tip for sales successes beware of gut

I have lost count of how many times I have heard sales people talk about trusting their gut instinct, how their gut instinct lets them know whether or not they have a real, qualified lead, and whether this customer is a genuine buyer! Do you rely on gut instincts?Tip: Get the information from the customer, not from your gut.As helpful as your "gut" instincts may be, you cannot substitute your gut feelings for the best information that only your customer can give you. Your customer is the key source for the best and most important information. As simple and logical as this may be the majority of sales people, surprisingly continue making assumptions and using information that they have priarily manufactured them selves.You can not beat asking your customer the tough yet critical questions, that only they your customer can accurately answer, questions such as "What is the specific and important need of the customer?" "What time frame must this need be met?" "What are the compelling reasons or events that..?" "What is the budget that is allocated for this purchase?" "Can the customer make the purchase decision? Or does the customer need a second party to be part of the decision process?" Who are the competitors?" These are just a small sample of the type of questions that you as a sales person have to ask and the customer must answer, for the objectives to be achieved.The majority of sales persons make these classic mistakes when qualifying.1. Assumptions. They believe they know all the answers to vital questions.2. Don't allow for change. Sales people forget that the sale is a continually changing canvas, based on the customer wanting to make adjustments, changes and the competitors throwing out tantalizing morsels to lure the customer across to them.3.Don't change their message or strategy to accommodate the customers internal changes or the competitors messages.4. Failure to continuously validate,( sales people generally only do so once, instead of ongoing!)Are you that type of sales person? Do you delude your self into thinking that there is a sale when in fact there never was? Or assuming that there is no chance, when in fact there is. With out continual validation, it is nothing more than guess work.Sales people that rely on their gut instincts generally fail to validate on a continuous basis and as a result fail to discover and understand how the customer is thinking, and more importantly finding out why they feel or think as they do!Tip:
1. Assume nothing.
2. Do not rely on your gut feelings alone when doing a deal.
3. Allow for and anticipate change.
4. Have several perspectives not just one.

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