4. Be the person the buyer wants you to be. Mirror them.
Now that rule #3 has you acting like a generally likeable joke-telling, ass-pecking ball of confidence (I know, the worst stereotypes of sales person. But stereotypes don’t form in a vacuum), it’s time to tailor yourself towards mimicking the buyer’s favorite person. Namely, themselves.
Did you ever notice that - despite the fact that all of your friends and coworkers dress and act alike - everyone else is a follower? The high school cafeteria was divided between jocks, nerds, goths, drama kids, skaters, and thugs with each group pointing towards the others as mindless sheep. It turns out that we all haven’t grown up as much as we’d like to think, because the same trend continues in the workplace. People choose to associate with (and buy from) those who best reflect themselves, so the best sales people are social chameleons capable of tweaking their persona to fit in with the cool kids…whatever that means at the time.
The speed and tone of your voice pattern should match those of the person you’re essentially trying to impress while your body language should reflect their mood and interest level. A guy leaning forward speaking a million miles an hour is not going to be enthralled by a guy leaning backwards with his arms crossed saying only the minimum to avoid silence. Just the same as a lady dressed in the latest fashion is not going to take seriously the young lady across the table wearing her grandmother’s smeared lipstick. Don’t pitch a guy talking jive without breaking a few linguistic rules of your own, and don’t come at the country crowd with a greaseball schtick. Cater to your audience.
Warning: Know and acknowledge your limitations. Most sales people were the cool kids at some point, but some things just can’t be faked. As a native New Yorker raised amongst Jews who all thought they were in the mob, I made a great living clowning myself to the yokels in Georgia while selling high-end residential outdoor lighting in college. Now I’ve adapted a customizable non-regional drawl to let the Southern folk know I’m familiar, but there were a few years when “Don’t let the gold chain scare you. I’m really a nice guy.” was all I had. If you can’t join em, make em laugh at your differences.
5. Start memorable. Stay memorable.
After every sales call I listen to, I ask the sales rep the same question: What made you memorable on that call? This is something I will come back to time after time as the key to all successful sales engagements. There has got to be something striking in your interactions that the buyer mentally references in a positive light every time their mind engages in this buying decision.
It could be that you were the most knowledgeable, charismatic, humorous, helpful, informative, patient, or relentless person they spoke with in the hunt for making their best purchasing decision. Maybe you told a story or joke they'd like to tell as their own. Perhaps you went the extra mile explaining your proposal down to the most minute level of understanding. Something as simple as honest sincerity amongst a storm of hardline sales pitches could be all that it takes to differentiate yourself.
"I don't know" and "Can you find out" are great opportunities to show that you're willing to do research and go the extra mile. Embrace every opportunity to become an ally and resource. Even small favors are memorable.
It is your duty as a sales professional to ensure the prospect or customer remembers speaking with you. Constantly ask yourself what you are doing to be memorable and you will never be forgotten.
6. Always be approachable. Always be interested.
Sales people are never interrupted by customers or potential customers. They only have pleasant surprises.
They say “Sorry”, you say “It’s not a problem.” They say "I hope I'm not bothering you", you say "You'd could only be a bother if you conferenced in my mother-in-law." You get the point.
Sales people don’t accept apologies from the people that pay their bills. We reject them as unnecessary. Now is never a bad time.
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