- Before your customer will buy from you they must LIKE you.
- Before your customer will buy from you they must BELIEVE you.
- Before your customer will buy from you they must TRUST you.
Too many times the salesperson takes these 3 things lightly but if the customer doesn’t like you, believe you or trust you, they will not buy from you. If you don’t believe me, let me ask you a question. When was the last time you made a decision to make an important purchase, whether it was a product or a service, from someone you didn’t like, believe or trust?
Top Performing Salespeople understand these 3 Rules and apply them to their sales presentation daily.
Let’s take these one at a time. Before your customer will buy from you they must like you. Selling and buying is usually based on emotions. To like, (or love), is one of the strongest emotions we have. If your customer doesn’t feel you have their best interests in mind, they won’t like you. They want to know that you care about them. Too many salespeople begin the conversation by stating all of the features of the product or service. Woodrow Wilson said, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” They know you care when you ask questions? You ask questions about them, their family, their interests, and their job. Only after finding out the interests of the customer and what their individual or family needs are, can you effectively present the benefits to the customer.
What is their FIRST IMPRESSION?
We have all heard that we only have one shot at making a good “First Impression”. Many times the customer decides whether they like you or not based on their first impression. How long did it take you to notice them and to address them? Did you smile at them? Did you ask them their name before giving them yours? Did you act enthusiastic to meet and help them or did you act like you were just doing your job?
Do they believe you?
Rule 2, the customer must believe you. You must answer their questions confidently but not arrogantly. They must feel like you are the expert on the product or service and that you are there to help them make a good decision about purchasing your product or services. Remember customers don’t care about features they only care about benefits. A Top Performing Salesperson understands that by applying the features of their product or services to the customer, based on questions asked, that they will have turned those features into benefits. If the customer doesn’t believe your product benefits them or they don’t believe your answer or presentation they will not like you or trust you. 3 strikes and you are out.
They probably already know the answer.
Rule #3 the customer must trust you. If you don’t know the correct answer you must tell them that you don’t know the answer. Many times today’s customers know the answer (thanks to Google), but they will ask you a question to see if they can trust you. Top Performing Salespeople are ready with testimonials and or stories about how their company, product or services helped others in a similar situation.
NEVER LIE TO YOUR CUSTOMER.
The bottom line is NEVER LIE TO YOUR CUSTOMER. If you lie to your customer they will not like you, believe you, or trust you and then they are not a customer. Top Performing Salespeople are always honest with their customers. They understand that if they care about the customer and ask opening questions, present the “benefits” to the customer instead of features and are honest with the customer, then the customer is more likely to LIKE, BELIEVE, and TRUST them.
I have been training Top Performers for over 20 years. If you are looking for a Sales Coach for yourself or Team please contact me today. I look forward to speaking to you.
Jeff Raver, President of Begin to Win, BeginToWinNow.com, a John Maxwell TEAM Coach, Trainer and Speaker.