Gain Sales Esteem by Avoiding 2 Common Sales Insecurities

February 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

 

There are two common missteps that make you lose sales and they are easy to fix once you see the whole picture.

1)    Over talking. (Too much information)

2)    Over comforting people.

Overtalking undermines your good intentions and dilutes your message. Since too much of anything is no good the same goes for lots of explaining. The longer you go the greater the odds for losing them. You think you are being thorough and you might not realize that you are shooting yourself in the foot. Be careful, we ladies are talkers; we say 3x more words per day on average than men. This is good and bad.

We are expressive and make awesome teachers and presenters. Sometimes we get carried away with details and features and skip over what matters to them. Rx. Keep it emotional and factual—short and sweet—let them know what’s the gain?

Tip: A cop once told me how he was trained to handle domestic violence calls. He said what he learned worked on the job and in real life and I never forgot it. Don’t start off super strong because you can’t easily back off. However, you can always ramp up. You can share more information if you are asked for it but you can’t take back what you have already spilled.

 

Over comforting is another deal breaker. Over coddle and you take away the need for a customer to take action. Some empathy is good but too much is counter productive. Since you are empathetic, compassionate and caring it makes you credible, trustworthy and nice to do business with. When it hurts you is when you’ve made a persuasive and strong presentation that strikes a chord and you become uncomfortable and you rush to comfort them. If they pause and verbalize hesitation you don’t need to run to their aid—know that smart people talk out loud and be patient for a few beats.

Avoid a patronizing “Ahhh, I am so sorry…” followed by, “ You don’t really need this.” Or, “You can do it yourself.” That might be true. If you feel it’s mean not to comfort them or that you are being manipulative by illuminating a sore spot—STOP— it’s not. Rx. It’s not for you to decide if they need something or can or can’t do it themselves or afford it. You can help them by selling your product or service and delivering them what you promised.

Tip: If comforting people is what you enjoy doing let me reframe it for you. You can comfort people by making things easy for them, by simplifying their life, their condition, and their situation and demonstrating the transformation they will experience you are half way home. The more comfortable you are with your emotions the more comfy you will be with theirs. Practice sitting with discomfort and watch how things change when you hold your tongue an extra beat.

 

 

Filed Under: chemistry, confidence, good on your feet, mind set, Sales confidence, Sales Savvy, woman entrepreneurs, woman sellers, women and selling Tagged With: , , ,

Developing Sales Confidence

November 2, 2011 By 53 Comments

 

It’s an occupational hazard. We pitch a prospect, their defenses come up and it feels as though we are talking into nothingness. The less experienced seller thinks they’ve said or done something wrong while experienced ones have developed a healthy callus.

Here’s a strategy—don’t get hung up on approval.

Give yourself the inner approval to continue; carry on knowing that what you are saying is pushing a button. Assume so. It’s getting to them even if they show their poker face.

You have the power to not go down the sinkhole with customers—that’s self –mastery.

It’s alchemy actually and you can master this.

How? Stay connected to your core and confidence and cajole. Inject a lighthearted joke, or share something self-effacing—don’t make them wrong. They are either trying to make you squirm or they genuinely don’t want to be had or are thinking.

Here’s the biggie: you don’t have to be super serious to be seen as smart and capable. Levity goes a long way. Sometimes customers need a break from the heavy burden of decision-making and changing up the pace helps the two of you get through it and get on the same page.

The best advice I received was to practice pitching into nothingness. Pitch your cactus or a dining room chair and see if you can keep your energy and conviction when you aren’t getting any signals. It’s a wonderful practice to stay behind yourself and your wisdom and keep explaining.

Filed Under: handling objections, Sales confidence, women and selling Tagged With: , ,

Use the Power of the Pause.

July 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 

A majority of us dread the sound of dead air. We try to fill up the quiet because it’s deafening. You are not alone here; pregnant pauses induce uncomfortable feelings. When we are presenting an idea and it is met with silence, our imaginations go wild. We believe the customer might say “I hate it,” “I hate you,” “This is the worst product idea I’ve ever heard,” “It costs way too much,” and “You are a fraud.”

So before we hear anything we might not like, sometimes we throw something in just to be sure they “get” what we are trying to put forth. We cut “fantasy” (because we don’t know if it’s true or not) bad news off at the pass. This is a sucker’s move.

When you propose something during what feels like an awkward moment of truth, and it gets quiet and they are contemplating – DO NOTHING. WAIT. Yes, it will seem like an eternity, but wait for a beat or two. Practice being with the quiet, and it will get easier. She who speaks first isn’t in the power position.

When the customer does respond, instead of employing a knee-jerk reaction, digest what she’s finally said. Buy time and clarify by asking, “Were you saying… ?” If you don’t wish to ask directly, you can be psychic and try to read into what they’ve just said by playing it back to them with your interpretation. If they say, “No, I didn’t mean it that way,” than either your listening is off or your prospect is confused, playing/testing you, or her/his phrasing is just unclear. That’s when you should ask them to repeat it. This way you get on the same page.

Try some self-psych self-talk by saying this: “I am able to handle whatever comes my way.” Make it a habit to count, “1, 1000, 2, 1000, 3, 1000,” in your head so you give customers time to formulate a reply. This also keeps you busy so you don’t blurt.

As you allow for more silent spaces when you have conversations with friends, kids, mates and customers, you will find how they enjoy being heard and trust you more. Once that happens, you can continue to advance the sales conversation and confidently head to the close.

Filed Under: relational selling, Sales confidence, stress reduction, Uncategorized, woman sellers Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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