"I love people. I wish I had a bucket full of them. Chopped up into little pieces." - Anonymous
Like I stated in my last post, not everyone will handle problems the same. And they don't handle other people the same either. As a former manager of people, I have dealt with some people who are on the ball and only need help when there is a serious problem. Then you have the ones who need someone to cut their food for them and show them how to chew with their mouths closed.
When I was in college I got a summer job delivering pizzas for a large national chain. The manager of the store had apparently worked his way up from delivery person and was in charge at the ripe old age of 20. Considering his age, he was actually a decent manager. So I thought it was interesting when he convened a staff meeting one afternoon to go over some issues that needed rectifying.
"I don't care what is going on in your personal lives," he said. "When you clock in, leave all that crap behind. Concentrate on your work and your co-workers and you can enjoy all your personal problems when you clock out."
Then he said something I thought was interesting and to the point.
"You are a great crew but you are all moody as hell. When you are at work, smile damn it!"
Not bad for a guy who couldn't buy a drink legally. And I have to admit that I stole this line and used it for the next 20 years, especially when I was managing a retail store. I was required to hold staff meetings about twice a year, with the main one happening right before the busy Christmas holidays. Letting my crew of mostly teenagers know I thought they were "moody" put them on their heels, as well as letting them know I wasn't going to put up with their drama.
This is what being a leader is all about. Acknowledging that your team has flaws that need to be addressed if goals were to be met. And this is the same when dealing with clients. Leading a staff meeting is no different than leading a sales appointment.
Letting your prospect know that you are willing to "lead" them means you have to get them to buy in to whatever you are selling. Just the same as getting my retail staff to buy in to our seasonal sales strategy, you need to ask your client to make that emotional investment. But instead of calling the prospect moody you will have to acknowledge other issues.
This is where beating the prospect to the objection is important. For example, if the objection is money (which it almost always is) then you should bring that up during the discussion. "I know this plan may sound like a lot of money, but in the grand scheme of things it will be well worth the costs." Saying that before the client makes mention of it nips it in the bud, just like calling out moody employees.
At my first job selling insurance we were issued a large 3-ring binder filled with rebuttals to objections. The task was to memorize these, but if someone had trained us to bring up the objections ahead of time the binder would have been irrelevant.
Dealing with people and their objections to buying in advance can really make you a much more efficient sales professional and business person. Work on it before you see your next prospect and, in the meantime, stay healthy!
Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. He's also the author of "You're Going To Be Great At This!", a humorous look at sales. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states.
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