Though the 2003 NBA season is complete, I am still relishing the world championship victory of my home-town San Antonio Spurs. One of the team’s strengths is that it has the best man in professional basketball today: two-time MVP winner Tim Duncan. In basketball lingo, he is known as a “pivot man.” Simply put, most of the scoring action for the Spurs is based on his ability to pivot with the ball. When he receives the ball, he makes a decision to pivot to the basket, pivot to pass the ball, or pivot to take a shot.
When working with prospects or clients, you are in control of the “sales ball.” You can direct the sale and go on the offensive with just one simple question, what I’ll call the pivot question. With this one elementary question, you can gather more information about your prospects’ needs and mindset. You will know precisely what you must do to sell your project or service. You will set your prospects on a course that will actually help you sell to them. With the pivot question, you can take control of the sales process and really understand how to better serve your clients.
What is the pivot question? It is very simple, but first you have to set it up. You will only ask this question once you have established plenty of trust and respect with your prospects. When you think you have gathered enough information about their needs, wants, and desires, the ball is in your section of the proverbial sales court, and you ask your prospects, “What is most important to you in this project?” Not a little important. Not relatively important. Not pretty important. But most important.
It seems so simple, so elementary, like such a no-brainer, that you may not even think it is a relevant question. But stop for a moment and think about what a question of this sort implies.
- It implies that you care enough about your prospects to want to know what they really value.
- It signifies that you are on a search-and-discovery mission to find out what you have to do to serve your prospects.
- It illustrates that you are not just pigeonholing them into an “everyday” mold. You want to customize your approach for them.
- It validates that your prospects are worth listening to and that their input is extremely valuable to your relationship.
- It gives you specific information you can use to craft your sales presentation. (That converts to sales, folks.)
- It gives your prospects an opportunity to clarify in their own minds what they want from you and why they want it.
- It gives you even more time to listen to your prospects. (Did I mention that the most successful sales professionals in the world are also the best listeners in the world?)
- It helps you stay on track for what is really important to your customers, thereby cutting out the senseless “sales speak” that most salespeople succumb to.
- And finally, it helps you make more sales because it shows you care.
For the next 10 days, conduct your own experiment. Ask the pivot question, “What is most important to you?” Listen intently to the answer, and you will discover that most prospects do not value a cheap price as much as you might think. Other “most important” concerns will surface, like quality, timeliness, communication, an easy relationship, and professionalism.
When your prospects respond to the pivot question, you’ll know where to send the ball. You’ll be able to craft your sales presentation, pricing, and customer service around their answer.
Paul Montelongo has been a builder for more than 23 years and is a nationally recognized speaker and consultant to the construction industry. Visit Paul at www.contractorofchoice.com.
