Sales reformulation

Reformulation is unfortunately the part most often forgotten by salespeople. Yet it is key to the success of the sale.

Depending on the sales school, reformulation may take place at the end of discovery to verify information, or at the beginning of reformulation. For us, it’s a pivotal stage in its own right, to emphasize its importance.

The benefits of reformulation are as much for the salesperson as for the customer.

Customers feel secure in the knowledge that the seller has understood their needs.

The salesperson obtains confirmation that he or she has understood the customer’s needs, and also obtains “yeses” that will lead to the conclusion of the sale. Better still, if the customer corrects him, he makes the salesperson’s solution his own, which is the best way to reach a conclusion. The customer doesn’t feel like he’s being sold to, but that he’s buying his own solution, the one that suits him best.

There are several ways to reformulate, and here I present the steps for reformulating our SOS (Situation – Objective – Solution) discovery:

• Reformulate the customer’s understanding of the situation and, depending on the type of sale
  • Who he is
  • His hobbies
  • His family
  • His work
  • The object he owns and wants to replace with his purchase
• Reformulate your goals and dreams, for example
  • His ideal car, for a car salesman
  • Retirement goals for a financial planner
  • Her face is ideal for a beautician.

Once again, rephrasing is easy to do, reassures both customer and salesperson, and helps you get the YESes that lead to the final conclusion of the sale.

Jean-Pierre Mercier