Speak to your listener's internal mental C-Suite. Every listener has two decision-making modes
regarding your product or service. The
occupants of that C-Suite are the listener's left and right brain. You must talk to both to win business. The left brain is the analytical
decision-maker: requiring data, logic, proof statements and facts. The right brain is the emotional
decision-maker: responding to images, feelings, and associations. You "tell"
the left brain; you "show" and "involve" the right. Tell them about your service but then show
them how it works and involve where possible. Use examples, stories, metaphors,
and analogies to help them "see" what you are explaining.
Use imagery from your listener's world, not yours. As one friend of mine used to say, would you
rather look at pictures of my kids or pictures of your kids? People relate to what they know first, before they will relate to what
you know. If you use a sports analogy,
make sure they are familiar with the sport. If you use an example, make it one
to which they can relate. Find out what they know, love, or have experienced
and use those worlds as the basis for your examples and metaphors.
Replace text with images in presentations. People are drowning in text
messages, upwards of 3000 a day, from the media, PDAs, email, advertisements,
memos, etc. The brain tunes out as much
as possible of all these, if only to survive.
But visuals rise above that flood.
They stand out and stick in the right brain and they bring with them a
raft of associations. Remember, the
landing of the US Airways plane on the Hudson River
in June 2009? Remember where you were the day you were married? The day your first child was born? The morning of 9/11? Images instantly conjure feelings and add
meaning to your information.
You've seen a lot of great presentations and many that fail to connect. What are some of the common mistakes made by sellers?
Not preparing properly. Selling is a relationship, similar to teaching,
dating, parenting and managing. If you
come unprepared, then your message will be off, your visual examples and
metaphors won't work, and you will lose the trust and respect of your
prospects.
Not being authentic. No one likes
a phony in friendship, dating, parenting, etc., so why suddenly be inauthentic
in a sales situation? If you are
confused about a person's point of view, ask them to clarify it. If you are surprised by an opinion,
acknowledge it, and ask how the prospect came by that opinion. Only then, can you offer counter arguments
and appropriate examples and analogies to help them see a different point of
view.
Not listening. Too often, salespeople come in with a clear picture in
their heads of what the client needs and wants, when, in fact, the client may
have a very different picture in mind of the same situation. Listen first. Then, talk.
And finally what three pieces of advice do you offer my readers?
Don't be afraid to be creative in presenting: use props to make a point;
grab pen and piece of paper and sketch out your solution; spice up your PowerPoint
with unusual photos or cartoons related to your story. Be as visual as possible
to be remembered and to make your point.
Become a "Metaphorian." Listen
and observe how others use metaphors in speeches, in the media, in sports. You cannot get through the business section
or sports sections of a paper without encountering metaphors and analogies,
e.g., "an economic Pearl Harbor," "wiped out
at the finish." Save them for use in a future presentation or selling
situation.
Always be seeking fresh
perspectives and new ideas beyond your own industry. The world is changing rapidly and what
happens in one domain either affects what happens in yours or can trigger ideas
for you to apply in yours. Stay up on cutting edge thinking on sites like
Ted.com or subscribe to free newsletters like mine, The Metaphor Minute, which
shows how others use the power of verbal visualization - metaphors - to close
deals, win support for ideas, and be unforgettable.
For more tips like the above, sign up for Annes monthly The Metaphor Minute www.annemiller.com, and visit her blog www.annemiller.com/blog.
