Selling Strategies That Work

It's

2006.

Time

to

Win.

How to Read Your Prospect

By Dave Stein, Author of How Winners Sell

Do you find that, in a critical sales opportunity, you (or your reps) may ask the right questions, but have little or no faith that the answers you are getting from your lower-level contacts are accurate or honest?  Since the questions you are asking are about the decision process, buying criteria, and timing of the decision, among other areas, correct information is key to properly qualifying and then effectively pursuing the opportunity.  (It's also one of the many good reasons to call higher!)

The best way to assure the information a rep is being given is accurate is for the rep to triangulate, extrapolate, and corroborate what they are being told.  Winners know how to do that, resulting in a more accurate picture of what is really happening (as well as being able to discern who is and who is not giving them correct information). 

...

The Basics

Remember the last person you met who didn't make eye contact and what judgment you made from that experience? You also don't have to be a clinically-trained psychiatrist to know that someone sitting across from you with their arms and legs crossed, with their eyebrows furrowed, and lips drawn tight is likely in a closed frame of mind. But there is more to it than that. Facial expressions convey much more of the message than does body positioning or movement. And the eyes have it as the most communicative body part. Learning how to read your prospect takes education, training, and practice; well worth your time as it is the subtle signs that often yield the most information.

As an example, during a recent seminar I ran, the CEO sat in for better part of an hour with her arms and legs crossed. At first I was concerned. But as I continued to observe her, (which takes practice when you are delivering a seminar to a room full of people while you're observing) I noticed that her eyebrows were arched and her eyes wide open, showing genuine interest in the subject. Her head nodded slightly now and then in agreement with certain points. If you viewed a long-distance photograph of her taken at that time, you might have her pigeonholed as defensive or resistant. But she was most definitely not. She was obviously just comfortable in that position. This served as a reminder for me that non-verbal clues are data points that suggest what a person is thinking, rather than being a fool-proof, acid test.
 

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(c) 2005 -- The Stein Advantage, Inc.

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