Neo-Sage Nickel

We must always take the side of our client/prospect, right? Bad idea!

A commonly taught axiom is, “The Customer is King.”  Another is, “The Customer is always right.”  In theory these statements are true.  And they should be considered thoughtfully in business.  But, when we allow this ideology to control every aspect of our business or when we take these axioms literally (as too many of us do) we will surely fail!  The reality is…

Your customer and your company (whether you are a sales rep or owner) must have a symbiotic, mutually beneficial relationship.  Sounds like common sense, right?  But then why do so many of us have “problem” customers?  Most of the time, it’s our fault.

To start and maintain a mutually beneficial relationship, each side must have an advocate.  The customer has one – it’s in his/her mirror!  Are we our own?  Often not!  Sales reps and solopreneurs are particularly guilty of trying to also advocate for the client at company’s expense.

We are so concerned with doing “right” by the client and keeping them “happy” that we sacrifice our own value and happiness.  In the short run, this seems good.  In the long run it leads to a terrible relationship, resentment on both sides, poor service, unhappy clients and no referrals. 

What to do?

First, remember that ALL relationships are built on precedent.  So, immediately treat the prospect as an EQUAL.  They require a product or service and you require payment.  This is an equal exchange of value and should be treated as such.  No one is doing anyone any favors.  Act accordingly – polite and friendly, but NOT submissive. This attitude will destroy respect and credibility for the future and will lead to resentment. 

Second, be the expert that they want and need.  Do NOT assume that what they say they need is what they need.  You must HEAR what they want and then TELL them what they need.  If you simply give them what they say, you are just an order taker and you are replaceable. In addition, if you give them what they want and it fails, they will blame you even if you did exactly what they said.  Again, you lose respect and a client.

Third, set expectations from the beginning.  Provide them with a realistic picture of their future success with success stories, references and examples to the best of your ability.  Set up timelines that work for YOUR Company, so you can meet them.  If their timelines do not match, do NOT comply.  Instead, compromise to ensure you can deliver and to let them know that this is an equal exchange.  You are a team.

Fourth, while discussing/negotiating pricing, emphasize their results and future success.  They are paying for results, NOT your product or service.  You may lower your price, if required for negotiating, but, always validate the reduction.  This reinforces that this is a two way street and you will be happier and able to provide better service, in the long run, making them happy.

Fifth, be prepared to walk away.  If any of the above tactics are impossible due to an unreasonable or aggressive prospect, be ready to walk away.  Not every prospect should be your client. In this case, they will either go punish someone else (good for you) or they will see more value in you (they can’t have you) and therefore gain respect for you and try to re-negotiate.  This is all good for you in the long run.

Perhaps better axioms might be:

“You and the customer are partners” and “The customer knows what he wants and you know what he needs.”

Take the needs of your company as seriously as your client’s and everyone will be happier in the long run. 

Good luck!

 

-Larry

 

 

To become an entrepreneur, the most important thing is a business plan, right? Not really!

A business plan is usually the first thing people think about when talking about becoming an entrepreneur.   If you are getting your business funded, then it is very important.  But there is something even more important, regardless of funding.  That is your mindset.

 

There is a HUGE difference between the employee mindset and the entrepreneur mindset.  That difference is often a key factor in success or failure.  OK, what does that mean?

 

1 - The employee believes that there is value in activity.  Showing up matters!  If he/she works hard and works late, that means success.   And usually, for an employee, that is correct.  If an employee shows up and does the job and works hard, steady paychecks come.  In addition, (in a good economy) he/she will keep the job and may even be promoted and/or given a raise.   This sounds great.

 

For the entrepreneur, activity matters ONLY if you are making sales.  You can work hard 18 hours a day, 7 days a week and if you don’t make sales, you fail!  Activity by itself means nothing.  Success is directly tied to closing deals and creating more revenue.  Being effective and efficient is critical.  Showing up is just nice. 

 

The entrepreneur believes that hard work is something to be avoided by generating enough revenue to make hard work unnecessary. 

 

2 – The employee believes that job skill set is what matters.  If he/she is a great “do-er” then success is coming.  And usually, for an employee, this is correct.   If an employee is a great accountant or graphic artist or analyst or technician, then steady paychecks will come.  In addition, (in a good economy) he/she will keep the job and may even be promoted and/or given a raise.   This sounds great.

 

For the entrepreneur, a great skill set matters ONLY if you have clients.  You can be the best at X in the world, but if you have no clients, you fail!  Skill set by itself means nothing.  Success is directly tied to more clients and more revenue.

 

The second aspect is that if your production is the only form of revenue, then your company is severely limited.  In fact, if you are just working on a per hour basis, then you aren’t really an entrepreneur.  You are a contracted worker; still an employee.  

 

The entrepreneur knows that success can no longer be judged by job skill set, but ONLY by business acumen.  The ability to move a company forward with both sales and operations as a leader is the key to success as an entrepreneur.  Skill at a specific task is often irrelevant.

 

3 – The employee sees the employee or company as the entity that “gives” him/her a job.  The business owner/boss is higher and more powerful and deserving of reverence.  And usually, for an employee, this is correct.   If an employee shows reverence to the boss and makes his/her needs secondary, then steady paychecks will come.  In addition, (in a good economy) he/she will keep the job and may even be promoted and/or given a raise.  This sounds great.

 

For the entrepreneur, prospects and clients should be seen as equals.  They are experts in their fields and the entrepreneur is an expert in his/her field.  The entrepreneur provides value (as a product or and/or service) and the client provides revenue.  It is a deal between two companies; two entities; two equals.  Showing reverence for the client will almost always result in lost deals and lower revenue. 

 

Why?  As you place yourself on a lower pedestal, the client/prospect will lose confidence in you and therefore either negotiate your price down or go with another vendor that they believe in more.  In the long run, most clients want experts, not servants.

 

If you see yourself not as expert, but a servant, you will act accordingly.  You will simply ask what the client wants and give it to them directly.  That sounds great, because that what an employee does.   The boss is an expert, we follow his instruction.

 

The entrepreneur must understand that the clients are not experts in your field.  They are often wrong and the project will fail to achieve what they really wanted if you just do what they say and not what YOU KNOW WILL WORK.   Then, even though you followed the client’s direction, they will blame you and never use you again.

 

The entrepreneur knows that each deal is an agreement between two equals.  You must know that the responsibility of an expert is to hear what prospects want, and then to show them how you can give them what they need to achieve exactly those goals. 

 

I hope this will assist you with your decision to be, or not to be, an entrepreneur. 

 

 

“Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage.”

 

- Niccolo Machiavelli

 

 

Good luck!

 

Larry

If you get more appointments, that means that you are better at selling, right? Not at all!

There are so many out there that tell you they can improve your selling.  They proclaim to be a sales coach or sales trainer.  But in reality, they are either a motivational speaker or a marketing coach.  What they do is offer you motivation or more prospects to see.  Both are good, but neither is making you sell better!   Being motivated and/or seeing more people just makes you work harder, not smarter.  You’re not really getting better.  To get better at least one of three things must improve:

1 – Close Rate:

    As simple as it sounds, very few people pay attention their close rate.  How many prospects do you close compared to how many you meet?  The majority of professionals don’t know!  Out of 10 prospects is it 2 or 4 or 7?  Most just look at the number of overall closes and not the percentage. 

So, as an example, you had 4 closes last month and then you decide to hire a new “guru”.  This month you have 8 closes and you say, “WOW!  My guru is awesome!”   But, how many people did you meet?  You usually meet 20 people in a month, but this month you met 40.  Still good, right?  NO!  Because you had to work twice as hard to get twice the closes!  In fact, you’ll have to work that hard on a continual basis to keep those 8 closes per month!  In addition, if you want 16 sales in a month, you have to meet 80 people!  This is terrible. 

Before the guru you closed at 20% and after the guru you still close at 20%!  But the guru is a hero and walks away smiling?  Why?

    What if instead, you learned tactics to close 8 people for every 20 you met?  Now you haven’t worked harder, but you’ve doubled your sales!  Now, you can decide to meet more people or you can build other aspects of your business!  That is valuable - that is powerful - that is better selling!

2 – Price Points (Dollar Value):

    If you ask most professionals what is the average dollar value of their sales, they don’t know.  If we follow the Marketing/Motivation guru way, it doesn’t matter.  We just need to work harder and meet more people and we’ll make more money.  Bad idea! 

What if instead, you figured out ways to show your prospect enough value so that they would accept a higher price tag, or negotiate the price less, or buy more? You would bring in more profit WITHOUT meeting more people.  And now exponentially, you get more if you decide to increase meetings.  That is better selling!

3 – Sales Cycle:

    How long does it take to close a deal?  1 week?  3 months?  2 years?  If the time it takes you to close a deal shrinks by 50%, that means you can go through double the number of sales processes in the same time!  That means twice as much revenue and profit in the same time.  That is better sales!

So why do you care?  Because it’s much easier for both YOU and the SALES GURU to not attempt real change in these three areas!   It’s difficult to do.  It’s difficult to teach.  It’s difficult to sell.  So instead, you get to work harder with motivational stories and fun marketing tricks.  Not bad, but not better selling and not sustainable, particularly if you are in a small business.  Efficiency is everything!

Envision gaining all three.  As an example, currently you meet 10 prospects in a month, it takes you 8 days to close on average, you average closing 2 out of the 10 and you average $1,000 per sale.  That’s $2,000 per month.  Now imagine that the next month you shorten your sales cycle by 2 days, close 3 out of 10 prospects and average $1,500 per sale.  That’s $4,500 per month (a 125% increase) with a 25% decrease in time! 

This is what you MUST demand from your “Sales Gurus”!  If you don’t, you’ll end up working harder and not smarter. You’ll get a system that requires constant maintenance. so you can keep up your motivation and hard work.  Or, you can gain skills to make closing deals more efficient forever. 

So, the next time someone tells you that they are a sales guru, coach or trainer, ask them if they can guarantee to increase your close rate, your price points or decrease your sales cycle.  If they can’t guarantee at east one, preferable two or three, you know what to tell them! 

Good luck!

 

Larry

‘Tis the Season for gifting clients! Or is it?

The Holiday season officially started the day after Turkey Day - Black Friday.  So, it’s time to get out there and get gifts for your clients.  You need to spend good money on your best clients and reward them for their loyalty, right?  No!  This is a common mistake.  The reality is….

 

You do NOT need to go crazy with great gifts for your best clients.  If you do, it will be a waste of good money, for two reasons.  One - they are already your client, so you aren’t gaining much.  Two - if you give them a great gift during the holidays, they will assume that they deserve it and not be moved.  You are just training them to expect great gifts from you each year as a part to doing business with you.  Not powerful and not valuable for you.

 

But think about what would happen if you gave them a nice inexpensive promotional item like a pen or mouse pad or even a card.  There’s little difference in the client reaction, but it’s a lot cheaper for you.   And then imagine if you took the savings and sent nice gifts to several prospects that haven’t done business with you!   What would happen then?  Those prospects are NOT expecting gifts.  They will feel surprised and special and are now more likely to return your phone calls, or restart talks, become your client or pass you referrals. Here, you gain something.

 

Gifts should not be given to REWARD good behavior; they should be used to CREATE good behavior.   As counter-intuitive as this seems, it is true.

 

In fact, if you can send someone a gift at a time when they don’t expect it, it’s even more powerful.  Think of the value of sending a good client a holiday gift, compared to sending a prospect a gift in the middle of January!   The client says, “Oh, that’s nice.” the prospect says, “Wow!  That was very thoughtful!” - Big difference!

 

If you have never given gifts to your clients during the Holidays, do NOT start.  If you want to be magnanimous then send cards.  If you really want to be fancy, send custom cards and have your team (hire interns if need be) to hand write them all.  Hand written cards add the personal touch which adds rapport value and increases the odds that the cards will be noticed and read.

 

If you already have set the precedent of Holiday gift giving, then send inexpensive promotional items.  Try to be creative, but do NOT spend a lot of money.  The return is low.

 

Take that same budget and begin to send gifts to people who’ve told you NO, or who are hesitating.   In addition, if your business can afford the wait, send them in January or February.  Here you can spend some money, but unless you know exactly what the people want, spend no more than $25 per gift. 

 

Gifts must always be under $25.  If you send an expensive gift, the gift will be judged on its actual value.  If you send an inexpensive gift it can only be judged on its thoughtfulness.   In addition, an expensive gift may be seen as a bribe.   Example:

 

$250 green designer flower vase – Receiver can/will say things like:

    “I don’t like this green.”

    “He thinks I can use this?  Really?”

    “$250 for this?  Wow, he has no taste.”

    “$250 is a lot of money, what does this guy want from me?”

 

$15 hat from trip to Sea World – Receiver can/will say things like:

    “Wow!  That was nice of him.”

    “My kid will love this.”

    “Yes, I want to go to Sea World too.”

 

Now the one exception to the $25 rule is if you know exactly what a prospect wants.  ONLY in that case may you exceed the $25 mark.

 

These types of gifts to prospects WILL garner a better return in direct business and in referrals.  The prospects will be affected by the law of reciprocity and will be much more inclined to do business or to pass referrals to you.

 

In this economy, we need to be as efficient as possible when it comes to our marketing.  Gifting is just another part of our marketing budget.  So, avoid the common wasteful ideas and streamline this aspect of your marketing budget also.  Effective gifting has a great return.  Traditional gifting wastes a lot of money.

 

Let’s get the most from our marketing!

 

Of course, all of this goes out the window if you just WANT to give a gift.  Please do so, especially if it’s to me. J

 

Happy Holidays and good luck!

 

- Larry

To get a “Yes” they must really like you, right? Nope!

In this environment, people are still in a “let’s wait and see” mode.  Regardless of the deal you are trying to put together (selling, buying, getting hired, getting promoted or merging resources) this economy creates a natural culture of “inaction”.   So, since we know that people buy from people they like, we need to get them to like you A LOT!  No way!  You’ll still be waiting! 

So how do we get around this?  First, we have to realize that this EXTRA fear may seem silly or even self-sabotaging, but it is very natural.  Your prospect’s mental barriers are much higher now due the discomfort of perceived uncertainty.  It’s the uncertainty that paralyzes them!

The answer is obviously to find people who NEED your deal, right?  Nope!  Often, the discomfort of moving forward is actually as high as dealing with the need and/or pain associated with it.  So, what you have is status quo mediocrity. Unfortunately, most people are OK with that, even if it hurts them in the long run.  Yes, they would rather stay put then to gamble on getting better.

No problem, then let’s show people the pain of inaction, even if they don’t see it, right?  Nope!  That’s a gamble since bringing up negativity may stick on you in their minds.  They may want to “shoot the messenger”.  Which means even if they believe you, the negative feelings associated with you will make them act, but with another person!  If fact, if you bring it up too effectively, they may feel dumb.  Then you’ve just insulted them.  Whoops.  No deal now, for sure.

The critical piece here is to remember that standard “good deals” simply aren’t enough.  In addition, the “here are the benefits to the plan” also, are not enough.  When dealing with companies, it’s very easy for management to simply wait.  They are getting paid as long as the company doesn’t go under, even if the company stays mediocre.  When dealing with people, it is scary to commit when things are so uncertain, they would rather just hold on and hope.  Therefore, we must delve deeper; we need to get personal concerns.  As always, use your judgment of your prospect base and use your own words and speech patterns.

So, look for specific personal buying reasons of the decision makers.  Do not talk about what is best for the company at all.  Focus completely on what is best for the individuals. 

How do you get these personal buying reasons?  Straight forward “why” questions.  Examples are:

            - Bob, I understand why the CIO wants to talk about this.  Why do you?

            - Jane, you have had this problem for 6 months.  What made you want to talk to me now?

            - Jim, the company will obviously benefit by A, B & C.  How will you?

            - Bob, most people want this because of X.  What exactly were you thinking?

Always make sure that you ask these questions AFTER you have established rapport.  These should be among the last questions you ask in your data gathering.   Once you have some of these, when you propose the deal, add pieces like:

“Jim, moving forward here is going to allow you to retire from this business next year, like you wanted.”

“Jane, when we do this, you’ll look so good to HQ that the promotion is in the bag.”

“Bob, after this deal, you’re going to be able to put enough money away to put Sally, Suzy and Timmy through college.”

When dealing with individuals, try to show the value is some non-obvious arena.  Perhaps explain how the deal will help their family or maybe how it will improve them socially somehow.

            “Jim, after this, not only are you going to retire, but now you and you wife can take that trip to

Spain

and renew your wedding vows like she wanted.”

            “Jane, once we do this, you’ll see how much respect the rest of the team gives you.  You’ll see how much more authority you’ll get and how better you’ll be positioned in your career for your next move.”

            “Bob, you’ll see how this is going to give you the time to spend with your kids.”

           

Yes, this may seem odd or awkward, but it will be very effective when up against the standard.  In addition, with so much competition for deals, most of the deals your prospect sees are good deals!  So, will yours really stand out enough to spur action without a special way of showing the value?  Odds are not in your favor.

Just remember that you must AVOID the standard presentations of:

            Here’s our history/misson

            Here’s our credentials/what we know

            Here’s who we’ve worked with

            Here’s what we will do for you

And move to: 

            Here’s what most people like you want – how about you?

            OK.  Here’s what you are going to get.

            Here’s why it matters to you personally!

We have to gain deep rapport and ask personal questions, veiled as standard, to get real reasons. 

It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.  As always, it stacks the deck in your favor. And, it’s one of the best ways to get someone to act, in this environment.

Good luck!

- Larry

Just Wait!

That’s what so many people are saying now.  In this environment, people are in a “let’s wait and see what happens” mode.  Regardless of the deal you are trying to put together (selling, buying, getting hired, getting promoted or merging resources) this economy creates a natural culture of “inaction”.

 

So how do we get around this?  First, we have to realize that this EXTRA fear may seem silly or even self-sabotaging, but it is very natural.  Your prospect’s mental barriers are much higher now due the discomfort of perceived uncertainty.

 

The answer is obviously to find people who NEED your deal, right?  Nope!  Often, the discomfort of moving forward is actually as high as dealing with the need and/or pain associated with it.  So, what you have is status quo mediocrity.  Unfortunately, most people are OK with that, even if it hurts them in the long run.

 

No problem, then let’s show people the pain of inaction, even if they don’t see it, right?  Nope!  That’s a gamble since bringing up negativity may stick on you in their minds.  They may want to “shoot the messenger”.  If fact, if you bring it up too effectively, they may feel dumb.  Then you’ve just insulted them.  Whoops.

 

The critical piece here is to remember that standard “good deals” simply aren’t enough.  In addition, the “here are the benefits to the plan” also, are not enough.  We must delve deeper, and here is an idea.  As always, use your judgment of your prospect base and use your own words and speech patterns.

 

When dealing with companies, it’s very easy for management to simply wait.  They are getting paid as long as the company doesn’t go under, even if the company stays mediocre.  So, look for specific personal buying reasons of the decision makers.  Do not talk about what is best for the companies at all.  Focus completely on what is best for the individuals. 

 

“Jim, moving forward here is going to allow you to retire from this business next year, like you wanted.”

“Jane, when we do this, you’ll look so good to HQ that the promotion is in the bag.”

“Bob, after this deal, you’re going to be able to put enough money away to put Sally, Suzy and Timmy through college.”

 

When dealing with individuals, try to show the value is some non-obvious arena.  Perhaps explain how the deal will help their family or maybe how it will improve them socially somehow.

 

            “Jim, after this, not only are you going to retire, but now you and you wife can take that trip to Spain and renew your wedding vows like she wanted.”

            “Jane, once we do this, you’ll see how much respect the rest of the team gives you.  You’ll see how much more authority you’ll get and how better you’ll be positioned in your career for your next move.”

            “Bob, you’ll see how this is going to give you the time to spend with your kids.”

           

Yes, this may seem odd or awkward, but it will be very effective when up against the standard.  In addition, with so much competition for deals, most of the deals your prospect sees are good deals!  So will yours really stand out enough to spur action without a special way of showing the value?  Odds are not in your favor.

 

So, how do you know what personal or other arena items will be affected?  You must avoid the standard presentations of:

 

            Here’s our history/misson

            Here’s our credentials/what we know

            Here’s who we’ve worked with

            Here’s what we will do for you

 

And move to: 

 

            Here’s what most people like you want – how about you?

            OK.  Here’s what you are going to get

            Here’s why it matters to you

 

We have to gain deep rapport and ask personal questions, veiled as standard, to get real reasons.  Not easy, but worth it.  And, it’s one of the best ways to get someone to ACT.

 

Good luck!

 

Larry

 

I Love You

"I love you!"  That's what everyone wants to hear from their customers.  But how do we get that feeling?  How do we get our clients to love us.  Give them great service, right?  Nope!  They still complain and may even leave for another vendor.  Is there a process?

Well, we must NOT assume that being polite and replying to requests quickly is the answer.  That's nice, but not the answer.  How many times have you jumped through rings of fire for your client just to have them want more!  That's the trite drivel that is taught in dozens of books and most customer service classes, but that doesn't make it right.  That does make those books and classes profitable!  A valuable attribute, however, that doesn't help us.  So, what to do?

One (BEFORE THE INITIAL MEETING)- When you first approach your client, approach them as an expert.  This means treating the entire process like it is an equal and fair exchange and NOT like they are doing you a favor by "giving" you the work.  This requires a serious attitude change for many of us, which unfortunately cannot be accomplished on a blog!  In any case, for those of you not there yet, remember that your prospect is missing the time, resources and/or expertise that you have, otherwise they wouldn't be talking to you.  So, you are filling a need.  No favors are being done here.  Embracing this idea will help you project your power effectively and help them respect your benefits.

Two (DURING YOUR PITCH) - Be clear about the BENEFIT that they are going to get, NOT the details of what you are going to do!  Too often we spend time "justifying" our work/price by showing or telling the prospect all the work we are going to do.  At their core, they don't care at all!  They care about the result. If we don't OVER emphasis the result, they wind up judging us on the work/time instead.  This is always bad.  One - customers don't like paying for your time, they like paying for results . Two - if they pay for your time/work, you are creating an "Employee" situation and many times they will begin to micro -manage and find problems.  Nope!  You are not the expert anymore! They are!  You're just another of their employees.  In fact, you're an expensive one that they they need to get the maximum from! So, avoid this by pushing BENEFITS, not activity!

Three (THE FINAL PRODUCT) - Ensure that you provide them with at least the STATED BENEFIT.  Well, duh, right?  Wrong!  Many times we do not!  Instead we give them lots more on another arena.  Usually one that they didn't even ask about, but we thought we'd "take car of them."  They wanted A, B and C.  We gave them A, B, D, E, F, G, H, I and J.  Look at all they got!  They should be happy right?  Nope!  They say what happened to C?  We say but you got D,E,F,G,H,I and J!  They are unhappy and want us to do C for free!  So, DO NOT do ANY EXTRA, until you complete the minimum.  You will NOT get bonus points unless you complete the minimum.

Four (DURING SERVICE/DELIVERY)- Verbally paint a picture of their success.  Use success stories of other clients, invoking social proof.  This pre-dispossess them to success.   Also, if you need to give them bad news, be sure to also have good news with it. AND ALWAYS END ON GOOD NEWS and/or a solution.  Bad normal example "I'm so sorry.  This is totally my fault.  We are going to be two days late.  The XYZ segment is trashed.  I hope this doesn't totally destroy your schedule."  Way better example - "The XYZ segment will be delayed.  This will push the schedule back two days.  But it will ensure that this is perfect.  You'll get the same benefit and the segment will be exactly what you need, perfected to your specs."  In addition, if you have to say you are sorry, see the "I Hate You!" Blog from March.

Five (END GAME)- Now do an awesome job.  As long as you followed 1-4, you can OVER-DELIVER and blow them away with how wonderful you are.  Here's a very important piece.  Once they have received your product/service and are happy, ask for a referral. If they pass you on to someone else, they will naturally sing your praises and say how they LOVE YOU!

Larry

I hate you!

“I hate you!”  That’s what people often hear when someone doesn’t agree with their feelings, views or ideas.  Really?  Yes!  Very often people tie their ego and/or self respect to these.  So when you make an error and say something in direct opposition to your prospect or client, what do you do when you see that look of horror?  What can you do when you think, “Great, I really messed this deal up.”? 

You do NOT want to say, “I’m so sorry!”  OK, you’re thinking that you’re reading the musings of a madman again.  Well, you are, but the statement is still accurate.

If you just announce that you are sorry, you have compounded the error.  Your apology will not be believed, their hatred of you will be validated and an awkwardness will linger in the room like a full elevator that all of a sudden has “funny smell” and the next floor just can’t get here soon enough. 

So, what to do?  You’ve just made someone angry.  The root of anger is usually loss of respect and/or loss of control.  So, you have to give those back.  In addition, you’ve just made a statement that is now linked to you!  You have to justify this somehow, because it won’t go away easily.  What does that mean?

Situation:  While in front of your prospect, who (unknown to you so far) absolutely loves “Star Trek”, you get carried away and say something, like, “I was just down in the hall and I saw some “Trekkies” (using your fingers to make quotes in the air) all dressed up. Aren’t those people silly?”  Your prospect replies dryly, “I think Star Trek has done a lot for our culture and I actually attended the conference last year.”

You now realize that you’ve made a serious blunder and want Scotty to beam you up!  You see the look on his face and you know your deal just got “phasered” into pieces. (Is that enough Star Trek references?)

Step one:         Broaden the blow

“You know Jim, I just don’t like any clubs or fads.  They all just seem like ways to put people into boxes and to judge them.” (As you just blatantly did!)

-         This will make your comment seem a little less personal and soften the blow.

Step two:           Grant respect

“Really, you think that much of Star Trek?  OK, obviously there are exceptions.  I guess I was wrong about that.”

-         This is giving him back some respect

Step three:     Validate his feelings by taking responsibility and giving him power

“Wow! That must have made you feel bad.  I was way off.” 

               -           This reduces his anger even more

Step four:         NOW say you’re sorry (You were waiting for it, weren’t you?)

“Jim, I’m really sorry about that.”

               -           Now it’s far more believable and easier to hear.  It also shows that you are not sorry that he heard it – you are sorry that you said it!   Big difference!

Step five:          Grant him control by actually asking for forgiveness

“Is that, OK?”

               -           This allows him the power to forgive and gets him to get back into a ‘Yes’ mode.

Step six:           Show how it won’t happen again, because you took his feelings seriously

“Good.  I need to check out these clubs before I say anything again”

Step seven:    Move on like it never happened, close the deal and collect your money!

“Ok, so you see the value here in our plan, right?”

Step eight:     NEVER BRING IT UP AGAIN.  NEVAH!  NEVAH-EVAH!

If at any point during these seven steps, he wants to talk to explain why Star Trek is great or why he felt hurt or why you are a “mak'dar” or anything else - shut up, and listen intently.  You messed up, so give him the floor.  Once there is a lull, get back into the steps wherever you left off and continue until you get to step 8.

End Transmission--- yih-Ghom-HAH!

Larry