Practical Tips

If you’re in the sales and persuasion business (and who isn”t) have some sad news for you.

You see, we’ve all been sold a lemon when we were taught that “create a better mousetrap and people will beat a path to your door”.

It’s staggering just how often I’ve come across people who’ve come up with “the killer product” that “everyone needs to buy”.

The reality is that nothing could be further from the truth.

People don’t buy what they NEED, they only buy what they WANT, when THEY are READY to buy it.

Just in case you missed this - let me repeat it!

People don’t buy what they NEED, they only buy what they WANT, when THEY are READY to buy it.

Your timing is not their timing. They don’t care that you need to pay the electricity bill, or that your house payment is due. They have their own worries and shock, horror, they couldn’t give a toss about yours!

I know I’m being a bit harsh, but this is the ultimate reality. We are all interested in number one. Only once our own needs (and more importantly wants) are fulfilled, will we care about anyone else.

So if you’re in the persuasion business, how can you use this?

Give people WHAT THEY WANT rather than what you want to sell them!

Have you ever walked into a shop and the salesperson’s vomited all over you? Okay, stop cringing, I meant metaphorically

You asked for some information and the salesperson tells you EVERYTHING they know about this product, and goes on and on, not noticing your eyes have started to glaze over and you’re edging for the door.

You finally make some excuse and beat a hasty retreat.

Result - Lost sale, while you feel a sense of disappointment (after all you wanted to buy this thing).

I was talking with one of my sales coaching clients last week and she related an interesting story.

She has a set round of clients she needs to visit, and I’d taught her to ask them what they wanted to know about rather than her just rabbiting on.

I’d also taught her how to match and mirror body language so that her clients felt more comfortable around her.

She mentioned that a client who wouldn’t give her the time of day said “It’s really refreshing that you’ve asked that. Most of the reps just tell me about all this stuff I’m not interested in - and bore me silly!”

Says client, “I was also mirroring his body language and it came up in our discussions that he thought I had great body language! He can’t wait for me to return next month.” He said “I would love to see you again next month I really enjoying talking with you”. Oh and he gave her a pretty large order too!

Now be honest. You’d love to have this kind of response every time wouldn’t you?

Well you can!

Just by using this simple technique of asking what your client is REALLY interested in and ONLY talking about that.

Remember, swamping them with information is guaranteed to do one thing and one thing only. LOSE THE SALE!

If you’d like some help with getting your sales up and becoming a better persuader, give me a call on +61 2 9499 7958 and we can talk about how you can better serve your clients.

And while I’ve got you, ONE OTHER THING…

One of the best ways to find out if you’re doing a good job with your clients is to have someone else ask them.

Our new client survey service asks your clients what they really think about your service and where you can improve. As part of the survey we also find out what your customers REALLY want from you, (which can be quite different from what you THINK THEY WANT).

Don’t think you need it? Here’s a Harvard Business Review article that tells you exactly why you should!
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=5075&t=marketing

So what’s the deal?

We suggest we survey around 30 or so of your clients (and some ex-clients). You decide the mix, but we suggest some top, middle and lower end clients to give you a spread of results.

We design the questions and make the calls. You get a very comprehensive report on what each one said - the good, the bad and the ugly.

This way you KNOW what your customers REALLY THINK and can IMPROVE where necessary.

Oh and as it’s coming up to Christmas, many of you may like to do a Christmas promotion.

Announcing: A SPECIAL BONUS…

We’ll throw in a sales letter or promotion letter as our present to you. A promotion that could make you a lot of money if you actually do it.

What’s all this going to cost you? Well, I could tongue in cheek say, “Nothing - it’s an investment”, but I won’t!

We’ll charge you only $825 AUD for the privilege of finding out how else you could delight your clients (and maybe even keep some who were about to silently leave!)

And if you get more sales from the sales letter (and assuming it’s a product that will appeal to your target audience), you stand to make even more money.

So give me a call on +61 2 9499 7958 and we can have you having the best Christmas of all.

Rashid Kotwal - rashid.kotwal@revealedresources.com

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