Drive Sales Performance Metrics by Selling to a Gap
I recently started working out again, so I decided to seek out a gym. As I weighed Lifetime Fitness vs. the local rec center, the options were overwhelming. So, I sat down with the GM of Lifetime Fitness and he said, “Can I ask you a few questions before I give you the tour?”
His questions revolved around four things:
How often I work out.
If I had any workout equipment at home.
What I thought I should or could be doing more of. What’s the ideal situation? Meaning, how much I should be working out.
What I was looking for.
“So, what’s been holding you back? Why hasn’t that been happening?” he asked. I said, “Quite frankly, time.” He nodded. “What else?” “Probably know-how,” I said. “That’s why I’m here.” “If you did have that access, what would be the perceived benefit?” he asked. “I’d be healthier.” Essentially what he did, what all good salespeople do—sell to a gap. He sold to my desired situation, rather than to my current situation. Lifetime Fitness was a vehicle to get from where I was to where I wanted to be. It wasn’t necessarily going to solve the problem, but it was the vehicle to get me there. Incidentally, both my son and I now have memberships. You can bring a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink. Yet you could put salt in the oats. That’s what great sales questions do….reveal a gap to make buyers thirsty.
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