Technique Ten: "Mirror" Your Customer's Senses

This one is a subtle but extremely powerful technique. Everyone responds to sound, sight and feelings in our world. But usually people relate to one of these senses more than others. When your customer is talking, notice whether she uses more visual references or sound references? Perhaps she speaks in terms of feeling. For example, your prospect is telling you about a show she saw. Does she talk about how beautiful the costumes looked? How great the music sounded? Or perhaps how the moving story made her feel? Another customer is talking about a recent skiing trip. Does he tell you the snow was "blindingly white?" (sight) Maybe he tells you about how the mountain slopes were "so quiet?" (sense of sound) Or is he talking about how "brisk and cold" the day was? (feeling)

Your customers don't know this, but they are handing you a key to relating to them on a subconscious level. They've revealed which sense they respond to most - seeing, hearing or feeling. For deeper rapport, describe your experiences in terms of your customer's most powerful faculty. And, if you can, talk about your merchandise using that same sense.

Technique Eleven: Check Out The Last Sale

Has the customer bought any other merchandise or service from you? Inquire about how the previous product is doing before saying one word about what you now want to sell them. Your inquiry sends out a powerful message that, if anything is wrong after they've made their purchase, you're the person they can come back to. They get the subliminal message that they can depend on you for sale follow-up. And that makes them want to buy from you the next time.

Technique Twelve: Co-Sign Their Complaints

Your customer is complaining about a situation that maybe, just maybe, your merchandise could help. Be grateful. Be glad. Be silent. See their problem in your imagination. Mega-listen. Let your body sympathize. Then, when they seem to be out of steam, wind them up again and let them complain a little more. Resist the temptation to jump in with your sales pitch.

Technique Thirteen: Sell Solutions

Who said you can't buy happiness? That's what every sale is. People do not buy products. They buy pleasure. They do not buy services. They buy solutions. In short, people buy happiness. That happiness may come in the form of avoiding pain, solving a problem, making their life easier, or giving them peace of mind, pleasure, or prestige. But every sale boils down to buying happiness. If you have asked your customer long form questions and really listened to his voice and his body, you should now have a clear idea of your customer's problems and how he defines happiness. Don't simply describe your merchandise or service. Paint a word picture of the happiness it will give him. Talk about how it will benefit his life. Depict the problems it will solve, the peace of mind or prestige it will give him, or how it will make his existence easier. Furthermore, describe the situation using words from your customer's world (echoing). Aim at your customer's heart through the physical senses they most respond to (mirroring). And sprinkle that magic word, "you," liberally throughout your conversation (comm-YOU-nicate).

Technique Fourteen: Sow Seeds For The Next Sale

OK, the sale is closed. Congratulations. Not so fast - your work isn't over yet. Most salespeople smile, mentally pack up their briefcase, and think of that as the end. But it's just the beginning. In almost every industry, the profit margin on repeat sales is significantly higher than first sales. So now is the time to plant the seeds for the next sale. Is your next potential sale worth two minutes of your time on the phone? Invite the customer to give you a call in a few weeks to tell you how he's getting along with his new purchase. In your customer's eyes, that makes you a consultant, not a vendor. You become a friend, not a salesperson. And even if your merchandise isn't quite as good as the competition's, your customer's heart will convince his head that it is. And his heart will direct his head to buy from you, again and again.

FL