Legendary Basketball Coach, John Wooden said, “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.” In sales, the little things make big sales happen. Here are a few little things that you can implement in your sales strategy to produce big differences in your sales results.
Incorporate your customer’s emotions in your sales strategy.
Some salespeople may think customers’ emotions are a very small part of sales strategy. These less successful salespeople might think that way. That’s because they are unaware of the impact their customer’s mood can have on their sales results. Being aware of your customer’s emotions and using that information should be part of your sales strategy.
Emotions and what they mean are discussed in “Emotional,” a recent book by physicist and author, Leonard Mlodinow. He says sadness is a signal to the brain that something is wrong, and puts us in an analytical frame of mind. This mood makes it better to solve problems. Notice this mood when you have a problem to solve with your customer.
Happiness expands our thinking and boosts creativity. Do you have a presentation when your customer’s open mind is important? His happiness and creative thinking might be useful during your presentation.
Anxiety keeps us on alert for danger. Anger strengthens resolve to get our due. It might not be the best time to present a new idea or proposal when a customer is anxious or angry.
Use your listening skills to hone your sales strategy.
Listening seems like such a simple, small thing to do. The skill of listening well isn’t such a simple, small task in sales. Most successful salespeople listen not only to what their customers are saying. They listen to how they say it, understand the clues and interpret what those clues mean.
Successful salespeople listen to their customers’ voice pace, volume and tone. They mirror what they hear and understand that fast talkers are more assertive and decisive while slow talkers are less assertive. Decision making is slower for them. Loud talkers are more assertive while softer speakers are less assertive. A more monotone speaker is more comfortable with facts, data and information. A speaker with more tonality prefers to hear about opinions of others.
Working just a little harder than your competitors delivers a big payoff.
Do you think saying no to a customer request is not a big deal? You may have been in sales long enough to hear, “I don’t do that anymore” from a salesperson to a simple, but untimely customer request. I know less successful salespeople whose customers ask for something that is simple to do, but it’s not when the salesperson wants to do it. Think about providing a link to a site or a piece of information. I once heard an experienced salesman tell a very large customer, “I don’t do that anymore” and directed his customer to another contact in his company.
Why would you ever choose to give up an opportunity to serve your customer and build his confidence in you and your work with him?
I spoke with an award-winning real estate professional whose meteoric rise stunned the long-timers in his office. They asked how he was so successful. One of his answers was, “I never tell a customer no when I get calls at 5pm to come see a property 40 miles away. I don’t say I can’t. I tell them I’ll be there in 30 minutes.”
It’s a little thing to avoid saying no to a customer. Your yes responses will get you a big difference in your sales results. I’m not one to argue with Yogi Berra when he said, “Doing the little things can make a big difference.” They certainly do in sales.