Four Ways to Win Sales with Empathy

As a business professional it’s important to close deals and grow your business. But the process of closing deals is often a mystery for people new to sales. When starting out, people tend to focus more on what they’re saying versus that of the prospective client. This is disaster in the making.

And it’s especially a problem when you’re passionate about your product or if you’re the least bit competitive. You know all the facts and figures about your product, don’t you? And you’re also certain that once they buy your service, they will love what you can provide. You have the attitude “if I can just get them to listen, it will be OBVIOUS that my services are clearly the best and people will be happy to open their checkbooks.” Yet nothing can be farther from the truth.

Empathy is defined as the ability to recognize the suffering and passion of others. In sales we call this finding their “hurt”; what deeply concerns them, frustrates them, and endangers their profitability. Or on the flipside, what are their hopes and dreams when it comes to growing their business. If you can understand the answer to these questions, you can leverage that knowledge for your business.

Here are four ways you can use empathy to win sales.

1. Ask Questions

The biggest mistake new sellers often make is practicing their presentation versus practicing the questions they should ask. It should be the other way around. At your first meeting, ask lots of pointed questions. As they answer the questions ask for further details. Dig into their frustrations, understand how it affects their efficiency, the quality they provide their clients and how it costs them money or resources.

This may seem odd, but the asking of questions builds trust. Your prospective client appreciates that you’re genuinely trying to understand their business. You are proving, by your actions, that you care about what they say. You are displaying empathy, right now. It may not feel like it, but you’re also closing the sale!

2. Listen Listen Listen

Be patient when they answer the questions. Give them the impression that you’re a person that genuinely care’s about their problems. As they list issues, place the items on a list. This proves to them that you’re engaged and you intend on doing something with the information they are sharing.

As you meet other clients, over time you will see the same issues pop up again and again. Before long you’ll know what they’re going to say, before they say it. Yet never assume you know the solution, even if you know the solution. Every so often you’ll get a new issue and it gets added to the list. Just stay focused on listening, and repeat back what they say to prove you really care.

Again, it may not feel like it, but you are closing the sale. By listening deeply, you are proving to be a trusted confidant.

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3. Let them drive the conversation

Give them the illusion they ‘re driving the conversation. By asking lots of questions, guided by their answers, it gives them the sense they’re interviewing you versus the other way around. The skilled seller already knows all the common issues. They just waiting for them all to surface. Patience is the key. It takes time to build trust.

4. Propose Solutions Based On Their Answers

This is where you start your presentation or demonstration. Use the list of issues you’ve collected to order your presentation. You might say “You said you have this issue, let me show you how we address this”. Repeat this process over and over. They might have many questions. Continue to let them drive the direction. Keep going until all issues have been addressed positively by your solution.

If you can get them to say yes to your product or service, you’ve closed them! This is not an exhaustive explanation of closing. But as you can see that when you sell goods and services in the context of issues based on their frustrations and desires, it’s far far easier to close the deal.

It’s Not About You, It’s About Them

It’s important to understand the context of any business transaction. You and the client are making a trade. They have needs and desires and they have the money that can improve their situation. They are in the driver seat. It’s great that you’re excited about what you can provide. But it’s got to start with them. It’s not about your desire to make a sale. You must answer the question: can you provide value to their organization? The only way to know this is to focus on the clients needs and desires. Once you place you’re focus on understanding them, you’ll be using the tools of empathy to build a relationship that will last.

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April 10, 2014May 6, 2015

Goal Planning with Two Simple Tools

Without a clear destination in mind it’s easy to get lost when visiting a large city. With a clear goal and map in hand, a frustrating episode of wrong turns quickly becomes a fun adventure . The same is true when it comes to business. In sales it’s important to have a map of your goals and objectives. With a set of goals and metrics it’s easy to see your progress and the likelihood of meeting those objectives. But sometimes, it’s easy to get buried by the paperwork. And often times, people never get around to it. What’s a savvy sales manager to do?

Consider a simple two-step process that’s half online and half good old fashioned paper. Other than GoogleDocs, there are no fancy apps to learn or download.

Drawing the Goal Line

All of us should have at least five major goals you plan to achieve by years end. But the goals shouldn’t be ephemeral hopes and wishes; they should be complete, concise and achievable. These goals are commonly known as SMART goals:

Specific – I want this problem solved and it will look like “this”
Measurable – tied to some number: increase, decrease, percentage, etc
Attainable – doable with the resources you have access
Realistic – laws of physics honored
Timely – completed by some date: e.g. 3 days, 6 months, EOY, etc..

So for example: Selling a lot of widgets, is NOT a SMART Goal. Selling 10 widgets in the next 4 months is a SMART goal. Posting a video on YouTube that will go viral is NOT a SMART goal; this isn’t realistic, you can’t control it. But you can control posting one video on some topic in two weeks. That’s a SMART goal.

A Project Plan Per Goal

Each goal will get a project plan, a list of steps and milestones needed to complete the goal. Place the project plan in a GoogleDoc. What’s great about a GoogleDoc is it’s free, safe and accessible anywhere on the web.

Create a numbered list and write the things you need to do, in order. Sometimes it’s best to work backwards from the end goal. Once written, strike out steps as you progress. It’s important to review the project plan every few days. If other people are delegated a step on the project list, it’s your job to keep on top of them.

If you work the project plan, you’ll work the goals.

Each morning make a “to-do” list. I do this on paper but you could do it online. Make sure items on the list address tasks on the project plan. My goal is to do 90% of the items on the list by the end of the day. Often times it’s 100%. Items not completed get moved over to a new list the next morning.

If you work the items on the to-do list,

you’ll work the project plan.

This process is a simple way to keep focused and stop thrashing. By breaking a job down into small doable tasks, projects that at first look overwhelming, become achievable. Steady progress wins the race.

Time For Action

Make a list of goals now, five of them. Rank them in importance. Take the top three and build project plans for each. Build a to-do list and make sure items on the project plan are addressed. We have a Sales Babble Project Plan Template available for download.

Click here for the template

We all dream about the things we would like to accomplish. The best way to achieve those dreams is to set goals. But sometimes we need a little help meeting our goals. The first step is to track your progress. Watching your progress is an encouraging experience.

How do you manage your projects? Take a moment and share in the comments how YOU manage your goals now.

April 3, 2014September 18, 2014

Caveat Venditor – Let the Salesman Beware

Once upon a time…. the Sunday newspaper was delivered directly to people’s homes. It was a large newspaper, mostly filled with ads to lure customers. People loved the ads because it provided a means to comparison shop. In those day most people were skeptical of the sales people in those shops. Caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) was big in their minds. Any information to level the playing field was appreciated. Sales people enjoyed having the upper hand.

One day the Internet arrived! And soon it was delivered directly into people’s homes. As people chatted and sent email, websites were created solely for comparison shopping. The Internet contained far more information than the Sunday paper could ever provide. Before long it was a case of caveat venditor, let the seller beware. People were so informed; they often knew more about the products and services than the sales people. There was a concern that sales people are no longer necessary. Buyers merely need to click a link, to place a product into a virtual shopping cart.

But this did not bring an end to the sales profession.

To Sell is Human

Daniel Pink, in his book “To Sell Is Human” states “The sales person isn’t dead. The salesperson is alive because the sales person is us.” We live in a world where there are too many choices. The purchasing decisions we face are not fully understood and we have limited time to shop. Anyone who can help us choose, and do so in a wise manner, is a valued sales professional. Many professions have responsibilities that require persuading, influencing and convincing others. Taken in this context, we’re all in sales, or what Pink calls “non-sales selling“.

The modern sales professional is all about upserving i.e., doing more for their clients, exceeding their expectations and building relationships that last. Sales built on listening, problem discovery, problem solving, helping and serving are key skills in a competitive marketplace. Honing those skills, are critical for any business’s long term success.

Here’s the link To Sell is Human – Daniel Pink. It’s a must read for non-pushy sellers.

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March 27, 2014March 27, 2014

Five Ways to Build Rapport and Your Business

People buy from people they trust. They trust people they like. Getting people to like you is a large part of building that trust. It’s all one big cycle. But how do you kick off this cycle of trust?

The process of getting people to like you is called building rapport. Rapport is built on finding common interests. If there are common interests in one area of life, the buyer may see possibility in other areas too such as purchasing your goods or services. If there is a connection, a sense of familiarity, and if the buyer perceives the seller has common interests, rapport is the doorway to the sale.

Building rapport doesn’t come easy. Often you’re at a loss of words when striking up a conversation. Luckily there are rules of thumb for rapport building. But it should be pointed out that this is about fostering relationships, not qualifying (where you try to discern if they are in the market for what you sell). The task here is to build a relationship, not jump into pitching. Let’s check if the soup is hot, before pouring a bowl.

Consider the following:

Find Common Ground – Have you ever traveled to a place where you don’t know a soul and then you bump into somebody from your hometown? You immediately feel the connection don’t you? With this in mind let’s see if we can do something similar with strangers. If you’re visiting someone in their office, take special note of the decorations: awards, photos, art, teams and diplomas. Successful people commonly display their successes. See if you have anything in common and ask about it: Oh I see you went to SIU, when’s the last time you visited? Oh did you see the game last night, can you believe how it ended? The key thing to note is that most people love to talk about themselves. Leverage on that.

2. Be Empathic – Let’s say you’re calling them on the phone. Get to the point immediately on the call, but you can still connect by noting something personal: I know it’s early in the morning, it’s sure rainy outside isn’t it, I know the weekend is almost here, I know it’s lunch time, etc.. All of these add a human element and if you can get them to chuckle a bit, all the better.

3. Use Mirroring – This is where you adjust your own body language (and mannerisms) so that you reflect that of the person you’re talking too. Have you ever met someone who talks quickly or speaks slowly? When mirroring, you do exactly what they’re doing because it makes them more comfortable. If they are short and gruff acknowledge it “I can tell you’re busy, could you pick a better time to for me to call?”

4. Leave a Good First Impression – How many times have you heard the cliché “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”? It gets repeated because people do it all the time. This is true both in person and on the phone. When calling be rehearsed yet natural. Smile when calling (it seems silly but the quality of your voice changes, same is true when you stand), ask open ended questions (don’t box people in), be sincere. If you’re meeting them in person, make sure you’re dressed appropriately, not overdressed nor underdressed. Wearing a suit to visit a manager whose been at a dirty work-site is poor form. A good rule of thumb is to dress just a little bit better. And don’t forget to: shake hands firmly, look them in the eye, and smile.

5. Schedule an Appointment – Once rapport is built you need to capitalize on your success. Don’t leave the meeting without a follow-up appointment set within the next two weeks. It’s so much easier to do it now, then to play phone tag later. Each step in sales should be an advance towards the close, no matter how small, always be advancing, moving closer to winning the deal. This kind of perseverance makes all the difference.

Building rapport is based on listening and paying attention to details. Understanding where people are from. Their mood, mannerisms and pace of speech all provide insight to who they are. If you can understand who they are, you are more likely to understand their pains and desires. With that knowledge you can favorably frame your presentation and demonstration. Building rapport kicks that off.

Again, building rapport is just one step in the process of sales. To learn about the other steps in the sales sign up for the free Infographic “Sales 101 – 6 Simple Steps”.

Does this rapport building article makes sense? Please leave a response in the comments or click on the “Send Voicemail” tab on the website. I’d love to hear from you.

February 9, 2014June 6, 2014

Five Ways to be a Qualifying Sales Olympian

Not all athletes can compete in the Olympics, only the very best. To become a participant, athletes must qualify. This qualification generally demands entrants to complete a competition within some time, distance, height, or score. The same thing is true of prospective clients.

Not all clients are cut-out to be customers. Their business may not be a good candidate for your goods or services and far too often sellers blindly presume that all prospects can become clients. This is not true. In the event that a seller is one of those types that “don’t take No for an answer“, they both annoy innocent people and fail to get a sale. Don’t be like that!

How can you avoid this? Here are five steps for qualifying prospects.

Don’t assume anything about the client.
Realize the you don’t know anything, until the client speaks.
Listen.
Match fears and desires to your solutions.
If there is a match, proceed.

Understand that “not knowing” what the client wants and working from that perspective is square one. From there you can discover if indeed they are a true prospect. Empathy for your client is a good way at start! Click here to learn how.

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February 7, 2014September 11, 2017

6 Simple Steps of a Sales Process: Sales 101

Steps of a Sales Process

I’ve just created a free infographic titled Sales 101 – 6 Simple Steps. Many small business entrepreneurs need to grow their business, and sales is a cost effective way of obtaining new clients. Often times non-sellers avoid sales because they don’t understand it. This infographic explains sales in plain language. In 6 simple steps, you’ll obtain a clear understanding of selling mastery. Once you understand it, you’ll realize it’s a straightforward process and build confidence to bring your passion, to the marketplace.

This infographic is only available to Sales Babble subscribers.

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