Make It Easy To Say Yes
Rule #1 in Sales: Make it easy for them to say yes to you.
Before someone buys anything: a house, a car, a pair of shoes, they hire someone to work with.
Yes, even in today’s online shopping world this is still relevant. Buyers are choosing a sales person, a web site, or a brand to work with.
It’s a key part of the process and if done correctly can result in not only a sale, but a repeat client and referrals.
So why do we mess it up so badly?
Whenever someone shows interest one of two things seems to happen.
Either the sales person becomes that overly aggressive person who can’t stop them selves from talking and closing. Their tactic is to either keep talking until you say yes or run out of the store screaming. In those first few moments of meeting with a client the key is focus on them so that you can determine how best to help them. It’s hard to find out anything about someone else if you are the one doing all the talking.
The second is that the sales person ignores you. (Okay, this one is not so much a tactic as it is incompetence or lack of systems.) It’s also known as pretty woman syndrome. Remember when Julia Roberts comes back to the hotel frustrated that she has handfuls of cash and no one will help her? Playing hard to get may work when you are dating, but it’s not the best business tactic. Engage your client. Make them feel like they matter to you. Know that they are feeling unsure about their choice and need to know that whomever they work with will be there for them.
I see both of these in virtually every type of sales. The first is like being on a bad blind date where the other person feels obligated to tell you all about them and you feel obligated to ooh and aah in all of the right places. The second makes you feel less than.
But what about looking at things from a different perspective?
What if you start from a place of abundance. Meaning there is more than enough business out there for everyone to be incredibly successful? That revelation alone is enough to change how you show up.
Next, assume that your client wants to say yes, that is why they picked up the phone or sent you an email in the first place. Your job is to help them affirm that they made the right choice. It’s a much different feel than needing to trap or force them into committing to you. Be magnetic and attract them in.
Give them power. No one wants to feel powerless in a situation. Maybe it’s because I’m a woman, but this always seems to play out when buying a car. They are masters of withholding information.
Clients want to know about you and your process. They don’t necessarily want to listen to you drone on about it for 15 minutes, though. Set up a website, even if it’s just one page so that people can find out more about you on their time.
It will allow them to self-select, as the right type of clients for you and it will make it easier for them to say yes.
Remember, your clients value your service. They want to work with you. Your job is just to open the door and make it easy for them to say yes.
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