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Posts Tagged ‘listening skills’

The Secret To Sales Success Is Connecting With Your Customer

Posted on: October 10th, 2011 by Beth Heilman

Today I want to talk with you about how connecting with your customer is the secret to sales success…in ANY business.

How many times have you gone into a store or (gulp) stepped on a car lot and were met with one of two things? Either you were ignored totally while the clerks of said store gossiped amongst each other or horror of horrors…you stepped out of your car only to be descended on by a school of hungry piranha?


Neither scenario makes you feel like doing business there and the last one I mentioned makes you want to run for the hills!!

What's a person to do when all they want is to get a little help, get some questions answered and, big shock to the merchant, actually buy something.

What ever happened to good, old fashioned sales skills? I'm taking a stand for a sale skills revival and it's gonna start right here.

The first thing any dedicated salesperson needs to do is make a connection with their customer. By that, I mean greet them with a smile, find out their name and what it is they came to you for.

Here's one of the most important secrets…Ask them questions about what it is they need and what it is they WANT (yep, folks there is a difference). And then, here's the most important part…LISTEN.

It's been said many times and in many ways that we all have two ears and one mouth and they should be used in that proportion. In other words we should listen at least twice as much as we talk 🙂

Don't plan what it is you're going to say next. Don't have a laundry list of answers to their objections ready to rapid-fire back to them.

Really listen. Your customers will let you know exactly what it is they want if you'll just listen.

I remember a few years ago I was in the market for an SUV.  I'm an Acura girl from way back( I've had three of 'em, still own two)and I knew I wanted an Acura MDX.

Now here in Las Vegas we have one Acura dealer and I stopped at the car lot one afternoon to take a look. After checking out the inventory for a few minutes, a very well dressed gentleman came out and asked me what I was interested in. I told him. I wanted a late model used MDX ( I rarely buy brand new. Depreciation…ick!!) with low miles, Touring package, loaded. I'd done my homework (hint: your customers have probably been doing their homework, too. That's how they found you).

This guy didn't hear a thing I said. All he kept asking me (several times) was what color did I want. Color? I never mentioned color. Not once. He was fixated on the color thing (I guess women car buyers are supposed to only care what color the car is, huh?) to the point that I finally told him I'd take anything but purple  (there is no such thing as a purple MDX, by the way). At last, in frustration I left the lot, went up the street to the Honda dealership, found exactly what I wanted and I'm still driving it today.

The moral of the story? Customers today are smart, educated and more than a bit skeptical when it comes to parting with their money…especially large sums of money. Can you blame them?

The more you take the time with your prospects and customers to find out about them and what they want, the easier, more fun and more profitable the sales process will be for you and them. Now…got your questions ready and your listening ears on? Get to it!! Happy selling!!

Ever had a nightmare sales experience (or a really good one where everybody came out a winner?) Please share it with everyone below. It's just as important knowing what NOT to do as it is what works. Until next time…make it a wondermous day.

To Your Sales Success,
Sonrisas(smiles),

Beth 🙂

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You Call That Customer Service…Really?

Posted on: September 26th, 2011 by Beth Heilman

Customer service is a subject that should be on the top of the list for every business, but especially when you're a small business or an entrepreneur.

I had something happen to me yesterday that still has me asking, "Huh? You really just said that?"

Here's the skinny. As most of you know, in my "other life" I'm a Realtor and although I don't do it full time, I do still work with referral
clients.

In this particular situation, I was the referral agent for someone who rented a house. Easy transaction. Show the client the house, send them to the agent who has the house listed (with all necessary paperwork in hand), client rents the house, I get paid. No brainer, right?

Not!

My client had been in her new house for over a month and I had still not been paid. Now, sometimes the listing broker doesn't cut the checks until the first of the month and I understand that, but it was now 22 days past the first.

I had called the agent on the other end (the one who listed the house) over a week ago and she assured me she had turned in all the paperwork and given the file to her broker. I believed her.

I called the office where she worked to find out the status of my money and was told by the agent who answered the phone (without her skipping a beat, mind you) that the check had been sent out the previous Friday. Hmmmm…curious, but OK I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.

When a week went by and still no check, I called again. This time I got to the Broker. The conversation we had is the reason I'm writing this.

After giving me all the excuses about how the agent was on bed rest, she was just handed the file, she had no idea about the details on the property, did I know she needed more paperwork from my broker (nope, it was never mentioned) blah, blah, blah, she stated not once, not twice, but a minimum of five times that "she didn't even know I existed". Nice.

I feel warm and fuzzy all over.

Seems she didn't look all the way through her paperwork (which is her responsibility to do) and I had just "fallen through the cracks". Again, her words. Just wants to make you join hands and sing "Kumbaya" don't it? 🙂

Folks, this is anti-customer service at it's finest. All I got was a laundry list of excuses and not once did she apologize. Still haven't
gotten the referral fee either.

What's the lesson to be learned here? Customers are the reason you're in business and should be treated with respect…always. I know, there will be a few turkeys in the bunch, but even turkeys need respect. You never know which one may refer you business down the road.

When dealing with customers and clients, the Golden Rule should always be applied. Treat your customers the way you want to be treated. You may be having a bad hair day, you may have PMS, you may have just had a fight with your spouse, your kid may have used your good shower curtain as a towel to wipe a glob of vaseline off his hands (don't ask 🙂 ).

Whatever is going on in your world, for the most part your customer doesn't care (nor should they). Your job is to serve your customers with the honor and respect they deserve. Your reward will be their loyalty and a nice healthy bank account. Pretty good deal, huh?

Have any anti-customer service experiences you'd like to share? I'd love to hear 'em (keep it clean, please. All expletives will be deleted 🙂 ) Businesses and customers are scared these days and I see customer service slipping big time. Let's decide together to turn that around. It all starts with us. Have a great one…
 

Sonrisas (smiles),
Beth 
 

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Selling By Intuition

Posted on: May 14th, 2011 by Beth Heilman

Intuition. What is it exactly and how can you apply it to your sales career? The dictionary.com definition of intuition is

–noun
1. direct perception of truth, fact, etc., independent of any reasoning process; immediate apprehension.
2. a fact, truth, etc., perceived in this way.
3. a keen and quick insight.

I define it as an inner “knowing”. In other words it’s not a head knowledge, but a “heart knowledge“.

Selling By Intuition

Selling By Intuition

Have you ever been working with a customer and they were saying all the right things, agreeing that what you have to offer is perfect for them and you’re thinking to yourself ka-ching…payday!! But, something deep inside you is saying that something’s “out”, something’s not quite right. Intuition…

You keep going, you proceed with your best close. They follow through and make the purchase only to call you the next day and cancel. Rats!! So close…but were you really?

Were you listening to them with your head or listening with your heart during the sales process? There is a difference.

Even if you tell yourself you don’t have a good intuition, you really do. Everyone does, some folks have just developed it more than others; that’s all.

So how do you develop your “sales intuition”? First, you have to acknowledge that you have it (you do).

Second, think of a time when there was something you “just knew”…

Maybe you were driving on the way to an appointment and all of a sudden you got the urge to turn left instead of turning right like you always do. At first you’re curious why the urge to make a detour was so strong, then you may get aggravated that now your trip is going to take longer. Later you find out there was a traffic accident on the route you were planning to take and traffic was backed up for hours.  Taking the detour meant you made it to your appointment on time. Hmmm…

Maybe it’s a phone call you know you need to make. You’ve been thinking of the person you had to call and then, brrrringgg.

The phone rings and it’s that person you were thinking of on the other end. Spooky? No. Intuition? Yes.

So how do you apply intuition in your sales career?

When you’re asking your customer what their wants and needs are, listen for the answers with your heart and not your head.

What I mean by that is, do the answers they’re giving you “feel” right? Do the words they’re saying, the tone of their voice and their body language all match up? Is there a real connection and flow to the interaction?

If so, great. Keep moving forward to the close.

If not, relax. Be patient, ask more questions, trust your intuition (your inner voice) and really listen. You know if what you have to offer is right for them and if it is, they do too. When you’re being your authentic self and letting your intuition guide you, you’ll always do what’s in the best interest of your customer (and you).

Develop your sales intuition muscle and sales success will naturally follow.

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The Secret To Having Raving Fans Begins With One Simple Thing

Posted on: August 10th, 2010 by Beth Heilman

Let me clue you in on a widely known, but little used secret to building
loyalty and trust both in you and in your business. It’s a skill that’s so
easy to learn that most new entrepreneurs who get caught up in all the hype
and excitement of their business opportunity completely overlook.

Relationship Listening Skills

Happiness Is Being Heard

That skill?

Listening.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m just as guilty as anyone else (well, I used to be) of
talking excitedly about my business to just about anyone who would listen. I
could talk at about 75 miles per hour (with gusts up to 120 🙂 ).

Where did all that verbal gushing get me? Not very far I’ll tell ya that.
(That’s why I’m now a reformed gusher, but I digress)

That point was painfully hammered home to me last week when I was invited to
look at a home based business. It’s a company that’s been around for about 15
years, but was “so much better that it used to be, you’ll hardly recognize
it”. yeah…right…uh huh.

Okay, curiosity got the best of me and I went to take a peak. I must admit,
the lady who called me (said someone gave her my business card. Hmmm…) was
nearly hyperventillating she was so excited.

How could I say no?

When I got to the company office and we exchanged pleasantries, I was
escorted into a conference room. It was comfortable enough. Soon the video
presentation started. It was a parade of happy associates, flashy cars and
beautiful homes that could be mine once I join.

There were the third party testimonials, magazine articles and a celebrity
endorsement by a man of questionable hairstyle (won’t mention any names).

These folks obviously loved their company and God bless ’em for it. I wish
them well. But, you know what (or who) they totally glossed over?

Me.

There were no questions about my family, my interests or what I was doing for
a living. No inquiries about my hopes, dreams, fears or reasons for having my
own business in the first place.

Nada, zip, zilch.

When I asked the female half of the team (her husband did most of the
presentation) who gave her my card, the story changed about three times.
In-teresting…

My point in telling you all this is that you can have all the enthusiasm in
the world. You can have the most super-stupendous, state-of-the-art products
and company on the planet, but if you don’t make an effort to really connect
with people you want to serve it doesn’t make a bit of difference.

No relationship, no sale.

Sure there will be some who will go for the flash and buy or join no matter
what. Those folks will stick around til the next new, shiny object catches
their eye…or until they find someone listens, someone who really takes
interest in them and their dreams.

Let that someone be you.

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