Yesterday, as part of this week’s mini-course, “The 5 Biggest Mistakes Professionals Make Selling Their Services And How To Avoid Them”, I wrote about mistake #1, “Winging It.” So today, we continue the party with…
Big Mistake #2: Talking too much
“Uncle Bob has the gift of gab; he is naturally born salesperson,” of a common refrain. And if you have an Uncle Bob who is in sales, you might be freaked out right now. 🙂
I haven’t seen a baby come out of the womb with a pen and agreement in hand, waiting for the doctor or nurse to “sign on the dotted line.” So the myth of a natural-born salesperson is just that.
Another myth is that excellent salespeople are “good talkers.” Very often, the complete opposite is true. All of the people I know who are superior at selling their services have these traits.
They ask excellent questions and are tremendous listeners.
Epictetus was right when he wrote, ”We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”
Burn this into your brain because what I’m about to tell you will clear up a lot of confusion and might even change how you view selling.
When you ask your prospects questions designed to discover what they want, need, and desire and carefully listen to their responses, you transform yourself from a salesperson to a high-end professional consultant.
Let that sink in.
Yes, selling is crucial to your success. Yes, selling is noble. But, you do not want to be perceived as a salesperson by your prospects. Instead, you want your prospects to feel that you are a professional who cares about them and can help them solve their problems.
You accomplish all of the above by asking excellent questions and carefully listening to how your prospects respond. Understand that your prospect responds to well-thought-out questions both verbally and non-verbally. It would help if you had the sensory acuity to read all the signals your prospect is giving you. The only way to do that is by closely listening and observing what your prospect says and does. If you’re constantly talking out loud or inside your head, you cannot accomplish that.
The more you can get your prospect to talk in a directed manner, meaning they answer questions you ask them, the more sales you’ll make. When you ask questions and listen to the answers:
- You develop a deep rapport with your prospects because they consciously and subconsciously feel that you’re “present” with them and truly care about what they’re saying. In a world where people are constantly distracted and not listening to each other, being present with your prospect goes a long way to getting them to like you and trust you.
- You can eloquently present your solution to resonate with your prospect precisely because you know what they want, need, and desire.
By sharpening your question-asking and listening skills, you’ll close more sales, help more clients, and increase your profits.
Tomorrow, we’ll cover what is most likely the biggest mistake professionals make when selling their service, especially if they’ve been in their business for quite a while.
Kick butt, make mucho DEEnero!
Dave “Shhh!” Dee
P.S. I’m in the midst of my second consecutive private consulting day today. We’re mapping out a complete marketing funnel that includes a webinar. Are you interested in working one-on-one on your project? There are only two days left in April and May, if you think you might want one of them, please reply to this email with “Private Consulting,” and I’ll send you the details.
P.S. #2. Want a laugh? Take literally two seconds and watch this: