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Communicate! Enough with the Sweet Talk!

Guest post by: Cori Padgett

Article Overview: Communication in any type of successful sales situation is a key component. If you can't communicate effectively, then it's likely the attention span of your prospect will wander.

Communicate! Enough with the Sweet Talk!

What you say can make or break your sale.

Communication is still the key to succeeding in the sales world. No, you don't have to use flashy verbiage. You just have to converse like you would with a friend or relative but in a professional tone and manner. This keeps them from being on the defense or the feeling that you're just out to get their money.

Having the right approach for your prospect allows you to succeed in not only knowing what motivates them but also in making long-term repeated sales.

How could they possibly trust you to reveal what they want if you are very aggressive in pushing your product or talk too fast? Or maybe you are so manipulative in the course of the conversation that everything they say you have a rebuttal for. Worse, how can you make them believe you have a sincere interest and concern for them when you don't even listen to them?

When it comes to finding out what your customer's motives are, you have to remember that they don't buy products but buy what the product will accomplish for them. Thus, you have to ask the right questions at the right time. Probe gently on what they consider to be the most important factors when deciding to buy or do something, why they decide to buy, and what they want to accomplish by purchasing the product or doing the activity.

Learning how to ask questions based on the situation you currently have with the customer (e.g. you're in a shop and the customer went in "looking for something") is important so you don't offend them. You should also pay considerable attention to your tone of voice so that it's appropriate to the emotional state of the client (e.g. came into the shop frustrated, happy, etc.).

Being able to "read" between the customer's words is important because it will show you the deepest feelings, aspirations and potential problems they are currently facing that you might be able to address.

There are also situations that you could ask outright what problems the customer is beset with that you might have possible solutions for, but it's wise to ask this only if you have extensive product knowledge on what you offer.

Using this approach with a customer gives the impression that you are humble, accommodating (acknowledging that they make the decisions), that you have a true desire to know about their situation, and that you know your product or service will be profitable or beneficial to them before they even buy it.

For that reason, it's also important to plan what you'll say beforehand somewhat, especially if you have set a meeting with the customer. Do your homework by getting to know their business and the person you'll be speaking to.

This is a way for you to be on equal footing and will allow you to speak to them on a more personal level and try to unearth their motivations.

Of course, you won't learn these skills overnight. But if you constantly practice and study what approaches work for a particular situation or person over time, you'll get there. Remember, practice makes perfect!

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Article Tags: aspirations, deepest feelings, emotional state, important factors, money, motives, professional tone, rebuttal, right time, tone of voice



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Ideas on Using Twitter for Business - 1. Build an account and immediate start using Twitter Search to listen for your name, your competitor's names, words that relate to your space. (Listening always comes first.) 2. Add a picture. ( Shel reminds us of this.) We want to see you. 3. Talk to people about THEIR interests, too. I know this doesn't sell more widgets, but it shows us you are human. 4. Point out interesting things in your space, not just about you. 5. Share links to neat things in your community. ( wholefoods does this well). 6. Don't get stuck in the apology loop. Be helpful instead. ( jetblue gives travel tips.) 7. Be wary of always pimping your stuff. Your fans will love it. Others will tune out. 8. Promote your employees outside-of-work stories. ( TheHomeDepot does it well.) 9. Throw in a few humans, like RichardAtDELL, LionelAtDELL, etc. 10. Talk about non-business,
Can you tell me about 80/20 Sales Rule? - I’ve a situation like this. I get 80% of my business from 20% of my customers, shouldn't I work harder on the 20%? Communicate at least 4 times a year? Special offers/vip sales? Unexpected free gifts? And if the other rule says I'm going to lose 20% of my customers every year (hopefully through no fault of my own), won't some of them my from my treasured 20% list? Maybe I should work to move some of the 80% to the 20% so I can afford the loss?
The 80/20 Rule - If the rule says I should get 80% of my business from 20% of my customers, shouldn't I work harder on the 20%? Communicate at least 4 times a year? Special offers/vip sales? Unexpected free gifts? And if the other rule says I'm going to lose 20% of my customers every year (hopefully through no fault of my own), won't some of them my from my treasured 20% list? Maybe I should work to move some of the 80% to the 20% so I can afford the loss?
Re: Hi all from Australia!! - Hi Mark, Welcome to the forum, I am sure your 10 years of experience will come in useful and your contributions will be of interest to all the members. Talk of Amway certainly takes me back, LOL, regards, Mal.
Re: Ideas on Using Twitter for Business - [quote="evieparsons":2o69rd2a]1. Build an account and immediate start using Twitter Search to listen for your name, your competitor's names, words that relate to your space. (Listening always comes first.) 2. Add a picture. ( Shel reminds us of this.) We want to see you. 3. Talk to people about THEIR interests, too. I know this doesn't sell more widgets, but it shows us you are human. 4. Point out interesting things in your space, not just about you. 5. Share links to neat things in your community. ( wholefoods does this well). 6. Don't get stuck in the apology loop. Be helpful instead. ( jetblue gives travel tips.) 7. Be wary of always pimping your stuff. Your fans will love it. Others will tune out. 8. Promote your employees outside-of-work stories. ( TheHomeDepot does it well.) 9. Throw in a few humans, like RichardAtDELL, LionelAtDELL, etc. 10. Talk about non-business,[/quote:2o69rd2a] Hey thanks for these tips. Basically, help others in your market out and build relationships with people. Be someone who gives, not takes. I'll keep them in mind if I go back to social media marketing. I'm currently in the SEO phase of my business.


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