Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Love is like Sales!

Those who know me know that I look for patterns and things in my everyday life that I can relate to other parts of my life. This is my newest Theory . I think it works but let me know what you think!
From what I remember about my 5+ years of sales there are a few reasons to ever lose a sale.
So... What is crazy Julie talking about?? How does love have anything to do with sales??
I think that when you are dating you are faced with rejection wither it be because you stepped out on the line and got shot down or because you have a secret crush on someone that has no idea you exist.

It's easy for us to take that hit hard. We blame who we are. And while yes the product that is being sold is important and it's not the main reason for losing a sale. (or the love of your life) yea there is luxury in a newer model but the customer that is always looking to trade up will never be fully satisfied with what they have. They will always be seeking out the newer, hotter, sleeker models. So when you understand the objections you will understand how to approach the objections.

The second to the most common objection is cost. Now granted love doesn't ... or shouldn't... cost a dime but there are always other costs (more costly costs) when it comes to love. There is the cost of heartache, time, shared intimacy, Commitment, trust. The list goes on.
Just like in sales you can't tell others what they can and can't afford. The risk is too large for some people and that is the end of the story all you can do is give them the best discount you have. What I mean is you can lower the risk by showing through your friendship that you are a person they can trust and rely on. Just like a company builds rapport and trust with a customer.

So the top objection and most commonly found is a mis-understanding. This is the objection that has actually motivated this particular blog today. I was talking to this guy and said a few things off the cuff and later he told me that I sounded shallow. This is a guy who makes snap judgments very easily but there are many the same out there. Customers will call in to a call center and many of times I can make a sale and save them money by simply changing their package or bundling something. However those who don't want to try to understand or if there is a communication issue they will object to the savings because they will mis-understand what I am saying. When you meet someone and the communication or snap judgements have taken their imaginations to a place where they believe you are something you aren't you need to get to the bottom of it. If a customer rejects a sale before I have fully placed it, I will ask why? A call may go like this:

"No thank you I'm not interested"
"Oh, That's understandable but may I ask why you aren't interested?"
"Yea I just don't have the budget to add more services"
"Oh well what if I can actually save you 15.00 a month"
"Oh ... yea that would be awesome how would you do that?

And BAM.. I have the sale!!! (there is a reason why I was always the top sales person! ) but clearly no one is going to ask someone why they won’t date them but if you open your ears and hear what they are telling you and other people you can pick up on these understandings and nip it in the bud. It will be a shame if you don’t get Mr. Right because he thinks you are shallow when really you just get nervous talking to him therefore you pick easy subjects to talk about.

And finally there is Lack of need. This in the dating world would be the ones that are just not looking. If a customer can afford a product and understands fully what it does but is still not “that into it” there is little you can do. In this situation we always like to give 3 reasons why products will benefit a customer’s life. It’s a good idea to know a few reasons why that person would be better off picking you up off the shelf than picking up Buffy or big john. I’m not proposing that a person should say “look here is why you want me… “Well unless you can pull the whole cocky confident thing off… but what I’m saying is when you go out with someone or are around them, you can make sure these particular qualities shine through. If you anticipate a customer’s objection then you can overcome it before they say what they are concerned with.
So that is my theory.;.. I would love feedback if anyone actually reads this!
A few other tips that we learn are:
-Actively listen
. (listen for things you can use to prove that you are a worthy choice … ie things you have in common etc..)
-Open ended questions to determine need..
( this is another form of listening but by probing for more info about the person. If they tell a story ask questions about it be interested and remember those details for future sales… or convos)
-never budgets a clients checkbook
(don’t assume someone is out of your league, only they know what they are )

Here's a song that I think goes well!! "Love for sale"

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