Maybe everything you need to know
you can learn from the movies. A friend of mine is a screenwriter in Los
Angeles. Over a glass of wine, we were discussing his business and the nature
of the beast in Hollywood. He's a boy from Canada who gave up his much-loved
Honda, his life savings, and his broadcasting career to move to Los Angeles to
attend the American Film Institute. Not an easy feat in your mid-30s. After 8
years of hard work he is now becoming the new discovery of LA. He said the most
difficult thing to adjust to was all the talking.
Collin slouches into
his chair. "
Everyone lies in this business. It's all big Cheshire cat smiles
- but essentially people have the 'Enough about you - more about me'
mentality." After our conversation I thought about his last statement.
Are You On A Blind Date With Your Customer? We tend to love
what we do. So we get all excited about it and then proceed to tell everything
about ourselves to the potential customer. It just reminds me of a really bad
date! A one-sided conversation becomes tired pretty quickly. Customers feel
like they are on a bad blind date with you if there isn't a connection to what
they need.
Minus the cynicism, our clients are also thinking like the
Hollywood set, "ENOUGH ABOUT YOU blabbing about all the wonderful things about
your company, your product, your requirements. MORE ABOUT ME - and what I need
to survive and thrive!"
The Helium Test Are you
talking your face off when you are speaking with your client? When they ask you
on the phone what you have to offer - do they hear a massive intake of air and
then you giving your best "I just sucked in helium and can talk really fast"
act?
If so - you aren't making a connection with your customer. You
sound like everyone else, you act like everyone else and you aren't positioning
yourself as someone who can help. Because at the end of the day -what you
really do is HELP PEOPLE. The only way this is accomplished is by discovering
what your customer needs and researching other areas of need - areas your
customer may not even have thought of yet!
Questions Are The
Answer! Sounds like a paradox doesn't it? In order to help your
customer you first find out what they need. Or THINK they need. Carrie Fisher,
the actress who played Princess Leah in Star Wars said "Instant gratification
doesn't come fast enough. " Now for a girl with cinnamon buns attached to the
side of her head this is a pretty profound statement.
Your customers
are demanding instant gratification. They want their needs met. In most cases,
it just isn't happening. The first thing out of your mouth should be "May I ask
you a few questions?"
Remember W5? Who, What, When,
Where, Why and How are the foundation of selling. Customers buy when they feel
an emotion NOT when they've had information dumped on them. How do you do this?
By asking questions! Our customers become engaged when they feel
curiosity….NOT boredom.
Our customer contact should be handled
with this premise - Create Curiosity With Questions. Would the Academy Want
You?
Create your own Academy award winning sales success by talking
less and listening more. As Collin says, the best agents ask a multitude of
relevant questions. Then they listen to the answers and make it happen. Are you
acting like a star with your clients or are you being an agent? Your success
lies in the answer.
Copyright © Kim Duke
About the Author Sales Diva, KIM DUKE of The Sales Divas helps women
biz owners and entrepreneurs attract amazing clients and customers,
effortlessly! To learn more about increasing your sales - and to read her free
how-to-articles, visit her website
http://www.salesdivas.com 
