Debugging Your Program

T here's an old saying that you can't fix it until you know what's broke. Many sales professionals get quite frustrated when facing work-related problems. They can't seem to make presentations pay off. They're not getting callbacks. They're not closing sales. The problem isn't that you're not smart enough to solve the problem. It may be that you're trying to fix the wrong problem.

Effective problem-solving is what debugging is all about. Computer geeks are very familiar with debugging. Why? Because they know the intricacies of their motherboards. They get inside the heads of their systems. When is the last time you got inside the head of your prospect?

To communicate with a merchant, you have to learn to think like a merchant. Once you understand how a prospect thinks, then you can look for a logical reason for his or her behavior toward you.

Reading the obvious signs is vital to figuring out what's making a prospect push you away. People communicate through body language, voice and general attitude. Does your prospect appear a bit cranky?

Maybe it's not you who's causing it. It's not your responsibility to debug a potential customer whose morning struggle with getting the kids off to school has translated to a less than cheery mood at the office. It just means today's not the day to make the big pitch.

On the other hand, if his kids went off to school without incident and a big delivery that was due next week arrived early, putting your merchant in a great mood, then you need to be honest and clearly define the problem. Break it down into elements and work on each element separately. Go down your checklist: - Did you arrive on time? - Did you use the person's name in greeting? - Did you open the discussion with a question about your merchant's business as opposed to first talking about yourself? - Did you listen to what your merchant was saying? - Did you do your homework and tailor your presentation to the specific business needs of the prospect? - Were you able to answer all questions about your product and services? - Did you recognize the buy signs? - Did you end the presentation with the merchant wanting more?

Successful debuggers know that problem-solving is progressive. Problems start out as little ones and, if left unchecked, certainly will develop into big ones. Because of this, always prepare a clear, progressive plan for solving the real problem. Then set realistic problem-solving goals.

You're not going to close all 10 presentations you made this month. But one solid sale will reinforce your budding debugging skills and set the stage for more. Once you understand the hows and whys of problem-solving, you might find you won't need to debug as often.