People make buying decisions during silence.
It's true.
Silence is one of your best friends, not something you should get paranoid or worried about. It gives impact to your words, much like the empty space around "it's true" added value and impact.
Most sales reps will never grasp this. They race through their presentations without giving the prospect a moment to speak up--as if they are afraid that objection will come at any moment, and only through a continual torrential downpour of words will they every convince the prospect to buy.
But remember... People LOVE to buy, but they HATE to be sold. The "fast talking" salesman is the epitome of selling...not giving his prospects the time, nor respect they need in order to feel like they are buying.
I had a sales presentation today that went 50% longer than usual, and I accredit all of that to the amount of long pauses I took. I would say something, pause until she acknowledged it, then move forward. I didn't move forward until I had complete feedback from my prospect. And did she buy? Yes. Why? Because I gave her time to think about what I was saying. By pausing, I showed tremendous confidence in what I said, as if daring her to object. And did she object? Absolutely! But I paused before answering, giving thought and time to my responses. But my responses were brief, and the pauses were long. At the end, she told me, "I'm going to take the leap.." and then went on to list several reasons as to why it was right for her to make a buying decision. Hint: When a prospect tells you why they should buy, SHUT UP. Don't interrupt a thing! Sit back, relax, and let them tell you all the reasons they should buy. But that's another post topic entirely, getting the prospect to list reasons why they should buy.
So today's lesson, PAUSE... Use Silence OFTEN in your presentation.
CC
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
NEVER postpone the opportunity to learn.
My associate and I had a particularly good week this week. We are already frequently #1 and #2, and always at least in the top 4 out of over 200 sales reps, but this week was one of our best ever. A struggling sales rep who has been with the company for quite some time but hasn't yet broken out of the middle of the pack--let's call him Ryan--walked over to our sales board today, and looked at how much business we were able to do this week. The amount of commissions we were going to earn this week was around 10 times what Ryan was going to receive.
"Man," Ryan started. "I gotta come pick your brains some time on how you are doing things over here."
My associate and I didn't know quite how to take it, so we just played it off in good humor. Ryan shook his head--either in discouragement, or admiration, and walked away.
I thought back to the most recent training I had given for the company. Ryan was there. He was sitting back in the back, leaning back on his chair. He hadn't brought his notebook, and seemed pre-occupied with his phone during much of the training. During the beginning of my training, I had asked what they all thought motivated the top 5 performers in the company, and he had responded with "Diapers and formula".
He got several laughs, including one from me, but he didn't take any notes. His sales haven't improved much since that training either.
My brother-in-law told me about a guy he knows that came from another company to start selling for us. I introduced myself to him when he first started, and he has since learned that I made a similar transition in the past, and yet climbed up the ladder relatively quickly. He keeps telling me that one day he wants to "do lunch", and "pick my brain". I keep waiting for that day to happen, I'd be happy to share whatever I've learned along the way, and hope that it can benefit him in some way. He continues to struggle with the transition.
It always boggles my mind, that the ones that need the training the most seem to not even know that it's there. There it is, right there in front of them, and they blow it off like it's a lecture from their parents. They say things like, "I'm going to have to pick your brain some day," instead of, "hey...you guys are having a phenomenal week over here. What can I do to perform at a higher level?" He could have learned something right there at that moment...but instead chose to tell us that "some day" he'd choose to learn from 2 of the top 5 performers in our 100 Million dollar company.
Never postpone an opportunity to learn from the best. If you are feeling down on your game, go to the guys at the top RIGHT NOW. Don't talk about "some day." Learn TODAY. And when your company holds a sales training, show up with a notebook in hand, and learn from it. Choose to learn something from the very best performers every day and every week. Learn to think like them, and you will earn like them.
CC
"Man," Ryan started. "I gotta come pick your brains some time on how you are doing things over here."
My associate and I didn't know quite how to take it, so we just played it off in good humor. Ryan shook his head--either in discouragement, or admiration, and walked away.
I thought back to the most recent training I had given for the company. Ryan was there. He was sitting back in the back, leaning back on his chair. He hadn't brought his notebook, and seemed pre-occupied with his phone during much of the training. During the beginning of my training, I had asked what they all thought motivated the top 5 performers in the company, and he had responded with "Diapers and formula".
He got several laughs, including one from me, but he didn't take any notes. His sales haven't improved much since that training either.
My brother-in-law told me about a guy he knows that came from another company to start selling for us. I introduced myself to him when he first started, and he has since learned that I made a similar transition in the past, and yet climbed up the ladder relatively quickly. He keeps telling me that one day he wants to "do lunch", and "pick my brain". I keep waiting for that day to happen, I'd be happy to share whatever I've learned along the way, and hope that it can benefit him in some way. He continues to struggle with the transition.
It always boggles my mind, that the ones that need the training the most seem to not even know that it's there. There it is, right there in front of them, and they blow it off like it's a lecture from their parents. They say things like, "I'm going to have to pick your brain some day," instead of, "hey...you guys are having a phenomenal week over here. What can I do to perform at a higher level?" He could have learned something right there at that moment...but instead chose to tell us that "some day" he'd choose to learn from 2 of the top 5 performers in our 100 Million dollar company.
Never postpone an opportunity to learn from the best. If you are feeling down on your game, go to the guys at the top RIGHT NOW. Don't talk about "some day." Learn TODAY. And when your company holds a sales training, show up with a notebook in hand, and learn from it. Choose to learn something from the very best performers every day and every week. Learn to think like them, and you will earn like them.
CC
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