Are you killing your persuasion?  

One small change that makes the difference

It has happened to all of us. We are in a sales call, trying to get action out of an employee or in a negotiation. The other party has given us a good deal of useful information so we feel this moving the right direction.

The customer or employee then turns the table and asks us something like..

“How does this work?”

“Tell me more about this.”

How we address this can make all the difference in our outcome! It can quickly move us forward or stop us in our tracks! Read on to find out how we can eliminate making this fatal error…..

So we have your attention. When a customer or other party starts asking “How does this work?” or “Tell me more.” we have their attention as well.

Yet have we experienced a strange shut down or change in the other party when we address their question?

Here is what is most likely happening. They ask you about your product or idea. It is assumed they want to know the facts/features/benefits that we have all been taught in sales training. As we launch into a description of what we can do and how good the product or idea is we can see the body language change and the other party starts to disengage.

Have you experienced it?

What has happened? They were very engaged, answering our open questions and providing a very strong interest in taking action! We simply are giving them what they asked for, aren’t we?

Let’s see, you are in a computer store and are not really up on the lingo or the technology. You know enough to be dangerous and know what you expect from a new computer system. The salesperson does a good job of questioning and determining what would work for you and then…… dives into a fifteen minute dissertation of technical terms and technology lingo that you have no clue what is being said.

What is happening in your mind? Are you shutting down or shutting the salesperson out? Are you becoming confused, bored or “damn, another salespersons pitch”.

What has happened is the dynamic of the conversation has changed; from focusing on the other party and their situation to us and our great product/idea. Who do people want the focus to be on?

Might this be happening in your persuasion efforts as well?

Yes, the facts/features/benefits of a product or idea are important and others need to understand some of this information to make informed choices. The high “C” and “S” need lots of information, yet they too will react in a similar fashion when the focus is changed. ( DISC behavioral profiles)

Like many ideas in communications, the method or way it is delivered makes a huge difference in how the message is perceived!

Now should our focus be on the message or on how it is perceived?

I know you said “perceived” because it is about “them” not you, right?

I’m doing some work for an Employee Leasing company and making sales calls for them. You tell me which approach has more power and appeal for you.

“Hi Tom, I’m with Payroll Express and we do employee leasing for smaller companies. What this does is saves you time and hassle by taking the compliance issues off your plate and putting them on ours. What compliance issues would you like to get off your plate?”

Sounds like the standard opening line, elevator speech, fact/feature/benefit approach many of us have used.

“Tom, I just talked to a client who has a small business similar to yours. They appreciate the time they have gained since giving us their employee compliance issues. They also indicated they are gaining more market share because of the additional time available to them. How would you invest more time in your business if you had it?”

As you think about your response to each, which focuses more on the customer, which more on us?

It is subtle, yet just by injecting the “client” it changes the direction and focus of the communication! It is no longer about “us” it is about someone like them!

This is how a fact/feature/benefit might be changed…

“Tom, Payroll Express provides all the benefits including health, accident and dental insurance. What this does is eliminates the time you invest each year meeting with a dozen insurance people to keep your benefits package current. Now what would eliminating non-productive meetings do for you?”

A subtle change in our focus does the following…

“The reason client’s use this service is because the benefits package is provided. They have eliminated all the meetings with insurance providers and are using that time and energy to improve their marketing or products. How might more time to invest in marketing impact your business?”

Once more, is there a different sound or feel to the statements? Does it focus more on them rather than you?

Give this a try and see if it eliminates that “disengagement” when you start presenting your ideas. It may take a bit of preparation and some practice, yet the rewards can be more productivity!

By using this subtle change you..

• Focus on the other party more
• Talk in terms of them or others like them
• Increase the ability for others to relate to your statements
• Gets you into more of a “story telling” mode

It is up to you, because you have the ability to control and direct more than you might think.

Till next week, look, listen and learn!

Harlan Goerger, National Director of Training

© Harlan Goerger, 2-2008

May reprint with all credits in place.