Winston's e-Newsletter - 2 December 2008

Generate prospects: Become a 'H'mmm-er'!

There's a way that if you're in business you can get a conversation started with almost anybody you meet. And when you get the conversation going it will quite often turn the person you've just met into a prospect. So how do you do that? Well, it's really quite simple! You've got to be able to say "H'mmm".

How often have you been somewhere doing the old networking thing and you meet someone? You exchange the normal pleasantries swapping names and occupations. That person you meet seems underwhelmed by the joy of meeting you. In fact they endeavour to make a rapid departure.

Let's give you the scenario here: you're at a cocktail party and, as usual, after you meet somebody they ask, "What do you do?"

Maybe, for example, you explained that you were a mortgage broker so you responded with the quite logical "I'm a mortgage broker."

Regrettably, that doesn't galvanise them into instant action and get them saying, "Golly, I've just been dying to meet somebody who does that". Generally, they stifle a yawn, show total disinterest and go on and say, "That's interesting, who won the cricket?"

That's when you've got to have a question which excites their curiosity and is likely to be answered affirmatively. For example, you could say, "By the way, do you have a mortgage?" knowing that there's probably around an 80% chance that they will.

If their answer is in the affirmative, you look serious, keep your lips together and say "H'mmm". Yes that's right! You look serious and say "H'mmm".

Most people know that when a professional says "H'mmm" there's more information, generally bad, to come, and curiosity makes them say, "What's wrong?" I'll give you London to a brick, once your "H'mmm" is finished they will show concern or interest and say something along the lines of, "Why what's the matter?" or "What's the problem?"

Then you've got to have a response like, "Well, if you're like many people with a mortgage, you're probably making three simple mistakes that are costing you money…" which will excite their curiosity and have them lusting to know more or, at least, find out what the mistakes are.

From then on you can explain those mistakes which will build your expertise and creditability in their eyes. Do it right and you may well gain yourself a new client or, at the very least, start a great business relationship.

Remember, people don't buy what they need… they buy what they want. If there's no reason for them to think about your products or services they won't think about them and they won't be in the market for them… they may need them but they don't want them.

You have to disturb them by unearthing a need and helping them make the transition to what they want.

So, if you are a chiropractor what would you say? It could be "Tell me, do you get the occasional headache?" and, when they nod, you 'hmmm' them and go on and say "Well occasional headaches aren't normal and they maybe a sign of…"

If you are a fitness coach you might say, "Incidentally, do you have a sweet tooth?" and, when they nod, you 'hmmm' them and go on and say "You know that a sweet tooth really makes it difficult to…"

Now to do this confidently and competently you need to really empathise with the people who are likely to be prospects for you. You've got to understand them by "walking in their moccasins" so that you can almost always ask them a question that they'll answer and then want to know why you said "H'mmm".

One last thought! It really doesn't matter how they answer the question you ask because you can almost always 'h'mmm' it and come at it from the opposite direction.

For example, if the person had said they didn't have a mortgage, the 'h'mmm' would still have been the same but the response the mortgage broker would give becomes "Well, if you're like many people who don't have a mortgage, you're probably making three simple mistakes that are costing you money…"

 

Telling people nicely

Unattended or misbehaving kids cause retailers grief continually. How to handle them and get parents to control them is something every retailers thinks about constantly. Here's a nice effort.

Did it work? Who knows? One wonders coz you might have noticed that parents never think that their kid is a problem.

 

Avoiding the dangers of tearoom talk

Retail expert, Jurek Leon www.terrifictrading.com has vast experience in the area of customer service. Jurek adheres to the slogan that 'loose lips sink ships' and recently discussed the dangers of what he calls 'tearoom talk'.

According to Jurek, tearoom talk occurs when a member of the team has had a bad experience with a customer whether it is over the phone or face to face. As we all have a need to release stress, it is natural that the team member concerned would want to discuss the incident. The person concerned gets into the tearoom and typically will start a conversation with something like:

'You wouldn't believe the customer I just had.'

The team member will then proceed to discuss how rude and arrogant the customer was, complaining about how hard done by they feel etc.

Usually they don't get any further before one of the other people in the tearoom cuts in and says something like "Oh, that's nothing, you should have heard the woman I had on the phone yesterday…"

This person will go through an account of what had taken place the day before, before a third person in the tearoom interrupts. This person's story will begin with "You guys…that's nothing…"

It then becomes a case of who can come up with the worst customer of the month scenario. This invariably means that somebody who is sitting there quietly, having a cup of tea and relaxing, recovering their spirits to get back into the fray, suddenly becomes de-motivated by this talk. This type of talk effectively undoes all positive customer service sessions that the team has been involved in and creates an 'us' versus 'them' mentality at work.

The question is how do we then get a negative customer experience out of our system without creating a negative morale at work?

Jurek says that it's OK to discuss the experience but recommends referring to the customer by name and ending on a positive note. By ending the story with something like "You know I'm really pleased. I didn't let that person upset me, I'm really proud of myself" will create a different atmosphere in the tearoom.

It's all about getting on side with our customers.

 

If you missed the Teleseminar

You may know that every 6 weeks or so Winston presents a 60 minute TeleSeminar chock-a-block full of his great marketing and business ideas on topics that are often demanded by our clients. Each TeleSeminar is recorded. So, if you missed any of them you can get the CD and the comprehensive supporting notes (a gold mine of value in themselves) for them from our website. The titles available are:

How to be BIG on Customer Service,
How to generate an Avalanche of Customers,
How to sell BIG! and
How to Write a Yellow Pages Advert that Pulls Like Crazy!

You'll find all the details and you can order them here.

 

Another commercial

Every edition of this e-zine I include a television or cyberspace commercial that's caught my eye. Sometimes they are just great; sometimes they're just plain funny (whether they get a message across is another thing); sometimes they're in another language but the message is clear; sometimes they're just bold or over the top; sometimes they're ones you just wouldn't see on our screens; and sometimes I reckon they're ones where the client or the agency is having a lend of themselves. Here's another one for you to make up your mind about.

 

Business Growth Centre
ABN: 96 709 037 261
Postal: 110 Coleman Road, Boronia, Vic, 3155, Australia
Phone: +613 9887 5511   Fax: +613 9887 5581

This newsletter is being sent to: email@isp.com

 

You are receiving this Newsletter because you asked to be subscribed, or attended a Seminar, or purchased a product. If you no longer wish to hear from us, unsubscribe here

 

If you received this newsletter through a friend and wish to subscribe yourself, go here.