What do You Say after You Say Hello?
By Dr Paul E Adams | February 28, 2003
"Big people monopolize the listening, small people monopolize the talking." David Schwartz
Our second step, Interest is the creation of information aimed at accomplishing our goal of: I want you to buy my product. It is the start of the process which concludes with the prospect developing enough desire to say yes to my offer. And how do I get you to want to hear more, see more, or read more about me, my business, or my product? By relating to your interests. By tapping into what psychologist's term your frame of reference. Or put another way, speaking your language by using words, terms, examples. and metaphors that are part of your daily life, By being aware of the daily problems you face and how my product or service solves your problems, adds to your wealth, saves you money, or makes your life a more pleasant existence. I can get your interest if I relate to your desires, be it fame or fortune.
You can achieve selling success by asking questions and listening to the answers. If you are making a physical sales call - listen with your eyes as well - observe. Poor salespeople insult prospects by not listening and not looking - which means they can never get in the prospects' box of interests. Use your powers of observation to see how your product or service may fit into the needs and wants of your prospect. Or put another way, don't try and sell vinyl siding to someone living in a brick house - get my point. Many inept peddlers try to sell the proverbial refrigerators to Eskimos.
Salespersons who barge in with a verbal onslaught almost attacking their prospect may get lucky once in a while, but in the long-run will fail. A professional and accomplished salesperson understands the need to throw away his or her ego and think about the ego of the prospect. If you are egocentric and suffer from the feeling of always having to be right, change is a difficult step. It means giving up the debating society and listening!
Social critics claim we are a society of souls that don't listen. If so, and you don t listen to your prospect, what makes you think they will listen to you? Wannebe salespersons think glitz and shouting do it. But that only gets attention - and the selling process stops there. If you want your prospect to listen to you - your tale must be interesting and that only happens when the prospect thinks you are interested in their welfare, not yours. In other words, relate to your customer - understand their frame of reference.
As you start the process of building desire and a relationship with your prospect with the use of questions - it is also the moment to qualify your sales lead. Are they for real or are you wasting your time? Wanting your offer is not enough. You must find out if they have a need for your product or service, if they can they pay for it, and do they have authority to buy it - answers that will save you from trying fit square pegs in round holes - or barking up the wrong tree. Sales pros know how to avoid wasting time, money, and travel by qualifying their prospects before show and tell.
Let me hammer away at you one more time - if you want to make a sale, it starts with getting your prospect's attention -the easy part - and sliding into establishing an interest to learn more of your fabulous offering, and that comes only from questions allowing you to tailor your presentation to the wants and desires of your pigeon. Remember Interest is being interested in your prospect's most important interest; his or her self!
Next month the most critical step of our process creating desire some may call it creating a want.