The stellar selling conversationalist
She's successful in her field. She makes a good living. She considers herself a stellar conversationalist. She loves to talk. She loves talking so much, in fact, that she talks even after she has said that she must go do something else. Instead of going and doing it, she remains on the phone or in the room, and talks some more. She talks when the person she is talking to is talking. She talks about things that matter not at all to the other person. She chatters on and on, entertaining herself by talking about all things that come to mind - in great detail.
She went into sales because she loves to hear herself talk.
What a shame that selling is not about talking. It's about having a successful two-way interaction where both people are active, willing participants, trying to arrive at a mutually agreeable outcome. A successful sales conversation is courteous and efficient. The customer does most of the talking, especially at first. The salesperson asks questions in order to prompt the customer's explanation of his needs, and to make sure he understands the customer's needs completely. Then, he provides the information that the customer is seeking. They continue the exchange until it is obvious that the customer has come to the right place. Then it's time to take the order.
Think about your most engaging conversations. They are uplifting, energizing, and informative. You are eager to hear what the other person has to say. It makes you think, it gives you pleasure to listen, and to be heard. When you say something profound, the other person recognizes its importance, and pauses to think about it. When the other person says something intriguing, you have the same reaction. You both do plenty of thinking as you converse, because the information interchange is stimulating and useful.
Contrast that with your least engaging conversations. Within the first few minutes, it's obvious that you won't be participating, either as a talker or a listener. You have no interest in the subject - her - and she really doesn't care. She's going to tell you anyway. And, if you try to get a word in edgewise - especially in an attempt to change the subject - she will grudgingly let you say a few words and then take you right back to her favorite topic. Most of the conversation is about her - what someone did to her, how she felt about it, how she got even, and how she made them feel. Yada, yada, yada. You may as well be an empty box with ears painted on the sides. You are only a bit player in her psychodrama.
People who only love to hear themselves talk never stop long enough to listen - and consequently lose plenty of opportunities to make sales. So often, a customer is trying to give the salesperson some essential information, but the talker refuses to hear it. He's too busy trying to make a good impression, or talk about something that happened to him the other day, or someone who upset him, or something he knows about that he can't wait to tell anyone who will listen.
Talkers often ignore the customer's question when they should be answering it. The customer asks about one aspect of the product, and but the salesperson starts yammering on about something else. The conversation becomes one-way, with the customer losing interest (and becoming irritated). Meanwhile, the salesperson thinks that he's being exceedingly clever, talking so knowledgeably about the subject he's chosen to talk about.
The successful sales conversation - a rare art form
The successful sales conversation is an art, one that requires discipline, patience, attentiveness, and kindliness. It has a certain rhythm, a natural flow. Like two friends talking, who know each other well - and respect each other.
The successful sales conversation requires that the salesperson learn everything he can about the customer's needs, without the customer feeling like the conversation has turned into an interrogation. The trick is to ask the questions that must be asked for proper "discovery," but to ask them in a way that fits naturally into the conversation. By the end of the conversation, all "discovery" should be complete, but not because the salesperson followed a script.
Scripts are obvious, boring, and rude. The customer doesn't feel like he is talking to a real person, but rather to a committee of corporate twerps who wrote the script. He's being forced down the wrong path, rather than the direction he knows the conversation must take in order for him to get what he came for.
Sales conversations sound ok to the sales manager because he hears only one side of the conversation. He never hears the silent groans from the other end. He never sees the victim sorting through his email and rolling his eyes, as the salesperson chats away.
The chatterbox will talk to every person in the same way, because she's only interested in having someone to talk to, rather than having a conversation that is interesting and helpful to the other person. She won't speed up for the "super efficient" customer, who wants to get the answers quickly, and come to a decision. She won't adjust to the stream-of-consciousness customer who also has a need to talk. Each conversation has a rhythm, and it is the customer who must set the rhythm if the call is to be successful.
Too many sales coaches talk about controlling the customer, or insist that salespeople follow a script. But both of these methods miss the essence of a successful sales conversation. The customer is the star, and the customer is hoping to engage in a meaningful conversation with the salesperson.
Have you listened to your salespeople lately? Are they chatting away, ignoring the hints that the customer is dropping? Or, are they stilted and awkward, slowing the conversation to a crawl while they look something up - and say things like, "Oh, I can never find this information"? Or, are they robotically following a script so closely that the customer decides "I don't have the patience for this," and he finds a way to disengage?
During recessions, every sale is critical. That means every sales conversation must be more successful. Don't be tolerant about the motor mouths in your organization. It's a luxury you cannot afford right now.
