How to Read Customers
How to Read Customers
The best sales people I know are really good at reading customers. They seem to know just when to close, they know the right questions to ask, which buttons to press and when to cut their losses and move on.
When I ask them how they know what to do, they often cannot explain. "I just know" "It just felt right".
My guess is that these sales people have highly developed intuition, a sixth sense, a "gut" feeling, that is not bound by the laws of social science. Intuition is not rational, i.e. it cannot be explained by logic or common sense; it just appears and exists.
Example;
You meeting with a prospect and all indications are that the meeting is going nowhere. The prospectīs body language is defensive; she is sharing very little information and asking few questions. Suddenly you get the sense that there is something very big going on in the company, something that the prospect is confused or worried about, or maybe not even aware of. The meeting progresses and the intuition gets stronger. So you ask her quite simply,
"Is there something big going on here that I should know about?"
She answers, "Funny you should ask that. Iīve been picking up some weird vibes myself lately, but I donīt know what they are about".
Next day, the prospectīs company announces that a competitor is acquiring them.
Neither is intuition a feeling, though we very often refer to it as a "gut" feeling. Feelings can have a powerful effect on our perceptions and behavior. I might feel excited about a prospect because he said something positive about my product. The reality might be that he has no budget for it, and in any case is not the decision-maker. My positive feelings may be so strong that I waste an awful lot of time pursuing what is in fact an unqualified lead. At the same time, my intuition might be saying "Forget it" and my rational thoughts might be "You have to ask a lot more questions before you can conclude whether this guy is qualified."
And letīs dispel the stereotype that women have it and men donīt. I believe that we are all born with intuition, but perhaps our culture accepts it in women and is suspicious of it in men. As a sales trainer, naturally Iīm intrigued by intuition and have tried to figure out how to develop it in learners. Personally, it developed slowly in me, and it is definitely not yet finished. The key is to trust it. In interactions with customers, or anyone else for that matter, I strive to become aware of my intuition about a customer. This not easy, because it goes against a very well developed rational brain that has had the upper hand for a very long time. I try to respect my intuition, sit with it, and talk about it with someone I trust. It is not an either/or situation; the challenge is to allow rational thought and intuition to co-exist, especially when they are contradictory and confusing. At a certain point, my intuition and the rational thoughts come together. I cannot hurry this process. If I allow it to take place at its own pace, the correct "read" and the right course of action becomes clear to me.
How to Read Customers - To learn more about this author, visit John Brennan's Website.
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Going with your Gut
The best sales people I know are really good at reading customers. They seem to know just when to close, they know the right questions to ask, which buttons to press and when to cut their losses and move on.
When I ask them how they know what to do, they often cannot explain. "I just know" "It just felt right".
My guess is that these sales people have highly developed intuition, a sixth sense, a "gut" feeling, that is not bound by the laws of social science. Intuition is not rational, i.e. it cannot be explained by logic or common sense; it just appears and exists.
Example;
You meeting with a prospect and all indications are that the meeting is going nowhere. The prospectīs body language is defensive; she is sharing very little information and asking few questions. Suddenly you get the sense that there is something very big going on in the company, something that the prospect is confused or worried about, or maybe not even aware of. The meeting progresses and the intuition gets stronger. So you ask her quite simply,
"Is there something big going on here that I should know about?"
She answers, "Funny you should ask that. Iīve been picking up some weird vibes myself lately, but I donīt know what they are about".
Next day, the prospectīs company announces that a competitor is acquiring them.
Neither is intuition a feeling, though we very often refer to it as a "gut" feeling. Feelings can have a powerful effect on our perceptions and behavior. I might feel excited about a prospect because he said something positive about my product. The reality might be that he has no budget for it, and in any case is not the decision-maker. My positive feelings may be so strong that I waste an awful lot of time pursuing what is in fact an unqualified lead. At the same time, my intuition might be saying "Forget it" and my rational thoughts might be "You have to ask a lot more questions before you can conclude whether this guy is qualified."
And letīs dispel the stereotype that women have it and men donīt. I believe that we are all born with intuition, but perhaps our culture accepts it in women and is suspicious of it in men. As a sales trainer, naturally Iīm intrigued by intuition and have tried to figure out how to develop it in learners. Personally, it developed slowly in me, and it is definitely not yet finished. The key is to trust it. In interactions with customers, or anyone else for that matter, I strive to become aware of my intuition about a customer. This not easy, because it goes against a very well developed rational brain that has had the upper hand for a very long time. I try to respect my intuition, sit with it, and talk about it with someone I trust. It is not an either/or situation; the challenge is to allow rational thought and intuition to co-exist, especially when they are contradictory and confusing. At a certain point, my intuition and the rational thoughts come together. I cannot hurry this process. If I allow it to take place at its own pace, the correct "read" and the right course of action becomes clear to me.
How to Read Customers - To learn more about this author, visit John Brennan's Website.
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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