Believe, buy and bite

The truth is, everyone in an organization is involved one way or the other in selling. From company owner to account manager to the receptionist on the phone, every member of your company is in a position to generate more business.

It doesn’t matter what the medium is. Whether it’s an email, a voicemail, business dinner or industry meeting, everyone on your team has a role to play in delivering a satisfying customer experience.

In a world where everything seems to be done online, a world-class buying experience can start with a simple chat. Follow these five tips and create a fast lane for better relationships, solid leads and convince others to believe, buy and bite.

1. Build rapport. It’s all about them, so if your focus is on you, your company, your product or service, you’re losing already. Here’s the point, they don’t care about any of that; they care about their issues and what you can do for them. Remember, you’re not selling your service or your product. You’re selling a solution to their problem. Find out what their problem is and the rest is easy.
2. 70/30 time rule. This will help you with #1. You should be talking only 30% of the time, and they should be talking 70% of the time. When they are talking, you are listening, taking notes and getting ready to ask questions based on what they have shared so you get more insight.

"The secret here is to lean into your customer’s concerns and be honest.”

3. Empathy. Now, this one might be tough for most of you. It requires a lot of mental energy for many to be so in tune with the client or prospect, that they can put themselves in their shoes, understand it, then share with comments like, ”Wow, I can’t imagine what that was like for you” or “Are you serious?” or perhaps “You know that says a lot about who you are, most people wouldn’t respond like that.”
4. Mirroring. We all want to build likeability and trust and that often requires mirroring. This means that whatever emotion the client or prospect is having, you want to echo or “mirror” that same emotion. So, if they are excited about a new property they have acquired, you should express the same level of excitement; or if they are sad about an employee they recently lost, you should also express concern or say that you’re sorry to hear that.
5. Deal with the issue. This one is also tough, and many just simply avoid it. Why? Because it’s uncomfortable, that’s why. Many of us don’t like dealing with the issue, but unresolved issues kill deals! A prospect or client won’t buy if they are uncomfortable, so you have to be the one willing to get uncomfortable. Here’s an example: “I notice you keep asking me for more material, is it possible that you’re not really interested and would rather I leave? It’s not a problem if that’s where we are.” Or, “I see price keeps coming up. I have to say we are not the low-price, low-quality company in the industry, so it’s possible we may not be a good fit.”

The secret here is to lean into your customer’s concerns and be honest.

If you look at this list, you’ll notice it’s very effective when talking to any other person, not just clients or prospects. We all want to be valued, listened to, respected, understood and want real issues to be dealt with.

So, embrace these five tips and watch your relationships and revenue grow like you’ve never thought possible.

Contact Brian Williams at bwilson@giemedia.com