My dog, Chanel, is awesome. With a petite size tennis ball in her mouth she stands at my office door when she is ready to go out and play. She stands there with eyes on me until I say something like, “Let’s go play!” Many salespeople are mystified about how to get a prospect to listen to them to let alone buy. It’s not a requirement that your prospect be an introvert, known to be better listeners naturally. There are easier ways, as my dog knows, to introduce yourself to a prospect and have them listen.
One dog lesson is, “When it’s in your best interest, practice obedience.”
Keep your eyes on the master.
In sales, think of your prospect as your master. Dogs learn their place in a family. Well trained dogs know that they go through a door once their master goes through rather than running ahead without permission. You must focus on prospects instead of yourself through all points in selling. The salesperson who constantly focuses on themselves will lose listening points. No one wants to hear about what you have to say until you say what they want to hear! Just like the dog knowing their place in a family by practicing obedience, as a salesperson consider your place in the sales relationship with a prospect: they come first.
Keep your focus.
Chanel sits at attention with that petite size tennis ball in her month for minutes sometimes. Because she doesn’t bark or whine it can take minute for me to look up at her if I am on a telephone call or writing an article. But her eyes never leave me. Stay focused first on your intention of the result of having someone listen to you and second on your prospect. On a recent coaching call, a client told me they are assessing the ease and less stress when they go to an initial sales call with a more reasonable sales intention. Their focus is to find out more about the prospect and their intention is to get to the next step: for them this is to schedule a follow up call. They are 99% more effective than their previous approach with the intention to get the sale.
Another dog teaching is, “If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.”
Remember what is buried.
Just like Chanel knows where she buries her dog treats and can find them easily at a later time, she also knows her tennis ball in her mouth will get time to play. It’s likely that your prospect doesn’t care to listen to you because you haven’t yet reminded them of what is buried in their mind – possibly a problem they whisked under the carpet, possibly a solution they seek that came and went through their mind. How do you help them to remember? Stay focused throughout a sales conversation on the prospect. Your listening can lead them to finding what is buried, and that can lead to a decision to buy from you.
Dig until you find the treasure.
You would laugh with amazement on how excited Chanel gets when I finally take note of her request. She goes from a statue like stare to romping with glee. If you are in rapport with your prospect while you help them to remember their pain – what is buried; or discover what solution they do want – also buried, then the time will be right for when you can present them with the treasure. Why would you want to rain on their delight by showing them the treasure before they even know what they were digging for?
Is it obvious to you I love the lessons that dogs give us about selling? Your obedience is about paying more attention to learning about the customer than to jumping in to some spiel about yourself. Then your digging about how and what to sell to your prospect will be as easy as it is for a dog.
Patricia Weber
The Sales Accelerator Coach for Introverts, Shy and the MOST Reluctant
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