THE 7 MOST COSTLY MISTAKES YOU ARE PROBABLY MAKING WHEN COMMUNICATING WITH PROSPECTS AND CLIENTS
Here are the top 7 reasons why most sales professionals and entrepreneurs struggle with getting the outcomes they want from both prospects and clients and how to avoid making these critical mistakes in the future:
MISTAKE #1: You focus too much on what you are going to say next and not enough on what they are already saying:
TOO MANY STATEMENTS NOT ENOUGH QUESTIONS!
"God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak."
-ANONYMOUS
The greatest barrier to effective communication: POOR LISTENING!
If I had 10 cents for every dollar that's been left on the table by professional sales people and entrepreneurs simply as a result of poor listening, I could feed every single hungry person in Africa for the next decade!!! FACT!
Stop talking so much! Lose your infatuation with the sound of your own voice.
Focus on what you can learn, not what you can teach. If you are the expert, it will come through. And if you are not the expert, don't try to act as if you are. Simply refer to the experience and resources of your company or associates.
MISTAKE #2: You create additional meaning which is not what they are actually saying:
You don't really hear what your prospect or client is saying because you assume you already know what they mean.
Many times you don't even let them finish their sentences.
You throw YOUR OWN INTERPRETATION onto what they are saying to you. It's like sticking cotton in your ears.
I call this "MENTAL WAX PAPER". It clouds your ability to listen clearly.
That's why you so often hear people say things like:
"It felt like we were talking 2 different languages."
"We don't really think he/she understands the needs of our organization."
"Hello? Are you even listening to me?"
"Forget it! Never mind."
This alone can literally prevent you from really hearing what your prospect has to say and thus reacting appropriately or effectively.
Be willing to listen as if you are hearing it for the very first time.
MISTAKE #3: You underestimate the power of saying someone's name:
The sound of someone's NAME is one of the most powerful "triggers" you can ever use to get someone's attention.
This is because it is the first sound we heard as children and it has been used as a means to control our behavior for as long as we can remember.
This alone can immediately put someone into a trance for a brief moment in which they give you their complete attention.
This seems simple but is dramatically under utilized as a tool of effective communication.
Don't sandwich your prospect's name in between 20 other words when beginning a conversation. Throw their name out quickly and immediately, which a punch and emphasis.
Example: "John!" "Mrs. Johnson!" etc...etc...etc..."
Think about someone in your life who has the ability to change your emotional state, simply by the way they say your name.
MISTAKE #4: You have a fear of being persistent:
You back off from challenging their opinions because you are afraid that you will lose rapport or they will get angry.
What you fail to realize is that if done courteously and respectfully and from a place of being a good listener, challenging someone's opinion and having them take another look at things is one of the GREATEST GIFTS you can give them.
Looking back, haven't some of your GREATEST BREAKTHROUGHS come only after someone was willing to challenge your opinion and have you re-evaluate the way you were looking at things?
Don't sell your clients out by being too soft or weak.
MISTAKE #5 As a rule, you make uneventful, predictable statements:
It is simple. In today's informational, sound-bite, million miles a minute culture, you must be willing to do nothing short of STARTLE your prospect into listening to you.
Until you truly have someone's attention, most of what you say is going in 1 ear and out of the other.
And what they DO listen to will NOT be given the attention and focus that it deserves.
Be willing to make BOLD AND DRAMATIC STATEMENTS and ask BOLD AND DRAMATIC QUESTIONS.
i.e.: "If the physical safety and financial security of your family were both at stake and you could potentially play a major role in the outcomes of both of those categories, is that something that would at least be worth listening to for a few moments?"
Look to be the "CHARISMATIC EXCEPTION".
MISTAKE #6: You allow the "right moment" to pass without suggesting a call to action:
Very often in sales conversations, if certain preliminary steps have been taken, there is a brief moment where the prospect is open to a shift in opinion or a change of mind.
This moment does not last long, so it is CRITICAL that it is noticed when it shows up.
It is that brief moment where the prospect is in a state of indecision and open to considering new possibilities.
MISTAKE #7: Failure to get help and support:
One of the biggest mistakes that people make in general in any area that they want to improve, is that they try to do it all ALONE!
Either through ego, convenience, a lack of motivation or a desire to look good, they fail to reach out and get help from people or resources that are right in front of them.
In regards to whatever you are struggling with, if you could have done it on your own by now, chances are you already would have!
Even if you could eventually do it alone, if you could save tremendous amounts of time, money, energy, resources, frustration, opportunity, etc... by getting help from the right people and resources, wouldn't it just make sense to get help?
Read about Mitch's upcoming "EXPLODE YOUR BUSINESS" nationwide tele-class.
Click here for free information on a powerful live event coming up that will help you to effectively handle and EXPLODE THROUGH sales resistance and rejection
