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When you initially meet a potential client, the first thing you must do is establish rapport. The faster you can make this happen, the more sales you'll make. It's as simple as that. Now, some of what you read may seem a little awkward at first. That's OK-it's because it's not natural to you...yet. The purpose here is to help you internalize critical sales skills to the point where they just flow out of you when you need them to. In time, you'll get so you don't even have to think about how to act and what to say, because it's become a natural part of you. The only way to accomplish this is through P.D.R.- practice, drill and rehearse. The more you do those three things, the faster these proven strategies will become ingrained in you. Let's say a new customer has just called you or entered your place of business. The steps to rapport-building are pretty much the same in both instances. The first thing you do is smile. This may sound trite, but look around you. How many people do you know who naturally smile when they meet someone new? If the answer is a lot, you're working with a great team! A SMILE IS A REALLY IMPORTANT SELLING TOOL It's important to smile even on the phone-people can sense it in your voice. If you're not naturally a very smiley person, practice in front of a mirror. Don't laugh! This is critical to your ability to sell products. You must be able to see your smile in your eyes. That means it's genuine. If you're not genuine, your prospects will spot it a mile away and write you off as a stereotypical salesperson. Their defences will go up, and you'll have to work hard to break them down. If you're meeting in person, make eye contact. Don't stare them down, but make comfortable eye contact. Then introduce yourself, ask for their name, and ask for permission to use their name. What I mean by that is, if a woman introduces herself to you as Jane Thompson, say, "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Thompson. May I call you Jane?" This simple courtesy demonstrates professionalism on your part. Now you need to use her name. Repeat it to yourself four times (silently), so you don't forget it, or otherwise find a way of repeating that person’s name out loud four times in around 90 seconds. With everything else you'll have on your mind, like qualifying your prospect, presenting your product properly and closing the sale, can be easy to forget the name of the person you're dealing with. Repeating it to yourself will help plant it firmly in your mind. Try to match the speed and volume of your speech to theirs for the first 90 seconds too. Then, if you naturally speak either faster or slower, you can gently move into your typical style. Here's a warning, though: If the potential client speaks very slowly, don't allow yourself to speak too quickly. They may not follow what you're saying, and while they're trying to catch up mentally, they're missing the next point you make. ***************************************** This Article is by Peter Collins - In a sales career spanning more than 50 years, Peter Collins has focused on helping and bringing out the best in others - whether it involves training or mentoring salespeople, managers, business consulting to SME’s. Since the 1970’s Peter has built a reputation as a Nationally and Internationally Published author, and has 65 books to his credit, but he is mainly known for one book based on the Audio Tape series of the same name, Over 50 Ways of Closing the Sale. In his personal life, Peter has been sought after as an encourager and motivator that has given of his time and talents freely despite his busy schedule. Subsequently, he has assisted churches, pastors, community and charity groups, as well as individuals through his teaching, training, development and on-going mentoring. Peter can be contacted through his website – profitmakersales.com - Submit your articles to AMAZINES.COM
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