe only talk about the what and the why, but don't give them the how. Let me say that again, sometimes when you're talking to an information hunter, sometimes it's best just to give them the what? Here's what we're going to do. Here's why it needs to be done, but you hold back on how you're going to do it. For example, let's say you sell social media services, right? Well, here's what we're going to do. Here's why we should do it. And then they're going to say, well, how do you do it? You can just say we have several ways of doing that. And once we get a proposal on the table and signed, we can show you the different strategies we use to drive traffic to your site. So sometimes you just want to give them the what and the why and hold back on that how. So again, be aware that there are buyers out there who just want your information, don't your best pricing so they can use it to get business or better business from somebody else and not you. How you qualify these buyers really depends on your ability to extract that information you need. Am I talking to the right decision maker? Do they have a need? And are they willing to make a commitment within the next month or two, whatever it may be? So again, be aware when people are asking a lot of questions, send me some more information, especially that statement. Send me some more information, Victor. Can you email me some more information? Can you email me some other case studies? Can you email me when you start hearing that? That is a customer who's more interested in information, gathering than actually making a bind decision. You have now been officially warned. Do not become an unpaid consultant. Anyway, that is it for this sales influence podcast. I apologize for the rant, but there it is. Don't forget to leave me some feedback on iTunes, Stitcher or YouTube. Let me know what you think. As always, I would appreciate it. Also check out my online sales trading platform, The Sales Velocity Academy. 40 courses, 400 videos, my 13 books. If you're serious about increasing your sales velocity to sell more faster, check out www.salesvelocityacademy.com. Lastly, I want to thank you for listening. This is Victor Antonio. Always reminding you. Selling ain't hard. Wouldn't you know how? Take care. Hi, I'm Victor Antonio. I'm an author, sales trainer and keynote speaker. I'm often asked, what makes a great speaker? Is it someone who delivers real content that the audience can use? Is it someone who engages the audience on their part of the learning experience? Or is it someone who can motivate an audience to push them beyond their comfort zone and discover new abilities? The answer is yes, but the most important thing to remember is that I'm not there to look good. I'm there to make my client look good. Simply put, it's never about me and it's always about that.