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Title: Three Ways To Start A Conversation And Finish With A Sale
Author: Michel Neray
Article:
Ditch your elevator pitch. Zap your infomercial. And whatever
you do, keep your carefully worded, painstakingly developed,
positioning statement to yourself.
They may make you sound clever, but your elevator pitch,
infomercial or positioning statement don't exactly make for good
conversations. Which is a shame, because last I checked, even a
sales conversation is just that - a conversation.
So what can you say to a prospect sitting across the boardroom
table, or someone you meet at a networking event or the beach
bum in the next chaise longue? How can you start a conversation
in a totally natural, familiar way that doesn't sound like a
sales pitch to the other person, doesn't feel like a sales pitch
to you, and yet increases your chance of getting your next
referral or making your next sale?
Unfortunately, there's no such thing as a magical phrase or
headline that will make the other person want to buy your
product or services - it just doesn't exist.
What does exist, however, is an approach that will elicit
interest from the other person so that he or she will want to
engage you in a conversation. As a copywriter, I have adapted
several copywriting styles and approaches for use in verbal
conversations.
Here are three of my favorites.
#1 The Provocative Question
Chances are, you've seen this technique on websites, flyers and
direct mail. It's Copywriting for Direct Marketers 101, and it
works just as powerfully in verbal conversations. In fact, it
works so well that I'm surprised people don't use it more often!
The best way to come up with a Provocative Question is to ask
yourself the following:
"What question can I ask, such that the response from the other
person allows me to say, 'That's what I do...'?"
The best Provocative Question pinpoints a problem or a symptom
of a problem that the other person has. However, don't get
trapped into thinking that the problem has to be a big, generic
problem that the category as a whole solves. It can be a small
but nagging problem, or even a one that people have when they
deal with your competitors.
Many people have a hard time coming up with Provocative
Questions because, ironically, the most compelling ones are also
the simplest and most obvious. Another thing that people have
trouble with is answering a question with a question -- when
someone asks us a question, we're wired to answer. What I am
suggesting here is that you use that wiring to your advantage.
Here's an example. When someone asks me what I do, I often
answer back with a Provocative Question like this:
"Well let me ask you a question. When you go to a networking
event or when you have to introduce yourself in public, how
confident are you with the way you describe your business?
Almost every time, the person acknowledges that he or she
doesn't feel confident with the way they describe their
business. In that moment, I have engaged the other person's
interest by presenting what I do in a way that's personally
meaningful to him or her. Then, what generally ensues is a
conversation about the sales and marketing challenges they have
and how I can help.
If, on the other hand, the person responds by saying that
they're totally confident with the way they describe their
business, that's cool too. I have two choices; I can either move
on to another provocative question, (such as, 'That's great, do
you get the response you want or would you like more people to
ask for your business card, even in social situations?'), or I
can talk about how being confident about the way you describe
your business shows you have exceptional clarity the true value
you offer to your clients -- and how that's the absolute most
fundamental plank of your sales and marketing.
It's all good -- it's all about having a conversation around an
issue that's both A) important to the other person, and B)
related to a core challenge that you help your best clients
solve.
#2 The Level-Setting Statement
If you're a financial advisor, consultant, or in any other
crowded profession where your prospects are very familiar with
-- perhaps even jaded about -- the kind of work you do, this
one's for you.
The 'level-setting statement' is a universal statement that gets
the other person nodding in agreement and then, WHAMMO! your
point of difference hits them like a ton of bricks! Here's why
it's such a powerful technique. You can only be different in
comparison to something else. That's what the level-setting
statement does -- it establishes what that something else is.
Here's just one example from an event planner I worked with:
"There are five specific areas of expertise that are absolutely
critical in major event planning. (Pause - and wait to see if
the other person wants to know what they are.) While there are a
lot of excellent event planners who can do a good job in one or
two of them, it's extremely unlikely that any one event planner
would be an expert in all of them. Because I've been in the
business for 15 years -- on both the corporate as well as on the
vendor side -- I've developed a detailed planning process around
each and every one. That's what enables me to track and manage
the myriad of details to guarantee a successful event."
By stating the level-setting statement up front, you educate the
other person about the industry you operate in, and establish a
frame of reference that gives meaning to the differentiation you
want to communicate.
You can use this approach to challenge an underlying assumption
that people have about the industry, to illustrate a small but
significant problem that generally annoys customers when dealing
with your competitors, or anything else that allows you to
highlight your solution.
Take a look at your own point of difference. Can you come up
with a level-setting statement that will help you stand out even
more?
#3 Address The Stereotype Head-on
You know how as soon as people discover you're a
_________________(insert your title here), they immediately form
an impression about you that's based on a stereotype?
Unfortunately, that stereotype is often negative.
For professions such as life insurance agents or used car
salespeople, where the negative stereotypes run strong and deep,
I recommend you address the stereotype head-on:
"If I tell you I'm a used car salesman, you'd probably think
'plaid jacket guy who sells lemons to unsuspecting customers',
right?"
Pausing here is important here, because you want to give the
listener time to move the image of the stereotype from the
unconscious part of their brain to the conscious part. They
might even want to chime in and give you their negative
experience about dealing with 'people like you'.
Perfect - now their guard is down. Now you can continue on to
explain how your business, service or approach 'fixes' the
problem that everyone else in your industry has created. That's
your most compelling differentiator!
Stop selling! And start having real conversations!
Simple as it may seem, everything truly does start with a
conversation. You're not trying to tell your entire story, nor
are you even trying to get the most important points out of your
mouth first. All you want to accomplish is elicit interest from
the other person; to have that person say, 'tell me more'.
So don't think of these as sales techniques - think of them as
conversation starters.
The rest is up to you. If you are genuinely interested in
helping the person you're chatting with, chances are better than
excellent you'll finish with a referral or a sale. Now go out
and have some conversations!
About the author:
Michel Neray gives consultants, coaches, trainers and
independent professionals a better way to differentiate,
position and brand themselves. <a
href="www.EssentialMessage.com">Subscribe</a> to his
e-newsletter, and find out about his workshops, copywriting
services, keynotes and coaching.
================================================================
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Title: Lack of Storage Space Cramping Your Style? Consider a
Self-Storage Unit
Author: Aldene Fredenburg
Article:
Are there activities you'd love to get involved in, but hesitate
to do so? Maybe the activities are equipment-heavy, and your
first thought is: Where am I going to put all the <i>stuff</i>?
<a href="http://www.storetodoor.com/">Self-storage</a> may be
the perfect solution for you. While lots of media pundits make
jokes about people owning so much stuff they have to rent
storage units to keep it all, there are good reasons for keeping
even often used belongings in a storage site.
People have been known to store everything from expensive sports
cars to speedboats in self-storage units. Especially for people
in tiny urban apartments, it's like having a shed or an extra
room in the house. If you have a sport - skiing, scuba diving,
rowing - that requires both quality equipment and travel to
another location in order to engage in the sport, why not stash
the equipment in a storage unit and make a quick trip to the
unit on your way out of town?
Of course, you need an organized approach to storing your stuff
if your plan is going to work. Simply opening your unit and
tossing your stuff in after an out of town jaunt isn't going to
work well for you after a while, especially if you've got a
number of activities that require different kinds of equipment.
You need to plan out your usage. Separate the equipment by
categories, and store it neatly in its own space. Pay attention
to how you're planning to load the equipment into your vehicle,
so that you can move it quickly and neatly from storage unit to
vehicle and back again. If your equipment needs maintenance, it
may be possible to store the equipment and supplies to perform
the maintenance on-site.
<b>A great solution for eBay sellers</b>
Maybe your idea of a great time isn't to go sculling on the
Charles or skiing in the White Mountains; maybe you get your
adrenaline pumping by cruising yard sales and selling your finds
on eBay. If you're a serious seller, you may be wondering how to
maintain your sales success and still have a life and a home
that allows you to let people in the door.
If you're buried in Hummels and My Little Ponies up to your
eyebrows, self-storage may offer a solution. Create a set of
bins and an index that allows you to quickly find your products;
if the space and the management allow, you could even set up a
packaging station, complete with packing materials and a postage
scale, and package the orders there. Make sure the unit is close
to your home and the post office, and establish a schedule that
allows you to download your orders, process them at your unit,
and ship the items on time.
Storing space-eating sports equipment or running a direct mail
business largely away from your home will allow you your fun or
your business success and still let you maintain an attractive,
comfortable and orderly home for your own enjoyment and for
entertaining friends and family. Self-storage can be a great
deal; it can even be great feng shui!
About the author:
Aldene Fredenburg is a freelance writer living in southwestern
New Hampshire. She has written numerous articles for the
Internet and for local and regional publications. She can be
reached at amfredenburg@yahoo.com.
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< http://www.exactseek.com/featured_listings.html >
================================================================
