Ways to Easily Convert more Sales

Converting sales is essential to any business. Actually, it's the foundation of how businesses grow. In sales one of the factors that come into play are influence and rapport building. There are certain tactics to gain rapport and in this article I touch on posturing, status deltas and rapport.

Remember, becoming a great sales person is KEY to growing any company. It sets the foundation for becoming successful.

Posturing, Status Deltas and Rapport

• If you are familiar with any sales training, you likely have heard the word “rapport”?thrown around and mention of its importance in the sales process.?
• Rapport is extremely important, however, most people misunderstand the meaning: Rapport is not simply a level of comfort with the prospect, it’s the recognition of a STATUS DELTA. This status delta helps answer the question: “Why should I even speak or listen to this person?”
• If you can master creating status deltas, your sales process will become hyper-effective, you closing rates will shoot up, and your customers buy into what you are doing much more than if you didn’t create a status delta.?
• Prospects will comply, listen to, and be influenced by the salesperson when there is a status delta present. This is what most people actually mean when they use the word “rapport”.
• An example of this in practice is a police officer walking into a stranger’s house and flashing their badge. There is an immediate recognition of the status delta by the stranger, and the stranger complies with the officer. Imagine that for some reason the police officer is an imposter and is using a fake badge, and the stranger learns that the badge is fake. Instantly, the perceived status delta is eliminated or swings in the other direction and the stranger is no longer compliant.?
• If the salesperson can create a perceived status delta between themselves and the prospect, then the prospect will comply.?
• If the salesperson does not create the perceived status delta, the prospect will not comply, and deals will be difficult to close and prospects difficult to influence.?
• From the moment the prospect interacts with the first piece of marketing material to the moment the prospect submits the payment and signs the contract and beyond, there needs to be a status delta present. You need to continue to build and tend to the status delta.?
• You know when there is a status delta present - the customer hangs on your every word. The customer ignores phone calls, and mutes notifications. Their eyes are glued to their screen.?
• You want to create this status delta as quickly as possible. Often times the status delta is created in the marketing - sometimes the prospect has no clue what you are selling, but they “know” they need to talk to you. That’s the power of the status delta at work.?
• Becoming a puppy dog: Sometimes the status delta is eliminated and the salesperson becomes the “puppy dog” willing to comply with the prospect on anything. If this happens to you, you can basically kiss your shot at closing a deal goodbye. You should try not to fall into this position by practicing the methods of creating the status delta. ?
• Recovering from the status delta elimination: If your status delta is eliminated, all you need to do is demonstrate the status delta by using one or more the status delta creators. The status delta can change with time. One day you are a puppy dog, the next day you can be thought of as a superstar on Forbes Magazine.?
• You will simply need to “flash your badge” to create an immediate status delta.?

How do you create status deltas??

There are many ways to create a perceived status delta. Below are a few of them.?

Warning: You must never lie. If you ever get caught lying or misrepresenting your claims, you will ruin your reputation and the media will eat you alive + customers will crucify you. It’s not worth it! Stay honest and true. Always!

Explaining Your Credentials and Achievements, Track Record:?

• Simply telling your prospects of your track record is one of the most simple ways to develop a massive status delta. If you have a track record, case studies, background, do not be afraid to tell people.?
• The stronger your creds, the more pronounced the status delta.
• Once the prospect learns of your achievements, they instantly recognize the status delta and start listening. ?
• Examples: The Harvard Doctor, degree, school, certificates, etc..
• I built and sold a company for $10M, I was the number 1 person to do ___. I was the first person to do ___. We have ___ amount of customers that did ___. We have been in the industry for ____ years.
• Dig into your background and case studies and pull out nuggets that you can use to defend your status delta.?

Capital:?

• Steve Jobs said “If they think you are rich, they think you are right”. This sums up the capital point beautifully.?
• Simply having capital or having access to capital creates an immediate status delta. Don’t be afraid to let the prospect know that you are sitting on a huge pile of money since it creates a massive amount of unconscious rapport.?
• Examples: My firm manages $1B. We raised $140M. I exited my first company for $100M.?

Alignment to Others With Status:

• By aligning to others with status, you raise your own status since it implies that you have access to and influence over those with status.?
• This works extremely well and can immediately give you a status bump.?
• This is also known as “name dropping” - the process of aligning yourself with other authority figures.?

Examples:?

• ___ is on the board of directors. We are endorsed by Lebron James, my brother is Elon Musk. I worked with ___ for 6 years. I’m family friends with ___.?

Physical Presentation:?

• Physical presentation plays an extremely important role when you are creating status deltas. If your visual presentation doesn’t match what you are claiming, then the prospect will fall out of rapport and they won’t comply.
• Physical presentation matters in your marketing videos, your VSLs, your sales calls if you are using a conference call, and it helps you FEEL like a professional even if you are working by yourself.?
• Clothing - Wearing professional clothes is extremely important because it helps the prospect feel more comfortable with you. It also shows the prospect that you respect them enough to present well. Obviously no one will admit to you that your choice of clothing makes them feel uncomfortable (except me: I complain if my Uber black driver doesn’t wear a dress shirt - it grosses me out), but believe me, prospects are thinking about it and acting accordingly.?
• You don’t need to wear designer clothing, but your clothing should be of high-quality and well co-ordinated. If you don’t understand style, go to your local department store and hire a stylist to help you.?
• Physical Shape: All else being the same, people will prefer to do business with someone in physical shape. It’s an unconscious bias that people have. If you are not in great shape, start changing your diet and exercise plan. We are in the big leagues here. We need to stay healthy. If you can afford it, get a trainer to train you in the morning before work. Do weights 3 times per week and cardio 4 times per week. Get a nutritionist to make you a meal plan.?
• Watches: Like it or not, wearing an expensive watch can immediately signal to the prospect that you are skilled and successful and help instantly create a status delta.?
• This works for both men and women.?
• If you are super-successful already, it makes sense to invest in a nice watch for when you need a quick bump in status delta with cold prospects.?
• For Example: With a nice watch, you can walk up to a group of rich people anywhere in the world and have instant rapport with them. Kind of crazy right??
• Patek, Richard Mille, AP ($30k-$100k +) - Lights out.
• Rolex ($8k+) - Yep, that will do.?
• Cartier ($5k+), etc.. - Sure, but there better be something at home in the cage… ?
• Anything else - Doesn’t work and can even hurt you. ?
• If you don’t have a watch, don’t worry about it right now. Just keep pushing until one day you can afford a $50k watch.?
• Grooming: This should be obvious, but grooming helps you create and maintain the status delta and it also makes people feel comfortable around you. Shaving, having neat hair, etc.. shows the prospect that you respect them. Smell nice, but don’t use obnoxious cologne or perfume.?
• Office and And Workspace: It’s important to present a clean and well-put together office or work environment, not only for yourself and team members, but for your prospects.?
• Your office or work location will be displayed if your prospects and customer visit, or if you are using it to film videos. If you work from home, just make sure your office and work space is clean and presentable. Natural lighting is extremely important for your own mood and the prospect’s.?
• If you have a messy or unsightly work space, you will break rapport and harm your status delta. Don’t be a slob :)?

Tonality and Body Language:?

• Speaking is a relatively new to humans. For thousands of years, humans used body language and tonality of their noises to communicate and survive. We are wired to gather information from these non-verbal signals. Using higher status tonality and body language helps create and reinforce the status delta.
• Pacing: Speaking fast communicates lower status. Slow it down if you are used to speaking really quickly. You can use strategic pacing to keep people engaged: Slow down for important phrases and speed up for between-the-points phrases.?
• Pitch: Humans assign authority to a lower-pitch voice. If you have a high-pitched voice, try breathing and stretching to lower it. You can adjust your voice by an octave if you stretch out and relieve the tension from your body. A great stretch for lowering your voice is the “bent over bridge”.?
• Sit and Stand Up Straight: If you are hunched over, this communicates lower status. Always stand up and sit straight. This posture also helps you feel good. Don’t be a sloppy sally.?
• Use Your Hands When You are Communicating:? Using your hands when you are speaking helps build rapport and status delta. Don’t be afraid to use your hands when you are speaking in person, on camera when you are creating your videos, in your outbound prospecting videos, or on your conference calls. Using your hands shows that you are comfortable and in control of your own environment. This communicates higher status.?
• Inflections: You are using Inflections when you raise your voice at the end of a sentence or on a specific word. This causes the prospect to engage with the word being inflected. You can use this tonality to captivate people and keep attention for when you are explaining complex topics. You can also use this tonality to assign extra importance to a specific word or phrase. Using inflections takes practice, but they are extremely powerful if you weave them into your communication.?
• The best communicators will use inflections, whispers, declaratives and pacing patterns to captivate your audience.?
• Declaratives/Certainty Tone. This tone is used for closing and trust building. You lower your voice at the end of a sentence. This is also used when you making a point. You are conveying rock-solid certainty when you are using this tone. You can smack the table or the back of your hand to channel this certainty and declarative tone. It takes calibration, but once harnessed, you will become extremely dangerous and persuasive. If you can master the certainty tone, you can transfer your certainty to the prospect. The prospect won’t close if they are not certain. ?
• Reasonable Man Tone: Used when you are making an extremely logical and reasonable case. Used for closing, getting thesis and vehicle buy in. This tone is unassuming, non-threatening. ?
• Inquisitive Tone: This tone is used during qualification questions. It is also used during the looping. You raise your voice at the end of the question to signal that you are non-threatening. The higher the voice, the less threatening and imposing your questions will be. You can ask extremely personal questions and the prospect will answer if you use this tone.?
• Empathetic Tone: This tone is used when you are diving deep into pain points and uncovering problems. It is also used when you are using your closing lines. This can also be called “the caring tone”. This tone communicates that you actually give a damn about the prospect. Think of your mom consoling you about something.?
• Enthusiastic Tone: This tone is high energy and excited. This is used sparingly during the sales pitch. At the beginning, during the product and thesis demonstration and during the intro. Do not use this tone when you are closing. You only use the certainty tone when you are closing :)?
• Whispering Tone: They say if you want someone to listen, shout. If you want someone to really listen, whisper. This tone is used when you want someone to really pay attention. You can use this during the presentation, the thesis buying, the vehicle buy in and the intro. This takes a ton of practice to pull off, but if done right, the prospect will get fired up.?

If you keep these steps in the back of your mind, you will also remember how to create the instant status deltas.?