Don't Be A Sales Zombie

Technology is both liberating and somewhat of a pain. I've been updating my computer again lately and have made a number of trips to my local computer super store for equipment. Usually I know what I need, I get in, find it, and leave. But on occasion, when I'm trying to find a more expensive item, I have an experience which I call 'Attack of the Sales Zombies'.

We've all had this experience. . . we've all bought something from a robot. Well, not an actual robot, but someone reading off a script, unable to stray from what they've been programmed to regurgitate, someone who asks the same questions over and over regardless of what you want or need.

If I'm in the market for something and a sales zombie comes up and starts with me, I either try to determine if it will be worth helping them out or where the closest exit is. On occasion, I will try to steer some of the ones with potential into an arrangement that will be mutually beneficial. I've found, sadly, that there are some sales people so dead set on doing it by the book that I just have to walk away.

There are two simple things sales professionals can do to begin to understand true success in sales that awaits them when they truly grasp the power of persuasion. The first is to create rapport with your prospect. In old fashioned sales training, found in huge quantities in retail settings such as huge chain stores, suggest a brief 'how's it going?' type of greeting. This is absolutely not rapport.

Rapport is pausing briefly on how the client/customer is doing, but really getting to the heart of the matter . . ."So why are we here today?" Why are they in the store? "What will having that do for you?" What will the product or service you provide do for them? "Ultimately, what will having this do for you?" The key is to really listen. LISTEN. Don't push your agenda. Don't try to give them whatever it is you need to sell that particular day unless it will truly fulfill their needs.

If you're in real estate and you understand your potential client is selling their house move into bigger one because their family is growing, well, you're not going to sell them a smaller house, are you? No. You're not going to sell them a condo with one bedroom. You're going to keep their needs in mind, combined with their values and criteria and view the inventory that you have with these in mind. It seems obvious, doesn't it? And for higher end sales professionals, it is obvious. But for some, it's not.

Sadly, the experiences I've had lately have been incredibly frustrating. I'm compelled to give sales trainings at the stores where I shop just so I don't have to deal with the nonsense. So if you're ever in the Seattle-Tacoma area and find yourself receiving extraordinarily persuasive and helpful service at a huge computer store, you'll know why. . .

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