Imagine what your prospects think of you when you leave the meeting. Do they nod their heads thinking how great it will be to work with you? Or maybe they are excited about how super nice guy you are? Or do they just want to puke because you bored them to death?
Can you guess?
There are three kinds of sales people, and yes, if you run a business no matter what you say, you are one of them: boring, cool and smart.
Boring are those who come into the meeting, talk for an hour about themselves and then shock the prospect by telling them that it’s their turn now.
Cool ones try to get the prospect to like them. They will do anything to achieve that. They will launch their email account or any web app they use in front of the client, including financial data. They will reveal any secrets they can think of, even their other clients’ or family ones. They will do anything to be super cool and super friendly. And sometimes they get the money but it’s mostly out of pity.
Smart are those guys who walk into the meeting, ask one question and practically don’t have to say anything else. And they always walk away with the money.
So, which one are you?
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Most business people start from the Cool approach, and so did I. I was so pathetic on my first sales presentation that even today, 6 years later I never pass by the prospect offices out of shame. And it took me another 2 years to realize what I did wrong.
Cool seems like the most natural approach. Let’s face it, everywhere you go, people tell you to establish rapport with the prospect. And that’s what you’re trying to do. Get your prospect to like you and the order is yours, right?
Here’s the problem though. The last thing your prospect wants is to be your friend. Instead they want to know if you can do the job, if they can trust you. And they want to know if you’re SMART!
Want to make more sales? Want to knock your prospects socks off every time you walk into a sales call? Be smart. Be professional. Drop off the cool attitude and learn how to sell like big boys do.
Here’s some stuff for you to think about, maybe even try out if you dare:
1. Know everything about the prospect before the meeting. I am always amazed how many sales people come into my office and don’t even bother to check beforehand which country I am from.
2. Research the company. Find out how they make money but also how they lose them too.
3. Once you know that, come up with ways how your service can either help a prospect with making more money or prevent losing them. That’s all prospects care about, not how great your company or service is.
4. Ask smart questions. Be creative, come up with questions that will make the prospect stop and think. And if you’re stuck, here are my 10 killer question templates you can use to create your ones.
5. Learn to avoid certain subjects. You, technology (unless your service is entirely technology related), social networking (again, unless this is what you do and you’re an expert), religion, politics and clients private life should be avoided at all cost. Talk only about what your client cares about, how you can make or save him money.
And above all don’t focus on anything else than helping the client with their problem. If you do even just that you will be perceived higher than 90% of other sales people in your industry.
About Pawel