Creative Life & Business Strategies

Most people have had the experience of trying to make a point to a client or prospect only to have the response be a blank stare.

Those moments happen because you were speaking in a way the listener could not hear or understand you.

As human beings, we best learn from pictures and stories. Words alone tend to fall on deaf ears.

Think of California. Chances are you did not see the State name in your head.

Instead you saw an image of the shape of California on a map or pictured yourself on a beach, listening to the waves lap onto the shore.

If you were explaining California to someone, you would probably tell a story about an experience you or someone you know had there. Maybe you would show photos.

You would tell the story or show the picture to bring your point to life.

The same holds true for business and sales.

When you want to drive your point home, use the tools and techniques most human beings need to gain understanding. Use pictures and stories to explain your point of view.

How do you get started?

Chances are you already do it. Have you ever said “picture (or imagine) this …” and then went on to tell a story that created a mental picture in the mind of the listener.

Or, have you ever been to a class or seminar where the speaker used PowerPoint slides to make her point?

Of course, we all have. The reason the slides were used (or misused) is to provide a picture to help you remember the point being made.

The next time you’re on a sales call or creating marketing materials, try this.

Tell stories about client successes instead of giving your standard sales presentation. Take the prospect through the start of your relationship all the way through the success your client had.

I did this to build business for my client Celebrity Hairstylist Johnny G., the person who makes YOU look and feel like a star.

We did a mailing campaign to prospects around his Scottsdale salon when it was brand new.

The mailer was a cool looking flyer in an envelope. The only content on the flyer was testimonials from his happy clients. There was no “sales speak” at all.

We also included a hand written post-it note, inviting people to come in and experience Johnny’s services.

Within 2-weeks of the mailing he gained 7 to 10 new clients (at last count) in addition to referrals from some of those people. Needless to say, he was happy with the results.

All we did was tell stories of his client’s experience.

Put your sales presentation into PowerPoint but don’t use words, use pictures instead. Explain your point visually with pictures and minimal words.

I did this for a client who does in-home sales to consumers directly. We developed a sales presentation that was a flip chart using pictures to drive key client benefits home.

Using this idea resulted in two of three new sales reps closing a deal in their first couple of days; after only 3-days of training.

Prior to this the ramp up time to first sale for new reps had been a month or longer.

The pictures helped the reps remember the presentation and increased prospect comprehension; shortening the sale closing cycle.

Develop your storytelling skills and then put pictures to the words and see how much easier sales and marketing becomes.

Sales is that single business practice that if done effectively will sky rocket any company to success.

Unfortunately, 85% of businesses are not as good as they need to be in generating sales, which is why we have the staggering failure rate we do in small business.

Sales can be very complex. Or it can be extremely simple. It’s all a matter of the mindset of the practitioner.

Let’s take the simple road.

What does it take to be effective in sales? Just one thing; awareness.

Awareness of your client’s problem.

Awareness of the solution that is acceptable to your client; expressing that solution as a dollars and cents value.

Awareness of the process the client will go through to decide to purchase or not.

Jeffery Fox, author of How to Become a Rainmaker offers the following steps to sales success.

* Cherish the client at all times

* Treat clients as you would your best friend

* Listen to clients and decipher their needs

* Make (or give) clients what they need

* Price your product to its “dollarized” value (in other words don’t sell price sell the value received from purchasing)

* Give your clients more than they expect

* Thank each client sincerely and often

* Help clients pay you so they won’t be embarrassed and go elsewhere

* Ask to do it again

Six Figure Sales Coach, Kevin Nations, provides the idea of business rapport.

He says the rapport you want to have with your client is that of an advisor, someone who the client feels comfortable discussing challenges with (pain) and trusts enough to provide a solution.

I’ve found the best sales skill anyone can develop is the art of active listening.

Ask questions, listen, and write down what you hear.

Clients feel engaged and heard when you, as the sales person, take the time to make note of what is being discussed.

Note taking also “forces” you to become an active and engaged listener.

Next time you’re on a sales call, focus on your personal listening style. Are you really listening and engaged in what the client is saying or are you calculating your next response?

David Hepburn, Master Sales Trainer and Business Networking pioneer offers the following thoughts to consider:

The sales person goes in to a call without a plan. The client that you are trying to involve in your product (sell) has a plan.

They lie, steal/cheat and then hide. That’s the client’s plan.

They lie and tell you they are interested in your products, they love them, and they are the best.

They steal or cheat when they ask you to be an unpaid consultant and educate them on everything they need to know and then they tell you “they’ll think about it.”

And when you try to get back to them, they hide and you have to send out the Search and Rescue Team just to get them to tell you NO.

That’s the basis of the Buyer’s Plan. If sales people don’t have a plan to combat this plan, they will lose every time, even though they think that they have a chance to make a sale.

David sees the biggest challenge most sales people have is “Winging it.”

They are hoping for the best instead of practicing, preparing, maintaining positive thoughts upon entering the client’s office, etc.

Let’s face it, very seldom does a small business owner, in the role of sales person, prepare for the sales call. Yet preparation is the shortest path to sales success.

Here is the easy way to make your sales effort more effective.

The ACTION step you need to take is very simple. Take one idea from this article and practice it this week.

Next week take another idea and practice it.

By the end of a few weeks, you’ll be better at sales than you are today.