Are You Powerfully Persuasive?
99.jpg” alt=”" width=”300″ height=”199″ />Do you adopt bullish tactics to persuade your clients to sign on the dotted line or do you tend to sit back with more demeanour and hope that the sale will come together? There is certainly a fine line between adopting a too-aggressive approach and not doing enough to close a sale. The last thing you want to do is to step over the boundaries that exist between a sales agent and a client but equally, you want to be able to approach that boundary with confidence and to do everything within your power to achieve your sales goal.
Get it wrong and you could alienate that client for life.
Sounds dramatic maybe but the wrong approach can cost you money. So how do you manage your drive for success without upsetting the sales apple cart? Treating a prospect like a criminal suspect and interrogating them for information will not get you far; it’s much
more advisable to treat them with the respect that you would wish to receive should the roles be reversed.
Remember, you are a professional and as such, there is a code of conduct to follow. The secret to becoming a powerfully persuasive agent rather than a bullish one is in the questions that you ask. Sounds simple and it is, if you take on board the following suggestions.
You have to listen to your clients and this means, really listening to your clients and not just using the time when you stop talking simply to breathe to tune in. Most sales people are a little guilty of not listening enough but if you don’t listen, how will you know what they really feel?
It’s a good idea to affirm your general understanding of their needs or concerns too before romping off for the contract and getting them to sign. If they have been very open about their views, why not thank them? Tell them that their honesty is so important because it enables you to do your job properly. Don’t ever fake this feeling of gratitude though because you won’t fool your clients, merely insult them.
Use open questions to ensure that the conversation keeps driving forward. Don’t let the momentum lose its impact and take notes throughout as you will then have all that relevant information to refer to. Start your conversation with: How, Why and What for example and you will be amazed at the way the conversation opens up.
Do watch your tone throughout the conversation however; it is easy to allow any natural bullishness to seep through that way. The same with your body language. You may be chomping at the bit to get the deal signed and sealed but your clients may not be ready to
take that step yet. You may not have offered them the right house for their needs and everyone has their own ideals of their ideal property. Take your time and guide them forward by selling them the benefits of the area and the property. But do understand when no means no.
Don’t ever talk down to your clients. The moment a hint of condescending creeps into your voice, you will lose them. They will be out of your office so fast that you won’t have time to blink. Experts within the sales industry all agree that those who are most successful as sales people have learned the craft of listening and tune into their clients conversation limiting their own by 70% to 30%.
If you want to be a serious sales person and to ultimately be successful, learning to step back and to truly listen to your clients and to then analyse the information that you receive will make you much more able to convert those sales more efficiently. Plus you will be able to avoid alienating any clients going forward. Why make your job harder? Simply tune into all that your clients have to say and make that your starting point.