Three Tips for Sales Success
Following the rule of three, here are a few things you can try to boost your sales success.
Keep it simple.
Usually, sales people sell their product by discussing features and benefits until their blue in the face.
There is a great episode of Seinfeld where George’s realizes if he always ends on a high note, he always leaves his audience wanting more. Take George’s queue, and inform your prospect about three of the most important features or benefits of your product. And let them digest it.
In a recent post, Seth Godin explains that three is a magic number because it is manageable, memorable and actionable. So don’t overload your prospects with too much information.
Lighten up.
Telling someone to develop their sense of humor may seem about as helpful as telling someone they should grow a few inches. But using humor as part of your sales process loosens people up and makes you seem more human. You don’t have to have a stand-up act memorized. Just make small talk and pull off a few one liners and you’ll begin to see a difference.
Rethink your purpose.
Instead of thinking that the point of a sale is to make money, think differently about your purpose. Here are some pointers from Charles Green of Trusted Advisor Associates.
• The purpose of business is to add value where none existed
• The purpose of selling is to jointly articulate and point the way to greater value
• Closing reflects agreement on a common view of the greater value to be created
• Objections vaguely indicate lack of agreement on a view of a greater value to be created.
Change is good. A few tweaks to your routine could greatly improve your results. So try to implement a few simple changes each month and see where it takes you.
Comments
Interesting article. I think it is important to note that none of those three things exist in a direct agent like Geico. If money isnt enough motivation for a long term relationship between a client and a direct agent than we usually see people come back to us because of one of those 3 issues. Its also nice when your insurance agent knows you and remembers something of the last conversation you might have had.
Posted by: Aaron Wallrich | October 1, 2007 02:48 PM
Aaron: Insurance is an intangible. People are most apt to purchase from 'competent people that they -like'. Breaking an emotional bond goes against nature. You're correct in citing the emotional element. So hard to put a 'money value' on this...JP
Posted by: Anonymous | October 4, 2007 06:23 PM
Thanks for the comments guys. We preach about this a lot on the insurance blog, but that's because it's so important to an agent's sales success.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 5, 2007 07:45 AM
My agent had me at "Hi, hehe"
Posted by: Anonymous | October 9, 2007 12:17 AM