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Attack Of The Sales Zombies

Technology is both liberating and somewhat of a pain. I've been updating my computer again lately and have made a number of trips to my local computer super store for equipment. Usually I know what I need, I get in, find it, and leave. But on occasion, when I'm trying to find a more expensive item, I have an experience which I call 'Attack of the Sales Zombies'.

We've all had this experience. . . we've all bought something from a robot. Well, not an actual robot, but someone reading off a script, unable to stray from what they've been programmed to regurgitate, someone who asks the same questions over and over regardless of what you want or need.

I can tell you. . . if I'm in a store or looking for a new vehicle and the sales zombie comes up and starts in on me, I either determine a) will this be worth helping them out or b) where's the closest exit. There have been times where I'll try to steer them, kindly, into an arrangement that will benefit us both, but there are some sales people so dead set on their 'by the numbers' tactics that I just have to walk away and find the next person.

There are a few very simple things sales professionals can do to understand the true power of persuasion. The first step is to create rapport with prospects and clients. Old fashioned sales training, for the most part, glosses over rapport with a brief 'how's it going?' sort of greeting. Rapport is a deeper than that.

Rapport is pausing briefly on how the client/customer is doing, but really getting to the heart of the matter . . ."So why are we here today?" Why are they in the store? "What will having that do for you?" What will the product or service you provide do for them? "Ultimately, what will having this do for you?" The key is to really listen. LISTEN. Don't push your agenda. Don't try to give them whatever it is you need to sell that particular day unless it will truly fulfill their needs.

For example: if you're a real estate agent, and you understand that the potential client is selling their house to move into a bigger one because their family is growing, you're not going to sell them a smaller house. You're not going to try to sell them a condo with one bedroom. You're going to combine their needs, their values, and their criteria, with the inventory that you have which will work for them. It seems obvious. And for higher end sales professionals, it is obvious.

The experiences I've had lately in retail have been so incredibly frustrating that I want to give sales trainings at the stores where I shop. So if you're ever in the Seattle-Tacoma area and find yourself receiving extraordinarily persuasive and helpful service at a huge computer store, you'll know why. . .

Article Source: http://www.dummiesguideto.com

Kenrick Cleveland teaches techniques to earn the business of wealthy clients using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion techniques.

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