Stop Closing and Start Helping: The 3 Questions That Transform Sales
The sales landscape has fundamentally shifted in recent years. Buyers are more informed and empowered than ever before. The old sales playbook of clever closing techniques and high-pressure tactics simply doesn‘t work on today‘s savvy consumer.
In fact, a recent HubSpot Research study found that only 17% of salespeople think they provide value to buyers during the sales process. Ouch. Buyers see right through self-serving, quota-driven sales behaviors and are quick to seek out alternative solutions.
So what‘s the new path to sales success in 2024 and beyond? It‘s simple – stop trying to close and start trying to help. Truly exceptional sales professionals don‘t just sell; they serve as trusted advisors and valuable resources to their prospects and customers.
After decades in sales, I‘ve found consistent success comes from focusing on three questions before ever attempting to close a deal:
- Can I help them?
- Do they need my help?
- Do they want my help?
Let‘s unpack each question and explore how to leverage them to supercharge your sales results.
Question 1: Can I Help Them?
Before investing time pursuing a prospect, the first thing to determine is whether you have something of genuine value to offer their organization. Do your products or services have the potential to meaningfully improve their business in some way?
Depending on what you sell, you may be able to assess your ability to help before ever making contact. For example:
• If you provide website optimization services, you can analyze their site speed and performance
• If you offer employee engagement solutions, you can review their Glassdoor ratings and turnover rates
• If you sell roofing or painting, you can evaluate the condition of their facilities
However, in many cases, it requires deeper research and conversations with company stakeholders to uncover potential opportunities for improvement. This may involve:
• Studying the company‘s public quarterly reports, press releases and executive interviews
• Analyzing industry trends, competitor moves and regulatory changes impacting their business
• Connecting with their customers, partners and employees for inside insights
• Asking probing questions to understand their current strategies, processes and pain points
The key is to gather the intelligence to make an objective assessment of whether your offerings would drive real results for them, separate from making the sale. According to sales expert Marc Wayshak, "The best salespeople enter every interaction with the mindset of ‘I‘m here to help‘ instead of ‘I‘m here to sell.‘"
If you determine you can‘t meaningfully improve their business, it‘s best to invest your time elsewhere. But if the answer is yes, you have a viable prospect worth pursuing.
Question 2: Do They Need My Help?
Most salespeople assume that if they can help a prospect, the prospect must need their help. But this is a Critical error. Just because you‘ve identified a potential opportunity doesn‘t mean they are compelled to act on it right now.
Pushing your solution on prospects who aren‘t ready for it is a recipe for irritation, not sales. Instead, your job is to understand their current situation and motivations in depth to assess the urgency and priority of the need.
Some key questions to consider:
• Goals – What are the company‘s top strategic objectives and priorities? How well are they performing against them?
• Plans – What initiatives are already in motion to achieve their goals? How invested are they in the current path?
• Challenges – What internal and external obstacles threaten their progress? How severe are the potential consequences?
• Timeline – When do key plans need to be implemented and goals accomplished? What happens if timelines are missed?
• Budget – What resources are allocated to top priorities? What is the expected return on investment?
• People – Who are the key decision-makers and influencers? How will your proposal impact various stakeholders?
By exploring these topics with curiosity and empathy, you can piece together a clear picture of whether they have an urgent need for change that your offerings can address.
For example, imagine you sell inventory management software, and your research has identified some potential inefficiencies in a prospect‘s current systems. However, in conversations with their operations leaders, you learn they just invested in a new solution last year. They‘re still in the process of implementation and aren‘t interested in making another change so soon, even if there could be further optimizations.
In this case, while you may be able to help them, they don‘t have a burning need they‘re motivated to address right now. The savvy approach is to nurture the relationship, demonstrate your expertise, and wait for the right opportunity instead of moving for the close.
Sales legend Zig Ziglar put it well – "Stop selling. Start helping." By deeply understanding your prospects‘ needs and acting as a resource, you build the trust needed for them to want your help when the time is right.
Question 3: Do They Want My Help?
Let‘s say you‘ve determined a prospect has a need you‘re uniquely positioned to solve. The final, pivotal question is – do they want YOUR help to solve it? Just because they need a solution doesn‘t mean they‘re sold on you providing it.
Attempting to close before a prospect has expressed the desire for your help is like asking someone to marry you on the first date. You‘re skipping vital steps in building a relationship!
Securing a prospect‘s interest in your assistance is a collaborative process. It involves:
• Demonstrating your deep understanding of their specific situation and goals
• Offering your diagnosis of the core issues holding them back
• Providing a prescriptive plan for how you will help them overcome challenges and drive results
• Sharing relevant customer success stories that prove your impact
• Painting a vivid before-and-after picture of how their business will improve
• Clarifying the required investment and projected return
As you guide them through their options, your job is to help connect the dots for how your unique approach is the missing link between their current state and desired future. The key is getting them to see you as an essential partner in their success, not just one of many potential vendors.
"In modern sales, the best way to close is to never actually go for the close," explains Mike Weinberg, author of Sales Management. Simplified. "By doing your homework, focusing on value, and acting as a consultant, the close becomes a natural next step that the customer initiates."
When you‘ve cultivated true desire for your help, you won‘t need any sneaky closing tactics. Your prospect will be eager to get started. One study found that 88% of buyers will actually offer to buy when they feel the salesperson provided critical information relevant to their business.
If you‘ve walked through the three questions and still find yourself met with objections or apathy, you‘ve likely skipped a step. Return to seeking to understand and serve, not to sell, and the revenue will follow.
Embracing "Always Be Helping" Over "Always Be Closing"
For many salespeople, pivoting from a closing mentality to a helping mentality is a major mindset shift. We‘ve been conditioned by our organizations and the old-school sales gurus to believe our worth comes from our ability to convince people to buy.
But in my two decades of sales experience, across multiple industries, I‘ve found unwavering success comes from a genuine commitment to serving over selling. When I detach from the outcome of making the sale and reorient around making an impact for my clients, the results quickly follow.
My prospects can sense that my intent is to add value, not just hit my number. My customers know they can count on me to tell the truth, even if it means suggesting an alternative solution. Over 60% of my closed deals now come from referrals from happy clients – a testament to the power of consistently helping.
As counterintuitive as it may feel, taking your foot off the gas of closing and redirecting your energy to empowering your buyers is the most direct path to sales success. According to HubSpot, salespeople who let the prospect control the process are 23% more likely to secure the business.
Challenge yourself to approach every sales interaction through the lens of "How can I help?" instead of "How can I close?" Ask the three key questions to qualify and advance every opportunity:
- Can I help them?
- Do they need my help?
- Do they want my help?
When you can answer each question with a resounding "Yes!", price becomes a triviality and contracts practically sign themselves. Your buyers become more than customers – they become raving fans.
If you truly embrace serving over selling, I‘m confident you will not only surpass your revenue goals, but find a renewed sense of purpose and satisfaction in your sales career. In a world of self-interested salespeople, authentic helpfulness isn‘t just appreciated, it‘s a massive competitive advantage.
Stop closing. Start helping. And watch your sales soar.
