|
The best way to boost
customer impact is to cultivate an empathy for the customer and to understand his
or her needs, interests, and desires, and to know how to get them what they want.
This simple idea is based on the wisdom I learned from an insurance salesperson who
taught thousands of salespeople the greatest secret of success in selling over 50
years ago. And here it is:
The Greatest Secret
in Selling:
Show people what they want most, and they will move heaven and earth to get it!
That secret comes
from an anonymous source and was first revealed in print by Frank Bettger, in his
classic book, How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success in Selling published
in 1949. I don't know about you, but I'd bet the Triad has changed a lot in those
50 years! Mr. Bettger used its power to make well more than a million dollars in
selling insurance during the middle years of this century. And that's when a million
dollars was a lot of money!
Let's take a look
at an easy-to-follow plan that can put this greatest secret in selling to work for
you. And here it is:
Discover what your
prospect will buy, why they will buy it, and under what conditions they will buy
it. Then show it to him.
Mastering the Master
Keys
The master keys to discovering what your prospects want are asking and listening.
They are your most effective implements for opening up the mind and heart of your
prospect. Unfortunately, many salespeople have serious misconceptions about the meanings
of those two key words.
In old-school selling
jargon, to ask meant only one thingñto ask for the order. Often, asking people to
sign an order is the first question some salespeople use. It is so common that many
of us cannot remember the last time a salesperson asked us a question such as, "How
will you use it?" or "What do you like most about it?"
Let's re-examine those
two words - asking and listening - but this time let's do it with a value-based selling
philosophy in mind. You will see different meanings for those two words when viewed
in terms of customer focus:
Asking means
that if you ask enough of the right questions throughout the interview you will likely
get an order.
Listening means
that the most important task of the salesperson is to pay careful attention to what
the prospect truly says.
Let's ask two vital
questions about listening, then examine their answers:
- Why do most salespeople
find it so hard to listen to what their prospects say?
- How can you improve
your listening skills?
Lots of salespeople
have been conditioned to ignore the prospect's needs and desires. What is uppermost
in lots of salespeople's minds as we walk into a prospect's turf? To close a sale!
Most salespeople focus on what they will get out of the saleñnot what the prospect
will get out of it.
The selfish streak
in most of us is reinforced by our traditional view of sales. Unfortunately, much
of today's selling stresses our needs and interests. We go out looking for prospects
to buy what we are "selling," try to "warm them up" so we can
lay our "pitch" on them, then "hit - em with the close." If we
do it well, we can make big money-for a short while.
Countless salespeople
have been trained to use their listening time to think up what to say after-and sometimes
before-the prospect finishes. To improve your listening skills, that traditional
focus must change. To survive in any crowded marketplace, you need to lay aside your
own interests so you can discover and satisfy the needs and desires of your customers.
This new focus is different and your customers will notice the difference. It will
make your sales efforts successful even where others repeatedly fail; even where
you may have previously failed yourself.
Self-Centeredness
Is Not In Your Best Interest
Please do not misunderstand. I have never suggested that you adopt a martyr attitude
and lay yourself at the feet of every prospect, caring nothing about your own needs.
What I have discovered is that there is a vast difference between self-centeredness
and serving your best interest. Fortunately, serving your best interest usually serves
your customersí best interest.
I firmly believe that
the Triad is a place that exemplifies this whole concept well. It has been my observation
that there are lots of leaders who do listen to others. I'd like to believe that
they don't act only in their own best self-interest. If I believed that they were
only interested in their own welfare, not mine, my trust of them would significantly
be decreased. Isn't sales the same way. And aren't politicians really salespeople,
anyway?
FREE
FAX OFFER: Receive
Bill Brooks' 30 minute audio tape, Evaluating What To Do. Fax request on your
business letterhead to 336-282-5707.
©2000 Bill
Brooks, The Brooks Group, Greensboro, NC. All Rights Reserved.
For almost two decades Bill Brooks has been one of America's most in-demand
sales speakers. Bill has successfully accomplished what other sales speakers merely
talk about. He enjoys real-world, legitimate sales success, executive experience,
in-depth topic expertise, academic preparation, as well as the highest speaking and
consulting accreditations. Bill has been a sales executive and marketing manager,
an international sales award winner, CEO of a 300 million dollar corporation and
successful college football coach with a 70% winning record. Bill is author of over
100 video and 200 audio programs, and 9 books. For more information about Bill Brooks'
speaking, training and consulting services; or learning tools, call 800-633-7762
or e-mail sales@brooksgroup.com or visit his website at www.brooksgroup.com.
|
