I’ve often wondered why salespeople have such a hard time asking questions that dig deeply enough to understand what their customers want. I’ve seen consultants do the same thing. The danger is that we make assumptions and then propose the wrong solution. Because the customer either recognizes immediately that it won’t work or maybe tries it before discovering it doesn’t work, we’ve lost credibility and trust.
Among the many reasons I’ve discovered for not asking enough questions, is that people are afraid of looking stupid when asking questions. When you operate from a heart-centered, soft sell sales and marketing viewpoint, it should make sense that you want to come across sincere and trustworthy. You do this largely by taking time to ask the questions for understanding. [...]
One of the strongest tools I’ve had in sales is enthusiasm. Enthusiasm sells more than any other skill that I’ve seen. The point is, as the salesperson, “If you don’t care, who else will?”
This doesn’t require you to be really outgoing and dynamic in expression. If it’s a natural part of your personality to be energetically expressive, then that’s how you authentically show your enthusiasm. But if you have a more restrained personality, don’t try to act expressively enthusiastic. People will recognize it as fake, which will undermine your credibility. Just be yourself. Show your belief and excitement about your products and services as you would normally and naturally. Subdued enthusiasm is still enthusiasm. When you speak with conviction and confidence, you will be believable. [...]
Have you ever noticed how little things in life can mean so much? That’s the way it is with compliments. How you give a compliment tells whether you’re sincere or just trying to make points. For some people, it seems they’ve read a book that says if you want to be a good manager [...]
It’s an established fact that we never get a second chance to make a good first impression. For salespeople, this is important if you want to get to the top of your profession. Because I know that we communicate through clothes, I was fascinated with Suzanne Falter-Barns’ interview of Kim Foley, “How to Dress for Credibility.” Ms. Foley is a Washington, DC-based “stylist to the stars.” She’s given advice to Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton and as well as to network news and sports anchors and Fortune 500 companies on how to dress to impress.
During this podcast, Kim gave a variety of really excellent tips on basic color schemes and other ideas that are important to making the right impression. Interestingly, it is not necessary to spend lots of money to get the right look. It’s far more important to get the drape and hang of your clothing correct. You want it to fit you, whatever you size.
Your clothes communicate silently for you, whether you know it or not. Learning how to use your clothes to convey the image of competence and confidence merely reinforces your presentation. Refusing to learn means your appearance can undermine all your hard [...]
It’s interesting when you decide to make a point that you expect to annoy some people in sales then you see a commercial that actually reinforces your position. TD Ameritrade’s commercial during Numbers tonight caught my attention.
In contrast to their competitors’ stock brokers, TD Ameritrade’s people “Listen first.” Moreover, they “Talk, not talk down.” I couldn’t write fast enough to get all of the rest, but he made the point about guiding you.
These are the points that I stress with my clients, my readers, and my listeners. [...]
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