Really? I don’t care what you think (at least right now).  This is how I feel when sales reps send their prospecting e-mails or have their initial discovery calls with me or anyone else for that matter and use the phrase “I think.” I sat through a qualification call the other day with someone who was trying to sell me their solution which I was actually somewhat interested in. I will give him credit because he did do his homework on me before the call. He made a few references to what was in my Linkedin profile and also knew what I did as a business and who my customers were (you’d be amazed at how many reps don’t even take those basic steps before calling me). He even asked me a few decent questions about what I was currently using. But then it fell apart.  He went into his pitch about his solution and throughout the entire pitch he must have said “I think” about 20 times. “I think you will really get a lot of value from this.” “I think this will allow you to really improve your results.” “I think this will give you an edge on your competition.” I think, I think, I think…..

News flash – at the very beginning stages of the sales process, our clients don’t really care what we think. I know there is a big movement right now in Sales towards the “Challenger Sale” which talks about the sales rep being the expert and the need to share our thoughts with the client and challenge them when they are wrong. However, there is a time and a place for that and you need to earn the right to be able to do that. In my opinion you don’t earn the right to do that in an initial e-mail or qualification call without asking the client what they think first.

Next time you’re on a call presenting your solution, after you talk about a certain aspect or feature, stop for two seconds and ask the prospect “How would that impact you?” or “How do you see leveraging that within your business.” If they give you an answer that seems like they are missing out on something then feel free to give your opinion and insight. Good luck and happy selling.