Did you know your client is sub-consciously either raising or lowering their defenses based on their 3-second appraisal of who you are? What can you do to make sure their impression of you is of a professional who is open and caring? Instinctively they will decide if you are successful, confident, cocky or being fake friendly just to sell them something.
Your client will sub-consciously be reading your body language. Greet your client by clearly giving the impression you are happy to meet them. If this is difficult for you, say to yourself, “I care about who you are.” This means having a genuine smile on your face, full eye contact and a warm handshake for everyone who is in front of you, including children. Don’t forget to thank them for their time.
People talk to clients in one of three ways.
- Most talk to clients like they would talk to a stranger, keeping them at a distance.
- Some talk to a client as family, which is too casual and familiar.
- One major key to your success is learning to talk to your clients as if you are talking to a friend.
At the same time you are paying careful attention to their body language and discovering their personality style. If your client is a couple or a group of people, knowing their personality styles by observing how they interact will also help you quickly discover what the power structure of the group is.
Small talk creates rapport by establishing friendly common ground and allows your client to become increasingly comfortable with you. This is when they will decide if they like and trust you and want to do business with you.
Continue small talk until you feel their defenses are lowered to a point where they aren’t afraid to listen to what you have to say about your product, at least five minutes. Gain their trust by sharing about yourself. Meaning, have a real conversation and really care about the person you’re talking to. This isn’t brain surgery, it’s common courtesy.
Listen More Than You Talk
This is the time to gather information, not present it. Clients seldom have anyone show an interest in what they do and who they are, much less what they think. Through sincere interest and approval, you will find the client more than willing to talk and grateful for the opportunity.
By having conversation about things you have in common and letting your client talk about their work and their life, their needs and desires will become abundantly clear and you will be miles ahead of your competitors. The client appreciates your interest, you will have bonded, and now they are ready to talk about business.
Asking questions allows you to drop little points about your product here and there when appropriate in conversation. This creates curiosity and your client will lead you from this part of the conversation to the beginning of your product presentation by asking you questions.
By dropping little bits of information about your product into the conversation you give them the opportunity to show their interest. If you give the full information about a part of your product without the client specifically asking, how will you know if the client is interested in that aspect of your service?
If they don’t ask anything more about it, they’re not interested in that aspect of your product. Now you can concentrate your presentation on those areas the client has expressed an interest in. You don’t have to guess, the client has told you his interests by the questions he’s asked.
You’ll be amazed how much more you know about your client by spending this extra 5 to 10 minutes. If you ask questions and listen carefully in this conversation, you will be 95% of the way to YES before you even start your product presentation.
To get more mentoring on this topic and other that will grow your business and allow you to live your true passion and wealth, become aGold VIP member of Success Blueprint Inner Circle.
Until next week, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Just comment on this post on my blog athttp://www.LynnPierce.com
If you would like personal mentoring, send me an email detailingwhat you would like help with. As your mentor I hold a bigger vision for you than you hold for yourself. When you have faith and a team that believes in you, it gives you courage. When you don’t have to do it all yourself, all things are possible for you. Commit today to go for your dream 100%.
Lynn Pierce, the Success Architect, has taught people how to combine business and personal development to reach the pinnacle of success and live the life of their dreams for almost 30 years. In addition, she is also the founder of one of the most exciting annual events for women entrepreneurs, “Empowered Women’s Business Summit”. Now she shares her keys to success and life mastery with you. You can get her special report,”What Do You Stand For? A No B.S. Guide to Creating Your Own Personal Manifesto”athttp://LynnPierce.com
No comments yet.