At the midpoint in January, Networking Your Biz Events are back in full swing again. This past Wednesday we had our first event of 2012 at Online Trading Academy in Elkridge, Maryland. This sold-out lunch/learn featured returning guest speaker, Ann Homer. As many of you know Ann Hosmer is a seasoned trainer with expertise in the development, implementation and evaluation of specialized programs, with special emphasis upon personal empowerment, and effective communication skills. Ann’s expertise combines hands-on experience in education with the practical knowledge attained in the business world. Her professional experience includes over fifteen years of teaching in three Maryland school systems, eighteen years in the private practice of financial services, twenty-three years directing her non-profit organization, and over a decade delivering workshops to educators, administrators, non-profits and businesses.
Ann’s topic for this networking event was “MASTERING THE CRITICAL CONNECTION: 4 Principles that Work to Send Your Sales Conversions Soaring.” These 4 principles help you make the critical connection with the person you most want to convert into a valued client;
1st Principle of Sales: Detach from the fear of hearing NO.
Aspiring for excellence in sales, you must avoid becoming needy and showing your neediness, otherwise known as fear of rejection.
“To avoid showing neediness, you must never feel it”, says Jim Camp, author of Start with No: The Negotiating Tools that the Pros Don’t Want You to Know. Instead concentrate on what you want, not what you need. For example, neediness shows up when you tell yourself: “I really need this sale to pay my bills.” Think instead, ‘Regardless of what happens today, the right clients are on their way.’
“Oh really,” I hear you saying, “Just change my thinking?” You bet! That’s the first step. Hang in there.
2nd Principle of Sales: Allow the other person to feel ‘in control’ and bring down barriers to the sale.
Do any of you remember the book entitled “I’m OK, You’re Ok” by Thomas Harris? Of the various degrees of O kayness, one that he shares is “I’m not O.K, but you are.” If you will recall, in the TV detective series, Columbo starring Peter Falk, Columbo was able to bring his criminal counterparts to justice by adopting a style of appearing not quite with it. As a result, his suspects became less cautious, more relaxed, and easier to catch. You have to capture the same technique in your sales process. By allowing someone to feel in control, you allow yourself to be in control. Thanks again, Jim Camp.
“So, how do I pull this one off?” I hear you asking?” Stay with me.
3rd Principle of Sales: Direct your attention to how you can help this person.
This principle is two-fold. Part 1 is about you paying attention to your intention. Again, Jim Camp points out something golden: Goals focus upon what we want. However, when you convert your goal to a ‘Statement of Mission and Purpose’ notice what happens:
Your goal: Gain this person as a client and open the door to meeting some powerful people (all about you). Now re-phrase this goal as a Statement of Mission and Purpose such as: ‘Help this person see the value of this (product, service, or intervention) as the right tool to increase his/her sales conversions’. (“Help this person see value in . . .” is all about them).
Hear the shift in focus? “Is that a ‘yes, but,’ I just heard from you?’ Stay tuned
Part 2 of this principle: Position yourself as a problem solver.
Become aware of the POWER of the right questions to uncover the prospect’s ‘PAIN’— a re-occurring problem, the result they do not want, or the result they do want, but can’t get. Avoid giving presentations in sales situations. You give away your power. Telling will put you on the defensive. Asking questions makes it comfortable for them to arrive at the decision they feel is right.
The vision of their PAIN has to be clear; so does the SOLUTION you offer before they will to act upon it. Thank you, David Neagle, President, Life is Now.
“What are the right kinds of questions to ask?” Great question! This is an acquired skill, I can assure you.
4th Principle of Sales: What goes up must come down.
Have you ever presented a proposal and watched your prospective client bubble with enthusiasm, and still raving as you say good-bye? Then, when you call back a day or so later, they condemn it with equal vigor?
What happened? You gave away your power again. The concerns they express in your meeting nurture your power to respond in a way that puts these concerns to rest.
When you saw their enthusiasm rising, that’s the time to start asking another kind of question—the kind that gets them to see the pros and the cons of what you offer while in your presence, not later when they share the information with a colleague who kills their enthusiasm by posing the questions you should have asked in the meeting.
“How did I ever miss this information in my sales training?” you ask. Good news! It’s not too late to acquire it.
***One more thing: Have all decision makers present to hear your proposal
Have your principle contact state clearly the decision-making process they use. Let’s consider a few of the ways to gain this information:
“How will this decision be reached? When will it be reached?”
“Yes, I understand you make the decisions. But who else might you want to have input?”
“Who would be upset if we left them out?”
We thank you, Ann Hosmer for these valuable guidelines. Attendees were eating up your perceptive advice and principles.
Please stay tune for our next events;
- Lunch/Learn on Friday January 20th at 11:30 at Kaplan University in Rockville. This Friday’s guest educational speaker will be Leslie Simmons, MBA. The topic is “How to make QuickBooks Work for you!”
- Business Networking After hours on Thursday January 26 at 6pm at Best Western Plus in Rockville. The educational speaker is Garry Owen. The topic is Learn about the 9 core marketing rules for selling your product or service on Facebook.
- Lunch/Learn on Friday January 27th at 11:30 at Online Trading Academy in Vienna, Virginia. The educational speaker is David Merritt. The topic is “Marketing your business- How can technology help?”
- Business Networking After hours on Tuesday January 31st at 5:30 pm at Crofton Country Club. The educational speaker is Ann Hosmer. The topic is “5 great benefits of building a virtual team.”
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