Relax
Your Customer
by J.Conners
One of the most important skills a doctor can
posses, is that of a bed side manner. In the same sense, it is important
that sales people posses the same type of skill, to be able to put
their customer at ease.
Relaxing your customer is important to any type
of sales situation you may find yourself in. Remember, think of
the customer as a guest in your house, you are the host, so you
want to make them as comfortable as possible in your house. The
more comfortable they are in your house, the easier it will be for
them to talk to you.
In sales, trying to persuade someone we have never
met before to buy our product can be very challenging.
It can be challenging for a number of reasons,
mainly the fear that consumers associate with sales people.
The fear that we are all alike, comparing us to
the unfair stereotype of the used car salesman. They are afraid
of being convinced to buy something they don’t need at a price
they can’t afford.
You need to find a common denominator with your
customer, something you can both relate to, something non-business.
A non-business conversation is a great way to
break the ice with your customer. We all want to make a sale, but
since when is it a crime to get to know your customer?
This is easier than you may think, people love
to talk, especially about them selves.
So ask questions. Ask about their pets, their
families, their work, and their hobbies.
When I was in banking, I managed a branch inside
of a supermarket. Our daily goals consisted of going out into the
aisles, approaching customers, and trying to convince them to bank
with us.
We applied certain techniques to this type of
sales that worked rather well.
For instance, the pet food aisle was a good place
to talk to people, because people loved to talk about their pets.
A simple question such as; “What kind of dog do you have?”
would get them talking with the greatest of ease.
The junk food aisle was also a good place to talk
to people. For some reason the presence of candy and junk food put
people in a good mood, and they were more prone to talk with a stranger.
One place we stayed away from, was the frozen
food section, because people didn’t want to talk where it
was cold. Understandable.
My point is, people love to talk as long as they
can relate to the subject manner, so don’t be afraid to ask
questions, and get to know your customer beyond that of the products
they need.
The more relaxed you can make your customer in
your setting, the better off the two of you will be, and the more
sales you will walk away with.
This
article may be reproduced by anyone at any time, as long as the
authors name and reference links are kept in tact and active.
Jay Conners has more than fifteen
years of experience in the banking and Mortgage Industry, He is
the owner of http://www.jconners.com,
a mortgage resource site, he is also the owner of http://www.callprospect.com,
a mortgage lead company.
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