Episode Details

If you're a founder, a CEO, or a professional salesperson and you're feeling frustrated because your leads seem "unserious," I need you to hear this: Most of them ARE unserious. 

We have this wrong expectation that if we talk to 100 people, 50 or 60 should buy. But look at the data - depending on who you ask, only about 3% to 7% of people are actually "in market" and ready to take action right now. That means over 90% of the people you meet are just browsing or curious. Stop being shocked by this! Its the nature of the game.

Your primary job isn't to "convince" everyone to buy; its to figure out who is actually serious. And no, giving a discount isn't the magic fix. 

Discounts often just devalue your product and hurt your commission. 

A discount only works when you're talking to a qualified buyer who already has a sense of urgency.

So, how do you fix your sales process? You stop selling price and start discovering value. You cant sell value using your own yardstick; you have to find out what the customer actually cares about. This requires quality, in-depth conversations. 

Go back to the "toasting" stage of dating. How did you get to know someone? You asked open-ended questions. Use the "Five Ws and an H": Who, Why, What, Where, When, and How. Instead of just asking technical specs, ask why they want to take action now or when they need the solution in place.

When you ask the right questions, the information will just "vomit" from their mouth, giving you the levers you need to actually close the deal.

Stop complaining about "unserious" customers and start having better conversations.