Think back to high school years. One of the quintessential moments of anyone’s high school career was learning how to drive. It was exciting to get behind the wheel of the vehicle. Your hopes were that you would be successful, and of course, that you wouldn’t end the day crashing and burning in a very literal way. Being a driver felt powerful. The wheel was in your hands. After all, the driver ultimately determines where the vehicle ends up. In the same way, sales are also driven. The question is: who is the driver?
To successfully drive the sale to a close, the sales driver must be your prospect. When it comes to sales, trying to force your prospect into the passenger seat of the car rarely works. Prospects don’t want to be forced to buy, even if the product is something they desperately need. They want to be at the wheel. That puts you in the instructor’s seat, and that is exactly where you want to be. Before you began your drivers education, it is likely that you knew the basics of a car and may have even driven before. But you didn’t know all the rules of the road or the directions to get to your destination. Similarly, your prospect understands their own business. What they don’t know is your product or service and how it will safely get them to their goals. As instructor, you are their guide.
The instructor’s seat is the best place to be. As the instructor in the car, the prospect can trust you, they can depend on you, and they rely on your experienced instruction. It is in this spot that you have the greatest influence in the sales process. In most Driver Education vehicles, you will notice that the passenger side also has a brake pedal in case the instructor has to take a more hands-on approach from time to time. As the instructor of your sales cycle, you pull the stops when needed.
Despite the availability of the advantageous instructor’s seat, most people still want to drag their prospects into the car. They want to take on the role of sales driver. However, is the experience really for the instructor? Of course not. The process is all for the one learning how to drive. In sales, the center of attention should be the prospect, not the product and not the person doing the selling. When one tries to force a sale, they are actually forcing the prospect out of the driver’s seat. Your prospect is the sales driver. Not you. Once that is internalized, you will be on the road to success.
Being an experienced salesman means guiding your prospect to the close. Allowing them to drive the sale and call the shots will help build an atmosphere of trust, agreement, and urgency. Your sale will have integrity. You will close more deals. Becoming that effective instructor starts now! The Integrity Sales System is the most powerful form of selling. It is the road map that will guide you and your prospect to the close. It will tell you when to call the stops and where to go. It has uniqueness in the principles of integrity upon which it is founded. Learn more of how you can use it here.
