Getting too gabby during a business meeting is a cardinal sin in any industry—and all the more true in the context of sales. Excessive blabbing leaves your prospects feeling like they’ve not been heard, that their needs are unimportant to you, and that they’re being railroaded by a used car salesman.
In an effort to slap a zipper on an overactive mouth, coaches and trainers customarily instruct trainees to only speak in two specific situations: 1) when asking a question, and 2) when answering a question. This is a solid guideline, overall, but NOT a hard-fast rule, as there are circumstances that absolutely call for speaking up—especially if your intention is to land more clients.
Last week, I conducted a sales training for a recruiting firm in Baltimore, and the attendees were all fully-indoctrinated with the edict for minimizing excessive gab in sales situations. When I challenged them to come up with a scenario outside the aforementioned parameters, (i.e. one in which in which they must speak up) they looked at me as if I were crazy.
Being a good listener is essential to establishing trust and rapport with a prospective client, and of course, it’s essential to pinpoint the client’s needs, wants, and intentions. However, given the ultra-competitive nature of today’s market, you’ll need to do more than simply be a good listener if you want to impress someone enough to choose YOU over someone else.
When Will Turner and I researched the 5 Key Sales Trends last year, we found that consumers place notably-high value on the level of expertise a revenue driver brings to the table. In this light, it’s imperative that you present yourself as a Subject Matter Expert during initial prospective meetings. Not only are we required to be highly-proficient at what we do, but consumers are also seeking specific expertise for navigating business challenges and avoid unseen pitfalls.
When you effectively convey specialized sound advice in your initial dialogues, you’ll go from being an ordinary sales rep to a prized resource in the minds of your prospects. The suggestions you provide cannot be merely comprised of fun facts and statistics; it must be distinctly meaningful information that is relevant and useful to them. Our research confirms that providing this kind of advice significantly differentiates you from your closest competitors, and has a huge impact on client loyalty and on gaining more clients in general.
Obviously, taking time to learn more about the market you serve (by way of raw research) is a necessary first step. But there are other crucial steps. The Baltimore training participants were asked these two questions: 1) How do you boost your knowledge about any given market? 2) How do you let others know you are a go-to-expert in your field? Here are a few of their suggestions:
- Research your market and author blogs.
- Make videos on relevant topics.
- Look for opportunities to be a panelist on forums that are critically important to your market.
- Create peer mastermind groups (ideally around the region if you have a large sales team) to share new ideas and findings.
- Spend time with veteran sales reps who’ve spent much of their career in a similar market, and ask to accompany them on ride-a-longs.
- Shadow, spend time with, or volunteer with a referral source who works in a similar market in your target industry.
- Conduct presentations, in-services, or lunch-and-learns on new trends you’ve discovered.
These activities require a fair bit of time to accumulate enough industry secrets and trends to be considered an expert in your field. To that end, make sure you are settled on the right market, and that you set aside enough time for professional development. If you’re not yet sure of which target market to go after, here is an article to help you choose one.
Now back to the basic premise of this article.
Once you’ve gained a deeper level of understanding of the ins and outs of your chosen market, how can you convey your wealth of information without going overboard and/or coming across like a know-it-all? This requires a bit of finesse.
The key is to listen intently for opportunities to share specialized insights, and keep your advice as concise as possible. Sharing information that the prospects were previously unaware of will be most valued. Some examples:
1) Alert them to a business challenge or a land mine they should avoid within their market, and offer a few solutions for navigation. For example, if you work with small businesses, you could inform prospects of a new sales tax law and its ramifications on profit margins.
2) Take the opportunity to educate them on a new industry trend that would directly befit their company, such as a recent buying/selling trend in their market.
3) Share anecdotes about opportunities in your particular business community that would behoove them to know about, such as a good-fit public speaking opportunity, or an inside track on becoming a guest on an acclaimed podcast. (If the podcast idea resonates with you, here’s an interesting link.)
Any time you can provide your client with relevant, meaningful, and useful guidance, you are bringing unexpected value to the table, and are likely to create a tipping point in their decision to choose you over your competitors.
When you embrace this approach, your job is no longer reduced to searching for opportunities to land a sale, but rather, is about priming yourself for ways to be helpful, and to advocate for the prospect’s success. Nothing is more rewarding than having someone tell you, “Wow…I didn’t know about this. You’ve been a huge help to me—thanks!”
Note: If you’d like to learn more about how to ask better question and offer the right advice, check out our e-Class.
