Developing Rapport This was easy when I sold in South Africa some years ago. I would take out my gun and so would my prospect and we would then compare guns and bullets. When I arrived in the UK and tried this on my first call, the prospect ran out never to be seen again. Joking aside, whenever I meet someone, I use the ‘past, present and future’. People love to talk about themselves and whenever I meet someone for the first time, I firstly ask them how they got started. I then ask about their present situation and where they see themselves in the future. At this stage, I can learn more about them than at any other time. The important thing is to keep quiet and listen. I also realise that there are a number of things on the prospect’s mind when I first meet such as, who am I, how credible I am, the background of my company and what’s in it for him and me. My introduction is as follows (after past, present and future). “In preparing for today’s meeting, I thought there may be some questions on your mind such as ‘who am I, who is my company and what’s in it for you and me,” at which stage they always nod in agreement. I tell him about myself and my qualifications (this is the only time I talk about myself and most professionals like to deal with other professionals). I then go on to tell the prospect about my company. Following that comes ‘what’s in it for you’ when I say quite simply that I would like to take a look of where they or their company are right now and where they would like to be in the future and to help them achieve these goals. ‘What’s in it for me?’ “I get paid in two ways, firstly if you think my proposals are feasible, I would like you to place the business with me and secondly, whether we do business or not, I would like you to refer me to 2 or 3 other people/companies similar to you.” Questioning and Listening Most top salespeople are master questioners and excellent listeners. These are the tools of their trade and enable them to find out what is really important to their client. Lighting the fire All successful salespeople know how to ‘light the fire and ignite the passion’ that will enable the prospect to buy. They realise how important emotions are in the sales process and sell the benefits of their product or service. Closing skills Statistics show that most top salespeople close on their fifth attempt. Mediocre salespeople don’t even know 5 closes. On the Tom Hopkins sales course, we were all expected to learn 27 closes verbatim as well as the importance of overcoming objections and uncovering the real and underlying objection to proceeding with the sale immediately. If every step of the sales process is followed correctly, the close is the natural progression. Please go to www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm to download 39 sales closing scripts. The power of words Most people have been conditioned to react either positively or negatively by the use of certain words. An example is ‘I would like to make an appointment’. Who do you make an appointment with: doctors, dentists and other people out to hurt you? Rather use, ‘I’d be happy to drop by/pop in (as friends do). ‘Sign the contract’ is something we’ve all been warned about. Rather use ‘Please authorise the paperwork’. Always be aware of your ‘sales language’. Pride All successful people are proud of their professions and love selling. This becomes very evident to the prospects. Enthusiasm Selling skills and enthusiasm count for 85% of the sale. If you are boring, tired or not in the mood to sell, you will never be amongst the elite of salespeople. Superb service Top professionals deliver what they promise. Their levels of excellent service ensure that their client will never ‘shop’ elsewhere and they will in turn provide a constant source of referrals. Fun Top salespeople have fun and look forward to each day. They have great senses of humour. When I first started selling 20 years ago, I had an appointment with a schoolteacher. On arriving at her house, her little sister told me to sit and wait in the lounge as her sister was taking a shower. Five minutes later, she came walking through the lounge drying her hair, stark naked! She looked up and saw me, ran out and locked herself in a bedroom and shouted ‘go away, I don’t want to see you’. Well I left without a sale, but that’s when I realised ‘money isn’t everything!’ Have Fun! Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 1923 248200. http://www.frankfurness.com Free EBooks and software – http://www.frankfurnessresources.com/freebies NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/ Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm
Frank Furness CSP CFP is an international speaker and trainer specialising in sales, technology and management. For free software and ebooks go to http://www.frankfurnessresources.com
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