Successful selling: how to keep your prospects from running away from you.

I learn a lot from watching television. For example, I've learned from cop shows that if a bad guy is shooting at you, it's much better to zig and zag than run in a straight line because an unpredictably moving target is hard to hit.

It's definitely true that people don't like to be sold. That makes the salesperson's job difficult. Except that people do like to buy. Those who don't understand this will never make big paychecks.

Let's go back to the mental picture of someone zigzagging down a dark street with a bad guy in pursuit. If you are a salesperson who doesn't utilize the "want-to-buy" concept, you become that bad guy and your prospect is the running target. Running away from you. The more you try to sell, the harder and faster they run. It's pretty hard to sell a moving target. Figuratively speaking, they're dodging a bullet.

The most successful salespeople help people to buy from them. There are many elements that are the basis of successful buying, with the first and most important being asking good questions right from the start.

Here's a real-life story that is a perfect example. I need a Website for my sales consulting and training firm. I was ready to buy. The salesman was really nice, very personable and likeable. He had good eye contact, was sincere, enthusiastic and he knew his product. Unfortunately, he was new to sales and lacked training.

He started off well; he knew to ask questions and asked them. A good sign, except they weren't the right ones. He also made sure he got them out of the way quickly so he could launch into the pitch where he was clearly more comfortable.

The problem for me was that his pitch confused me. He gave me way too much information, most of which wasn't pertinent to what I wanted to accomplish with a Website. And, on the reverse, I had to dig and ask my own questions to find out what I did want to know.

It's a good buying sign when a prospect asks lots of questions. But, in this real-life scenario, if I wasn't already sold on buying from this vendor, he would have lost me.

The salesman's first question should have been to discover how technically savvy I am or am not. Was I five, 15 or 30 years old in terms of understanding the technology of a Website? He would have found out that I didn't grow up with computers, am not very familiar with the inner workings of a Website, but I do know how to buy on them.

Before talking about his product/company, he should have spent the next chunk of time asking me questions about my business. As easy as: "How long have you been in business? How's it going so far and where do you see it going? Where does a Website fit into your vision?"

These are open-ended questions that encourage the prospect to talk. People love to talk about themselves and what's important to them. I promise you, the best sales calls are the ones where your prospect does the majority of talking. Talking about themselves helps people to be more relaxed and open. They think: "Wow! This guy cares about me and what I need." As they talk, they're moving toward buying. When you do most of the talking, you're selling and they're zigzagging.

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April 1, 2006 is the deadline for entries in the Detroit Regional Chamber's first annual "Bizzy" awards for small businesses. The competition is open to all Chamber members with 100 or fewer employees. Top prize is a FREE one-year lease of a 2006 Ford Fusion mobile office for a year, courtesy of Al Long Ford, Verizon Wireless and Office Depot. For more information, call Chris Mead at [phone] or visit www.detroitchamber.com for an online application

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Susan Cascade is chief innovative officer at Innovative Ideas at Work in Bloomfield Hills, a member of the Detroit Regional Chamber.

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