How To Impress People

Want to impress someone?

Help them understand what comes easily to you.

You do that by meeting them where they are.

How do you know where they are? Well, that can be tricky.

If you say, “Oh, someone with your background, I bet you know all about CRMs with sales and marketing automation, including SMS, CDNs, SSLs, custom APIs, and e-commerce, right? RIGHT?”

How do you think they’ll respond?

“Oh, ahhh…yeah…sure…Pffft. Of course. I mean, who doesn’t at my level, right? Oh, would you look at that? Where does the time go. Hey, send me some information and I’ll be in touch. Too-dah-loo.”

Here’s how I respond to people who ask me what I do. (Note: I sell software for small to medium businesses to help them automate their sales and marketing. I also consult around creating their processes, which can work on any platform. I also have on-demand sales training courses, a group coaching program that meets weekly, and I’m also a speaker. So when I meet someone at a networking event, for example, I may not know anything about the person, so I’ll open with a broad statement to “chum the waters” to if they rise to the bat, and, if so, which bait they prefer.)

“What do I do? I help motivated sales professionals automate their sales and marketing so they can close big deals like it’s not big deal. How about you?”

Most of the time, the qualified prospect won’t answer what they do because they are intrigued, so they’ll lean in and go, “Hmm. What do you mean?” or “Hmm. How do you do that?”

To get more info from them so I can meet them where they are, I’ll reply with, “Oh, are you in sales or marketing?”

They say, “Yes. I’ve been in the construction business for 10 years.”

I say, “Oh, nice. How do you get your leads and stay in touch with them from the first time they reach out to the time the project is done and they give you raving reviews, tons of testimonials, and even repeat purchases?”

They say, “Ugh. It’s hard. I’ve tried Google Ads, Facebook Marketplace, YouTube, even Instagram. It’s all hit or miss. Consultants promise the moon and starts, but once they get paid, they’re harder to reach than John Galt.”

I say, “Wow. I hear that a lot. When you are getting leads, where do you track them? Do you have any type of CRM or are you just keeping them in Outlook or Gmail?”

See how I’m getting the information I need to DIS-qualify the prospect? (More on that concept in a future post.)

I’m probing for emotion. I’m digging in for passion and concern and pain and frustration and even anger.

Once I see that they are hot and bothered, I close by asking for their contact information and asking if they would like me to reach out and schedule some time to discuss this further to see if they might be a fit for us to work together.

That’s a detailed, nuanced process in and of itself, but for now, learn how to open well by connecting with everyone you meet, which means meeting them at their level, which means asking broader questions at first in a friendly manner, and gauging their responses.

You can’t sell steaks to vegans, even at a discount, so find people who want what you sell, and everyone will be happy and prosperous.

Market like you mean it.

Now go sell something.