April 2006 How to Avoid Awkward Beginnings When you first meet a person, your goal is to get them to: 1- like you; 2- trust you; and 3- want to listen to you. If you are meeting in person, after a call to set up an appointment, you must have built enough curiosity in what you will do for them to get that far. They obviously want to listen to you. However, their curiosity will only take them so far. Once they've gotten the basic idea of what the product or service you provide will do for them, they'll need to like and trust you enough to want to do business with you.

To help people to like you, you must be likable. That's pretty simple. Develop the traits you admire in someone you deem as being likable. Chances are someone you consider likable is already somewhat like you, so this shouldn't be too much of a stretch for you.

It's human nature to like people who are like us or who we recognize as complementing our personality styles. People tend to like others who smile, make eye contact, are courteous, and are interested in them. These traits make those with whom you come in contact feel as though they are important to you. Making others feel important is critical to establishing successful relationships — both business and personal.

To begin building trust, establish common ground. If you're a fan of the same sports team, if you have children the same ages, or if you belong to the same community service organization, they'll see how much you are like them. Most people trust and want to do business with people who are like themselves. Seek areas of common ground by asking questions about their business or something in their local area.

It won't hurt, if in conversation, you are able to tell them about a situation with another client they may be familiar with or where you demonstrated dependability. Be careful not to sound like you're bragging. Use the term “we” as in “we, the company” when relating information about other clients or business situations. That way, if they're even the least bit shaky on their opinion of you, they'll build faith in the fact that the company stands behind their promises.

If you're making a telephone contact, you won't be able to see their office or home environment, so you must stay away from personal topics until you get a cue from them that it's something they'd want to talk about. Stick with industry knowledge or local topics of interest at the beginning.

Look and listen for ideas of what's important to this person. If you don't see or hear anything that you would feel comfortable asking about, don't become anxious. You don't want to create an awkward situation by looking like you're struggling to come up with a subject. In business situations, you can always ask about the neighborhood or good local restaurants. If you visit with a consumer at their home, mention the landscaping, the general style of decor, or a painting hanging on the wall. Avoid the weather unless there's some unusual weather phenomenon occurring. It's just too trite.

Meeting someone in a neutral location, such as an elevator, an office lobby, or in line at the grocery store can be handled nicely with a sincere compliment about an article of clothing, an item the person is carrying, or a simple question. A good starter question for other than the grocery store could be, “What brings you to this building?” The more prepared you are to handle first meetings, the more relaxed you will be. And, the more relaxed you are, the fewer awkward beginnings you'll encounter.



Send a Thankful Message I've always taught that the way you will be remembered by your clients is to do something different. Most companies and salespeople send holiday greetings, as appropriate, in December. Why not get ahead of the crowd and send a Thanksgiving message? I did it and it made all the difference. First of all, it was received well ahead of the other holiday messages. Secondly, it was strictly a message of appreciation for allowing me to serve the needs of my clients.

You may wish to invest in pre-printed cards. There are some great ones out there. I prefer to create my own. Many printers have blank cards with images appropriate for the season. I then have my own wording printed inside so the message is appropriate for business. Here's an example of one I've used:

During this season of Thanksgiving, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our progress possible. Thank you for allowing us to serve your needs. We wish you every happiness throughout this season and in the coming year.

If you are unable to invest in cards, simply use the message above in a short letter or on one of your own Thank You notes. You do send Thank You notes, don't you? You'll be amazed at the impact it makes on your business.



The “I must do” Close Many times a potential client is just hesitant to make a decision. They procrastinate. They have other things on their mind. They just don't focus. This close is designed to help them focus just long enough to make a decision, then get on to other things. Try these words:

I understand that you're hesitant to make a decision today about my product, John. You probably have a lot on your mind. I learned a saying once from a speaker that makes a lot of sense when it comes to handling situations like this. We all want to be as productive as possible with our time, don't we? The saying goes like this: I must do the most productive thing possible at every given moment. Makes sense, doesn't it? I use it in my own life to help me stay focused on what's really important.

Let me ask you, John, what's the most productive thing you could be doing right now?

Listen to the answer. If what they're most concerned about has nothing to do with the decision to own your product, say: Then, let's get this decision out of the way so you can get on to more productive things.

If the decision IS the most important thing, say, Good. Then, we're handling just what you want to do right now, which is to make a decision about this product. With your approval right here, we'll be in business.

For more closes, read Sales Closing for Dummies™



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