Optical Prism September 2020 | Page 26

EYE FOCUS | SPECIAL FEATURE Viewing sales from a different lens: INTRODUCING PRESCRIPTIVE-BASED SALES By Trudi Charest, Marketing4ECPs There’s something that seasoned sales professionals do better than everyone else and it has nothing to do with their chemistry, charisma or charm. In fact, it has nothing to do with them at all and everything to do with how they frame the sales conversation. Why Most People Struggle When Selling When most people “sell,” they do so from a lens of having to convince the 26 EYE FOCUS | September Digital 2020 person they are selling to that their product is the one to buy. This approach isn’t necessarily bad, but it isn’t ideal, and it runs contradictory to how people are wired: we generally don’t buy things because of the fancy gizmos they have; we purchase them because of the problems they will solve. Effective Needs Analysis is a Sales Cheat Code The benefits a person perceives from a product are rooted entirely in their needs. A computer programmer that spends 12 hours a day in front of a screen is going to have different needs than a tile setter or other tradesperson. One of the best ways to uncover these needs is via prescriptive needs analysis. Picture this: you make an appointment with your doctor because you’ve noticed that you feel lethargic and generally unwell. Your doctor comes