Communication

Carolyn Boyes

• Publisher: HarperCollins Business
• Year: 2010
• eBook ISBN: 9780007358908
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

The communication secrets that experts and top professionals use.

Selling successfully

‘People buy people’ is the old saying. Of course, your product or service should be good but, even if it were great, you might still be unsuccessful if you have poor sales skills. So what are the secrets of selling successfully? Persuasive people develop genuinely positive relationships with their clients. They are friendly and open in their body language and make sure they are always in rapport. In other words, communication is key.

5.1
Be client-centred

The key to all the other secrets in this chapter starts with being client-centred. If your client doesn’t think you are on their wavelength, they will pretty much dismiss everything you are saying right from the start of your sales pitch. If they think you are on their side, though, everything else is going to be easier.

So what do I mean by getting on the same wavelength? You will feel in tune with someone only when you have created a rapport. Remember to check out how the other person is sitting or standing; their posture and gestures too, as well as any particular way they have of speaking or words they frequently use.

Have you ever noticed how particular organizations use particular jargon or turns of phrase? If you pick up on these and use them at the same time as ‘matching and mirroring’ the other person’s body

one minute wonder It’s essential to discover what’s important to the other person. What are their values and needs? So remember to ask questions such as: “How do you know when you have…?” and “What is it exactly you need from…?”

“If all my possessions were taken from me with one exception, I would choose to keep the power of speech, for by it I would soon regain all the rest” Daniel Webster, 19th-century American statesman

language, they will have the feeling that you belong in their environment. Nothing about you will feel out of place and they will be much more accepting of everything you say.

To be a successful seller you must ask questions:

• What? Discover what a client needs specifically and also what’s important to them as a business.
• Why? Find out the other person’s reasoning. Why they want what they want or need what they need.
• How? Ascertain the way they do things in their organization and how they like things done by the people they work with.

Ask questions and listen (actively) to the answers. A persuasive person is always genuinely interested in others. They ask probing questions to find out what the key issues are and to weed out obstacles that might come up in the conversation.

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Choose your questions carefully to become more persuasive and a successful salesperson

5.2
Show your client what’s in it for them

In business you frequently need to sell either a product or service to an external client. You will sell most effectively if you spend time finding out your client’s needs and what they really want. Here are some simple communication steps you can use to make sure you sell effectively every time.

Start off by establishing a rapport with your client. Then, if you follow the steps bulleted below, you can get your client to open up to you and tell you what’s going to make them buy. This will make you far better at selling. The best thing about it is that the customer won’t feel as if you are trying to force something upon them but simply that you want the best result for them.

• Home in on the outcome. Ask what specifically does the customer or client want. What is their ideal? It could be a thing or a feeling.
• Examine the benefits. What does this outcome mean to the potential buyer? When they have it, what will it be like? Will they feel a certain way? Look a certain way? Be able to be, do or have something?

one minute wonder Here is a simple set of questions to use if the client doesn’t seem certain about buying. Firstly ask: “What would it take to convince you to think about buying this?” Then ask: “If we could find a satisfactory solution to this, would you be willing to buy?” This let’s you know exactly what it will take to get the sale.

• Think about current and future situations. When and where does the customer want it? Perhaps they have part of it already.

Create a sense of expectation. Does the customer know anyone who has one already? What does it do for them? Have they ever had something similar that they really liked? What did it give them? What did they see, hear or feel when they had it?

Check the timing. Ask yourself two questions: why does the client not have what they want already and is there anything that is stopping them having it now?

Use the ‘as if’ scenario. Focus on the outcome they want. Ask your client to see themselves as if they already owned the product: “Let’s assume you already bought X. How did you know it was the right product to buy? How do you feel about it or see it? What told you it was a good decision?”

When people hear questions like this, what happens next is that they start imagining what it will be like to own the product.

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Use the ‘as if’ model to get the client to try on the feeling of owning your product or service.

5.3
Win others’ support

Whether you are a manager or simply a team member, you will need to sell your ideas at some point. Be enthusiastic, get the other people’s attention and make sure you have lots of rapport when you talk. Selling ideas is easy. Follow these simple steps and you will make other people passionate about your ideas too.

If you want to advance in business, you need to get other people signing up to your ideas and supporting your goals. This means you will have to become a salesperson, whether you are formally one or not. Here are some steps that will make the difference:

• Grab the other person’s attention. Introduce the subject in such a way that it gets them interested. You can’t assume they want to listen. Give them a reason to. Ask questions to confirm their interest level.

Contextualize the idea. Describe the context for the idea. Is there a problem to solve, for example, or a challenge to overcome?

Focus on results. Describe in as much detail as appropriate what result your idea will deliver. In other words, how will things be different in future? Describe the contrast with the current situation.

one minute wonder Paint an image of what the future will be like if your idea is accepted. Contrast this with a picture of what it will be like if they don’t accept your idea. You want the client to experience in the moment the benefits they will derive from taking action now.

• Present your idea. You have set the context to now describe the idea in detail. And, because you have set the context, the other person will be more receptive to your idea at this point.
• Stress the benefits. Make sure that you maintain a rapport with the other person by checking their levels of interest. Describe the benefits to them, to the organization, the team and anyone else relevant.
• Counteract a negative response. Think about the ‘what ifs’. Suppose they don’t adopt your idea? Talk to them about the negative consequences of not taking on your idea.
• Keep a check on progress. Make sure you use open body language to keep the rapport going, and check their reaction by using open questions to draw out any issues.
• Get them on board. Ask for commitment to action. What are the next steps? Outline the next steps needed to implement the idea, or ask them to suggest a first step.

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Selling ideas is easy if you follow a step-by-step approach in the way you communicate.

5.4
Communicate credibly

Selling is about trust and credibility. No one is going to buy from a person who they think doesn’t know anything about their product, doesn’t believe in the product, doesn’t look as if they want the best for you or is trying to bully or con you in some way.

Here are five steps to build credibility with your customer or client.

1 First of all, be congruent in everything you say. This means that your body language should be telling them the very same story as your words. Additionally, what you say on one occasion should be the same, or at least aligned with, what you say on every other occasion. If you are constantly changing your story or being contradictory in some other way, all your trust as a salesperson will be destroyed.

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2 Once you have established congruency, think about your credibility. When you sell a product or an idea, you should always be prepared to be fair in how you describe it. Selling doesn’t mean your product has to be perfect for your client to want

“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great” Zig Ziglar: American motivational writer

to buy. It’s the opposite to some extent. Only ever tell the buyer as much as they can believe about your product. If it’s too mind-blowingly wonderful, suspicions will be raised.

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3 Be prepared to describe what you see as the more limited or negative aspects of your product or service. As long as these are balanced by the more positive aspects, you needn’t worry that this will make you vulnerable to losing a sale. All you are doing is building up credibility.

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4 Then, when you do want to describe all the great features of what you are selling, be very specific. For example, tell your client they are not going to make an extra profit of 10% through efficiency savings but specifically an estimated 11.5%.

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5 Finally, recognize that many clients do need some sort of external reference as evidence for either your credibility or your product’s. Have referrals and documents ready for reference.

When you sell benefits, the key is to be specific and detailed.

5.5
Know why clients say “no”

There you are with your client, talking about what they want. You seem to be getting on very well – all the right things are being said. And yet, the client concludes the meeting or sales call with a line such as, “I will think about it”, or “I have decided against it thi...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Communicate effectively in business
• Firm foundations
• Body basics
• Team talk
• Making the most of meetings
• Selling successfully
• Dealing at a distance
• Ditching the difficulties
• Jargon buster
• Further reading
• About The Author
• Copyright
• About the Publisher