Warning: Advanced sales tactics are ahead; this is intended for experienced salespeople only. If you aren’t confident in your abilities, complete our free sales training course first.
The average sales prospecting process has three steps:
- Your prospect communicates their situation.
- You communicate your solution.
- Together, you decide whether or not to move forward.
But what happens when your prospect won’t participate in step one? You can’t pitch your solution if they refuse to share information about their situation. How are you supposed to sell to someone you can’t qualify?
Why Prospects Keep Secrets
Tight-lipped prospects aren’t trying to be difficult; they’re trying to be safe. Their silence is a defense mechanism, not an offense strategy.
They’ve probably been the victim of buyer’s remorse in the past and fear you’ll manipulate them into a bad deal if they give up too much information.
It comes down to a lack of trust. Before you can sell your product, you need to sell your intentions.
How to Handle Prospects Who Won’t Open up
When you encounter prospects who won’t be open with you, confront the issue head-on. Say something like this:
“I bet you’ve had a bad experience with a salesperson before. You might think I’m here to take advantage of you, but I’m not.
At Close, we aim to create long-term, value-focused customer partnerships. That requires openness and honesty from both sides, and I don’t feel like I’m getting that from you.
I’d like to understand your situation so we can decide whether our inside sales CRM is a good solution for your needs. If I’m not 100 percent certain we’re a perfect match, I’ll tell you. I’ll even refuse to sell to you.
I want you to be successful, but I need you to be open with me. Help me help you, and I promise we’ll find you a great solution, whether with Close or someone else.
Sound fair?
Communicate this message with friendly strength, not frustration or anger. In most cases, your prospects won’t realize how difficult they are being until you call them out. Many will open up once they realize you have their best interests at heart.
But that isn’t always the case.
What to Do if Your Prospects Still Won’t Open up
Sometimes, you’ll encounter outrage instead of engagement. There will always be a couple of prospects who say, “This is the way we buy. If that doesn’t work for you, we’re through here.”
Every business needs to decide for itself whether or not it’s willing to sell to aggressive prospects. The Close policy is to walk away from prospects who are disrespectful or overly demanding.
When our salespeople run into this situation, they say, “I respect your position, but I don’t think we’ll be a good match. I can’t, in good conscience, sell you a solution to a situation I don’t understand. Is there any other way I can be valuable to you?”
Your prospect will say one of two things in response.
“I’m Sorry, You’re Right. What Do You Need to Know?”
You called their bluff by taking your product off the table. You also demonstrated your commitment to their success—to the point that you were willing to lose a sale—and earned their trust. Now, you can qualify your prospect properly.
“Forget it; We’ll Find a Different Solution.”
A difficult prospect isn’t worth the trouble. A demanding prospect will only become an even more demanding customer. It’s better to lose a deal than sell to the wrong customer, so be willing to walk away.
There's No Sales Without Trust
Just because someone has a certain way of buying doesn’t mean that’s how you have to sell to them. Sales should be about mutual honesty and openness. If your prospect isn’t willing to meet you there, move on to more promising leads.
