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Guest post by: Patrick T. Malone Become an Author

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First impressions often make the difference in getting the job or getting the sale. Similarly the first few seconds of an important conversation set the tone for how the rest of the conversation is going to proceed and very often has a significant impact on the outcome. Knowing the most effective way to begin important conversations, at home, in business or in a civic setting, is critical to your success.

We believe there are three critical elements that must be present to be a truly effective opening statement - your confidence, an invitation to neutral and an acknowledgment of the listener as the decision-maker.

Let's take a closer look at each element.

Confidence

Never discount the power of your own conviction. Your customers/followers are buying your confidence first and then buying your product, service or idea. So you must really believe in what you are advocating. If you only think your idea is good, others will think it is good also but they will not buy it. The old adage "I can sell anything" may have been true at one time but not today.

Buyers have more information and are more sophisticated than ever before. They demand your confidence and more.

Your conviction in your product, service or idea is good but even better is your conviction that there is a benefit or value to your customer is even better. When the conversation begins your customer is asking themselves, "Why should I care?" or "what's in it for me?"

The sooner you answer that question the quicker the customer will focus on what you are saying. Here are some examples:

"I'm convinced you will improve your cash flow with our financial software."

"I'm sure we can improve your revenue and margins through our incentive program for your sales force."

"Our training program will provide you with a 100% return on investment within 3 months or we will refund the cost with no questions asked."

"Our personal shopping service will save you time and relieve some of the stress of your busy travel schedule."

An Invitation to Neutral

We can dream about all our customers being "Confident Connie" but that's not reality. In today's competitive environment the best we can hope for is the opportunity to make the case that our product, service or idea are worthy of their consideration.

So the second mission of your opening statement is to create a "Neutral Nellie". Here are 4 examples of invitations to neutral that build on the above mentioned examples.

"Let me demonstrate our software package and show you all the features."

"Let me show you just a couple of the options that are designed to drive both revenue and profit."

"Let's review the expected outcomes of our sales training program.."

"Let's look at some of the features of our personal shopper service..."

An Acknowledgment of the Listener as the Decision-Maker

For many of you this element will involve the greatest struggle and here is why. Your current mindset is focused on getting to YES. I am now asking you to focus on getting a decision and here is the reason why. If you focus on getting a YES you have engaged in a "win-lose" game. You only win if the customer says YES. I would rather you play the "win-win" game so that both you and the potential customer win.

Potential customers want to make a decision and if your mission is to get a well-informed committed decision both you and the customer win if the answer is YES or NO.

Put it in your own personal perspective. Do you like to be sold something or would you rather someone help you make a decision whether or not to buy. We believe most people prefer the latter. So here are some examples.

"Then you can determine if our financial software package is right for your business."

"Then decide if our incentive program will deliver the numbers"

"...to see if they match up with your needs."

"... so you can make a well-informed decision about using our service."

Finally here are the four examples all put together:

"I'm convinced you will improve your cash flow with our financial software. Let me demonstrate our software package and show you all the features and then you can determine if our financial software package is right for your business."

"I'm sure we can improve your revenue and margins through our incentive program for your sales force. Let me show you just a couple of the options that are designed to drive both revenue and profit. Then decide if our incentive program will deliver the numbers."

"Our training program will provide you with a 100% return on investment within 3 months or we will refund the cost with no questions asked. Let's review the expected outcomes of our sales training program to see if they match up with your needs."

"Our personal shopping service will save you time and relieve some of the stress of your busy travel schedule. Let's look at some of the features of our personal shopper service so you can make a well-informed decision about using our service."

I am convinced that establishing a good solid decision goal for every important conversation will improve your success rate. Try it for yourself and then decide if it will help you and your business achieve even greater results.

Related Articles

  How to Begin a Conversation
  Managing a Difficult Conversation
  How to Avoid 4 Key Sales Objections
  Four Disciplines of Extraordinary Leaders
  7 Factors to Consider When Creating Strategic Action Plans to Reach Your Goals
  Why is Cold Calling Like Buying New Shoes?
  Conversation Skills for Success
  The Art of Good Conversation
  Graceful Networking
  Team Excellence First Ingredient - A Common Goal
  Ask Open Ended Questions
  The Top 10 Cold Calling Mistakes
  Pitch-Script-Call Guide Development
  Technology Professionals as Full Business Partners
  This Is How You Can Enhance Your Conversation Skills
  Business Networking Talk Little Ask Lots
  Held Back Sales and Marketing
  Why Cold Calling does NOT work, using traditional methods
  I Just Called to See How Things are Going
  Be Present and Listen

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