Bite Your TongueWritten by Kelley Robertson
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2. Anytime you ask for sale. When you ask a person to make a financial commitment (aka a buying decision) you need to give them time to think about their decision and to respond. Too many sales people talk themselves out of a sale by continuing to speak afterwards. I recall one sales person telling me he would give me time to make a decision even though I had told him I wanted his product. 3. When you are not sure what to say next. From time to time, I have found myself unsure of what I should say after a comment made a prospect or customer. In these situations, an effective approach is to remain silent. It takes patience and a lot of control. However, in most cases, other person will fill up that dead air space and give you information you would not have learned otherwise. 4. When people express disappointment. In situations of conflict our natural tendency is to explain why something went wrong or to immediately offer a solution. However, allowing people opportunity to vent gives you chance to offer best possible solution. Many years ago I had a disgruntled employee and I gave her time to express her opinions. After several minutes of heated words and angry dialogue, I discovered that all she really wanted from me was opportunity to vent her frustration. In another situation, my customer actually told me what he wanted done which was less than I had originally planned to offer. I remember reading following advice from an author some years ago – spend one day every few months being as quiet as possible and responding only when it adds value to that particular conversation. This will be incredibly difficult for majority of people but imagine how much you will hear and learn that day. Most people who sell a product or service mistakenly think that they must do most of talking. However, my experience has taught me that some of best sales people are also quietest. And it’s because they actually hear what their customer or prospect has to say. They learn what’s important to that person. They find out motivating factors behind purchase. They allow other person to dominate conversation. And let’s face it, majority of people will always talk when given opportunity. © 2005 Kelley Robertson, All rights reserved
Kelley Robertson, works with businesses to help them increase their sales and motivate their employees. He is also the author of “Stop, Ask & Listen – Proven Sales Techniques To Turn Browsers Into Buyers.” Receive a FREE copy of “100 Ways to Increase Your Sales” by subscribing to his free sales and motivational newsletter available at www.kelleyrobertson.com. Contact him at 905-633-7750 or Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com
| | The Power of ConfidenceWritten by Kelley Robertson
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How do we prevent this from happening? First, carrying around mental baggage is a natural part of being a human being. It is way we view and deal with our baggage that makes real difference in our lives. If we look at each experience and consider how we can learn from it, our baggage will have less hold over us. I recall first paid keynote presentation I gave. I was well prepared, but not in appropriate manner. The room was an awkward shape and stage was positioned quite high, something I had never dealt with previously. I was uncomfortable during my presentation and I knew my delivery was affected. Instead of focusing on this after my session, I chose to concentrate on what I learned from experience. When you encounter a sales situation that does not turn out favorably, rather than focus on negatives and beating yourself up over it, ask yourself three questions: 1.What did I do well? 2.What did I miss or forget to do? 3.What will I do differently if faced with a similar situation in future? These three questions will help you learn and grow from each situation and will help improve your future results. Plus, by first focusing on positive aspects of sales interaction, you will give yourself a mental boost. You must also recognize that some of our baggage is outdated. We may be relying on information that is several years old. This happened to me at beginning of my career. When I was twenty-three I was working for a restaurant chain as an assistant manager. I was promoted to general manager and lasted less than a year before I was demoted back to an assistant manager. I had proved unable to perform to company's expectations. I ended up leaving company shortly afterwards. For five years I hesitated any time an opportunity for a promotion presented itself; I had not been sure I could do it. Finally it dawned on me exactly what I had learned from that experience. I was not only person responsible for that particular failure, and my leadership and managerial skills had developed since then. Nevertheless, it took me five years to realize it! Let go of your mental baggage and work on developing your personal confidence. Pay attention to your successes and use these to help you improve your results. © 2005 Kelley Robertson, All rights reserved.
Kelley Robertson, works with businesses to help them increase their sales and motivate their employees. He is also the author of “Stop, Ask & Listen – Proven Sales Techniques To Turn Browsers Into Buyers.” Receive a FREE copy of “100 Ways to Increase Your Sales” by subscribing to his free sales and motivational newsletter available at www.kelleyrobertson.com. Contact him at 905-633-7750 or Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com
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