I purchased a laptop about a year and a half ago and during the process spoke to two different sales consultants. The first bloke left me cold – he was the sort of salesman who “pounced” on me when I entered the computers section, and (naturally) asked how he could help. I was a man on a mission that day – I said I had done some research about 3-4 minimum requirements for the laptop, as well as what I would be using it for and the budget I had in mind. Six pieces of information.
This sales consultant immediately proceeded to try to sell me a laptop with a keyboard far too small for me, with an operating system different to the other equipment I was wanting to use with it, and at just over twice the price of my budget! After I picked myself up off the showroom floor, I asked the guy if there was possibly anything else suitable out of the 30-odd laptops on display. His answer? No.
After telling him, I’d ‘have a browse’, I wanted until another sales consultant was free, then made a bee line to them for more help and escape the onslaught of Mr Commission Earner. Simon (and yes, I still remember his name) was available, only too happy to talk and BRILLIANT at the art of conversation. 25 minutes later, not only did I leave with a laptop a fraction over my budget, but also:
New antivirus software at a discounted price,
a 3 three year warranty on the laptop
a couple of extra accessories thrown in for free, and
a brochure on camera lenses and options for purchasing them for business purposes.
I also found out that Simon had previously worked for the same employer as me, lived not too far away from us at the time, and had a couple of hobbies in common with me!
So what did Simon do so different?
Firstly, I am the worst consumer (or the best consumer, if you are the sales rep) – I will more than likely purchase if the sales person had made an effort. I also know when someone is being sincere and authentic, i.e. I would have easily “read the bullshit” if I knew Simon was having me on at any stage. However, what I admired about this guy and subsequent transaction that took place was that I got to share a little about myself, I felt valued and listened to and, by sharing stories, built my trust in someone I had only just met. Simon found out about my photography business (which, at the time, was simply a hobby) and told me about a couple of great places to take shots, he asked about my mobile to ensure the antivirus software would be compatible with it, and he found out the reason WHY before asking anything else (more on that in a later post). He is one of the few sales consultants who’s name I remember.
What Simon simply did was asked me to share my story with him.
Everybody has their own personal story. It’s easy to tell (you know the subject pretty well!), it comes from the heart, and most people will take an active interest in hearing about it. The great things about these stories is that the dialogue is mutually beneficial – one is sharing a little about themselves which makes for a natural ego boost, and the other is hearing a little more about someone they may have never met before. There will be some form of common ground in mutual interests, who knows who, or home towns – so the conversation shouldn’t die an early death due to a lack of material…
The chellenge we have in business can be taking that brave step to ask others about their story, and sound authentic in doing so. When I ask people if they do this fun activity I hear the usual objections:
“They are going to tell me they’re just browsing”
“They going to think I’m nosey”
“I’m going to be stuck talking to them all day!”
Asking these questions creates a bond and turns you (in the customer’s eyes) into an everyday person, not a business owner or a salesperson. The keys to developing a rapport (and subsequent sale/service) is for someone to be able to know, like, and trust you – asking these questions goes a long way to achieving all of the above. In my story above, Simon shared his story about being a camera and technology junkie like myself – all of a sudden we had common interests!
This does take practice, and there is no silver bullet to make this perfect overnight. The great thing is that the fundamentals of this activity is what any conversation looks like – whether it be with your partner, friend, kids, parents or workmates – the hardest part is opening your mouth!
Below are a few examples of questions you could ask, these are not scripts by any stretch of the imagination (you’re not a call centre…),
“Tell me about yourself” – easy. They will tell you as little or as much as they feel comfortable, the nice thing is you will still know more about them than before you asked the question. They are all pieces of the story.
“What else do you do?” – the first question is normally “where do you work?”, this is the small talk/networking event/speed dating question, asking this extra question will take some by surprise, and make them think, “hold on, this guy’s here to just pass the time!”
“What ideas do you have?” – especially if they have come in without a clue of what they want. You may not get many details, but you will get some sort of platform to form your reply. This is much better than butting in with the, “I think this….. would be great for you” (how do you know? You haven’t even asked!!)
“What would be the ideal product/service?” – this gets the customer excited, you have effectively asked them to tell you their perfect outcome! They are telling you the best ending to the story, and giving you permission to fill in the chapters/blanks.
Regardless of what you ask, just make sure you ask something – it will start to slowly turn the transaction into an experience (remember this?) and offer more value to both the customer and you.
I hear some of you say, “yeah but I do that anyway, this isn’t anything new”. That’s great and it isn’t new – I would love to hear how it is working well for you and your business.
I have concentrated on the Face to Face experience, but I encourage you to use the same methodology in your social feeds. How are you engaging with customers on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc, and how are you triggering them to tell you their story? More on this in a later post…
I am going to discuss in future posts about how to present yourself, in what you say and how you say it when talking about you and your business. I personally find asking questions easier to do first rather than have someone say to me, “well, why should I do business with you?”, and having to come up with a feeble 1-2 liner that anyone else could and would say (i.e. “we have the best quality”, “we give the best value”, “we offer great service” – yep, you and everyone else…).
Back to the above story and the heavy handed sales consultant I first spoke to – I found out that my purchase would have meant he made his weekly target – all by asking an extra 3-4 questions…
Don’t be like him.
Be like Simon.