Ideal Conversations
I took a rather long hiatus from writing ... I have no excuse other than, like story telling which people say I'm amazing at ... I can't come up with ideas or stories when I need to. Anyways, I thought long and hard about what I should write today and I came up with the importance of ideal conversations.
“Ideal conversation must be an exchange of thought, and not, as?many of those who worry most about their shortcomings believe,?an eloquent exhibition of wit or oratory”.
—Emily Post
It’s 4 pm on a Thursday and you’re about to meet the CEO of a?major company you’d like to win as a client.
?The conversation?starts as you walk into the office, approach the CEO, stretch?out your hand, and say, “Nice to meet you, Jane. I’m Jack Webber.”?
?Fast forward to a meeting about four months later—3 pm on?a Wednesday this time. You head into the office.
?Jane gets out?from behind her desk and says, “Good to see you again, Jack. Here’s the check for $1.2 million that you need to get the?process underway. Let’s schedule the kickoff for next Friday.”
?Suffice it to say, a lot has to happen between “nice to meet?you” and “here’s a check for $1.2 million.”
?Yet two things are?true:?
?1.???This?is?how?it?happens.
?2.???Conversations form the bridge between “hello” and?“let’s go.”?
I am sure you’ve all had the opportunity of observing and analyzing many sales conversations. All too often?we see salespeople say “hello,” but never get to “let’s go,” because of mistakes they make in their conversations. We also?regularly see salespeople unable to generate the conversations?they need.
I’m here to tell you that Limited conversations with prospective clients EQUALS limited closing of client opportunities.?
?THE IMPORTANCE OF CONVERSATIONS
????????Conversations make or break everything... not just in sales but in everyday life, too. Every conversation you have is an opportunity to make new friends, find new prospects, win new clients, and increase sales.
???????It’s important to come up with your own proven system of leading masterful conversations that fills your pipeline, secure new clients, and maximize the potential of your bank account.
?ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
????????Asking your clients the right questions facilitate them setting up their business for success.
?THE IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING RAPPORT
????????Building rapport?in?any conversation is important but it is crucial in sales?conversations.?
????????I know this is a very old concept but is now more relevant than ever.?A lot of people dismiss this as a ploy to make a?superficial connection with a potential client.
?Since I began coaching, I’ve always loved the adage
“Nobody really?cares how much you know
until they know how much?you care.”
?I try to drill into all my clients the importance of power-listening, absorbing, and really understanding their prospective client so they can make the deepest connection possible and learn how they can help them the?most.
?PAIN AND PLEASURE
????????The majority of coaches these days suggest that to sell products and services as solutions to needs, you?must first uncover the problems or pain of the potential client.
???????I’ve come to the conclusion that focusing only on problems and pain can do you, the Coach, a?disservice because problems and pain are only half of the client’s story.
?THE OTHER HALF OF THE STORY
?When clients hire you, they are generally thinking as much about?their future aspirations as they are about the problems they want to turn around.
?When we think about asking questions only in the negative, we tend to probe for needs that?way. We tend to ask questions such as,
“Why and Where are you unhappy?with?performance?”?
?“What?keeps?you?up?at?night?”
?“What?are your problems?”
?When we consider where our client wants to go as much as we consider his pain – Remember to ask future oriented questions as well as problem solving questions—questions with themes like
?“Where do you see yourself in 3/12/24 months?”?????
“What are the possibilities?”
?If you ask questions?that look to the future, you will find that—instead of just bringing?some Aspirin for the pain—you will be able to paint the most compelling, impactful, and comprehensive vision of a new and better?reality for your clients
?SO, WHAT
?After you uncover where your client wants to go as well as his pain the QUESTION then becomes, “So what?”
If your pain doesn’t get solved, then so what?
?What won’t happen?
?Will the PAIN get worse?
?How will that PAIN impact the bottom line of your company, or department?
How will that PAIN impact?your private life?
?If your goals don’t become a reality, so what?
?In a business-to-business scenario, the questions that follow might?be something like
“Will your competition get ahead of you if you don’t?innovate?”
??“Will you lose market share if you aren’t more assertive?in your strategy?”
?“Will you ever be able to grow your business?to a point where you can sell it and reach your personal financial?goals?” and
?“Will the influence/success you so desire continue to elude?you?”
?CREATING URGENCY
?Creating urgency for your potential client to buy from you hinges on how well you help your?client answer the “so what” questions, and how well you demonstrate the impact of buying from you.
?What do you provide that other coaches/consultants don’t?
?How are you Unique?
?Potential Clients need an argument to justify the?benefit to themselves as well as others involved in the hiring?decision. At the end of a well-managed sales pitch, your job is?to create a vision of a New Reality that will be the best for your?client, given their specific goals and current painful dilemmas and the Impact of doing (or not doing) something about them.
?Remember
?It’s not about selling someone something they don’t?want.
It’s about talking about their needs and positioning the solution you have to fulfill their needs ... in other words its
"‘targeting the opportunity and positioning the product’?
?TAKING THE RIGHT ACTION
?Action in acquiring clients is a simple concept: You succeed if you do?the right amount of the right things effectively.?
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?THE?RIGHT?AMOUNT.
??Most?coaches/consultants?can?get?more?done?every day by setting overall goals, setting activity targets,?and pushing themselves to find ways to get more done.
?"Taking massive action, planning, and putting strong processes in place and MOST IMPORTANTLY FOLLOWING THEM is very helpful here.
?The?right?things.?Always?ask?yourself,?“Am?I?doing?the?things right now that will help me achieve my goals?fastest?” If you’re not, then you’re probably not doing the?right things.
?When I did extensive cold calling prospects back in 2015 and 2016, one of the 5 questions I asked everyone was ...
“Do the people in your company in?selling roles know what they should be doing to achieve?what they could achieve in sales?”
Ninety-seven percent?of the respondents said no.?Imagine what would happen if you had the discipline to follow through as planned
?PROCEESS
?I’m always flabbergasted at the number of people who ask what a process is
?A process is a well-organized approach to something. Well-organized?approaches have a number of benefits. They:?
???????Help you know where to start, where you are, and where?you’re heading next.?
???????Allow you to ask, and answer questions like, “Am I?doing the right things to get to the next step? Am I doing?something that helps me get to the next step at all?” and,?“How can I get to the next step more quickly and easily?”
????????Help you to measure where you’re at and continuously improve.
?ELITE CLIENT PRINCIPLES
????????Play?to?WIN-WIN.?
Elite Coaches respect,?and?always?try?to?satisfy, the best interests of prospects and clients as well?as their own (the win-win part). The majority of coaches/consultants are?dedicated to becoming top performers (the play-to-win?part), exhibiting the hustle, passion, and intensity it takes?to achieve what only the elite achieve.
?Live BY GOALS.??Elite Coaches are?goal setting?and?goal?following fanatics. Goals are a part of their daily rituals
????????Take MASSIVE?action.?elite coaches realize that goals without MASSIVE action don’t get you very far. While other people intend to?take action and do more, elite coaches actually do it.?
????????Be?an EXPERT.?elite coaches master market?knowledge, their client needs, their products and services,?their value, their competition, and everything else they?need to know to succeed at selling. Elite coaches might not?be technical experts in every area, but they know what they?need to know to sign on the client.
????????Create?NEW?CONVERSATIONS?every?day.? Elite coaches?always?feed?the front of their pipelines and work to get more prospects daily. They never coast, and rarely a day goes by when?they don’t speak to clients, prospects, and referral?sources with the intent to source new business. Posting on LinkedIn and Face Book is not enough, especially when using the same format, language and MO on a daily basis. Create new posts using great questions to spark and exciting conversation. Additionally, if your LinkedIn and FB posts have NOT brought in new clients for a year or more, to be sure you are doing something wrong. Stop blaming Covid!
‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results."
—Albert Einstein
???????Set?the?agenda,?becoming the change agent you always wanted to be. BECOME the CHANGE AGENT you always want to be.?Million Dollar Coaches?recommend, advise, and assist. They are change agents who are?not afraid to push when it’s in the best interest of the client. Also, don't be afraid to be vulnerable. No one is perfect all the time. In these days of information overload its more important than ever to be human as opposed to being perceived as perfect.
????????Have COURAGE.?For sure it takes courage to do the write thing. Be it telling your partner you want a divorce, apologize for misunderstood conversations or for whatever action you need to take right now, today, Not tomorrow, not next week ... TODAY. I know first hand the courage it takes to pick up the phone and make that cold call, to reach out to someone you perceive to be "better than,""more important than,", "wealthier than you." It?especially takes?courage?to?rise?to?the?occasion?of?finding, engaging, and closing Million Dollar Clients – that said million dollar coaches not only conquer their own fears, but they also seek?actively to win the most fruitful prospects regardless of how difficult the challenges may be?
GOALS AND PLANNING TO TAKE THE RIGHT ACTION
???????Avoiding what we know we should be doing. Doing something?other than what we should be doing. Justifying our inaction.?There’s something confounding about our capacity as human?beings to know we should be doing one thing and then avoid it?like the plague.
????????In our personal lives, we know we should clean the garage,?call our dad to say hello, and exercise at least three times this?week.?But we don’t.
????????In our effort to find Million Dollar leads, we know we should make five more calls?before the day is through, organize our contact list and our follow-up process to become more efficient, and invite that client?out to dinner.?But we don’t.?Procrastination wins almost every time
????????Worst of all, we know that?by doing the sales activities we should do, we will achieve?much greater financial and career success than we have now.?The benefits are real and tangible. But we still don’t. There are?a million excuses reasons we give ourselves to justify why we?can’t do what we should. Here are a few favorites:
And the list goes on and on.
????????If you want to succeed with Million Dollar Client prospects - even a $5K prospects, it is crucial that you generate conversations every day and MOST IMPORTANTLY?have the skills to lead them well.
???????These?two goals are worthy in and of themselves, but they are not?stand-alone islands. They should be a part of a larger set of prospecting goals, you know like a goal archipelago so to speak, that will get you to the?destination you seek i.e., having a client that will pay you a $1M or six figures at the least.
?Taking a deep dive into Prospective Clients Needs
?Question: Why did the chicken cross the road?
Answer: Give me ten minutes with the chicken and I’ll?find out.
—Unknown
?When you are probing your client’s needs, beneath the surface you must go as deep as possible to uncover the root causes of your prospective client’s challenges.
The following Five?Whys will help.?
?Popularized by Taiichi Ohno, one of the fathers of lean manufacturing, the Five Whys is a root-cause analysis technique?that moves business leaders past putting Band-Aids on the?symptoms of a problem, and instead helps them address the?underlying causes, thus permanently solving the problem and?creating a lasting new reality.
???????These Five Whys help you work?with prospective clients to uncover the root causes of what is driving?their needs, and craft the most compelling, powerful, and lasting solutions.?
???????Essentially, the Five Whys is to problem solving and critical?thinking what removing weeds at the root is to gardening.
???????Fix a?symptom in business but not the underlying cause, and much?like a pulled weed with the root left in the ground, the symptom is bound to sprout up again. Fix the underlying cause of a?problem at the root, and you will see lasting improvement.
?HERE’S HOW YOU MIGHT APPROACH THE 5 WHYS IN A SALES CONVERSATION
?Prospect: “We need more training for our IT?staff because we’re receiving too many complaints about bad service.”?
You: “Why are you receiving too many complaints about your service?”?(Why #1)
Prospect: “Because response times are?slow.”
You: “Why are response times slow?”??(Why #2)
Prospect: “Because our staff always seems?backed up, no matter what we do.”?
?You: “Why is the staff always backed up?”?(Why #3)
Prospect: “Because requests come in that are deemed urgent that really aren’t, and the?ones?that are urgent don’t get immediate response. So, instead of responding, we’re always reacting like crazy?every minute of the day.”?
?You: “Why can’t you differentiate between the?really urgent problems and the not-so-urgent?problems?” (Why #4)?
Prospect: “Because we don’t have definitions?of what constitutes urgent, and we don’t have?a sufficient job ticket management system to?help us keep it straight.”
?You: “Why don’t you have a job ticket management system that can help you keep it all?sorted out?” (Why #5)?
Prospect: “Because we looked at this two?years ago and we didn’t need it, but now?we’re twice the size and have so much more volume. No one’s brought it up again with?Jane, our COO, who makes the decisions?about these kinds of things.”
?You: “Why hasn’t anyone brought it up with?Jane?” (Why #6)?
Prospect: Silence.?
?You: “Is training for the IT staff what you?need, or should you re-engage Jane about?how a job ticket management system will improve response times and reduce complaints?”?
Prospect: “Time to talk to Jane.”?
?You: “Then you need to get approval, and install the job ticket management system?”?
Prospect: “Right again.”?You: “Let’s talk about what you need in a job?ticket management system, then.
president at Art Heart and Soul
1 年Thanks a million for writing again I'm already using this set of techniques and wisdom.
president at Art Heart and Soul
1 年Brilliant advice for sucess as coach and personal best