5 Secrets to wooing a new customer
Today is St Valentine’s Day and many of you may have plans to show appreciation for the people you love or adore.Some of you may have plans to celebrate with your partners with lunch or a romantic dinner.
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For others, it is the perfect day to ask that special person you have been admiring for a first date.Asking a prospect for a first appointment is likened to a first date. There is a lot sales professionals can learn from dating to be successful.
Here are five secrets from dating you might want to apply:
- Finding potential dates
Where do you find the person you potentially want to date? Think about the places where you are likely to meet your ‘ideal’ type of person/date. You may find that person in study groups, at parties, church, mass social/sporting events or dating sites.
In some cases, a go-between (a.k.a betweener) hooks you up with your type of date (person) and in some cultural settings, your parents (family) decide who you should date.
As you can see, the sources of meeting a potential date are endless but the most important thing is for you to carefully define where your type of date (person) is likely to be found. In the same way, sales professionals have a responsibility to generate leads and prospect for potential customers.
The starting point for them is to define their “ideal customer” profile to help narrow down the search. Sales professionals prospect for potential customers by attending all sorts of business, social and sporting events, business association and club meetings, as well as websites.
In some cases, satisfied customers and individuals refer potential customers to sales professionals not forgetting the role of the organisation to assign a potential customer to pursue because it fits into its growth strategy.
- Making a good first impression
So let’s assume your prospecting has paid off and you have been able to achieve common grounds and agreed to see each other again. The first date comes with its excitement, fear of failure or blowing the opportunity.
A lot of time is spent on your appearance – neat and well pressed shirt/dress, polished shoes, as well as the appropriate accessories. You do all the research that needs to be done and above all, you put up your best performance.
You also make sure you show up early just to impress. Immediately after the date, you get in touch with your boy/girl friends to tell them how “great” or “awful” the date was.
If the date didn’t go well, you feel devastated but on the contrary you feel elated if it did go well. A second date means you are officially dating.
Just like dating, sales professionals have to put in a lot of effort preparing for the first sales call. You experience the same emotions and preparations required in approaching the first date.
After the first call, you call your manager or supervisor to tell him/her how the first call went and whether you have agreed a follow-up. A second meeting is great news.A rejection, is of course devastating news, but deal with it and bounce back.
- Show genuine interest in your date
Research shows that the number one “put off” or “peeve hate” for women who are dating is a guy who talks too much about themselves and doesn’t have a listening ear.
Many men in their desire to impress their dates “vomit” on them: dominating 80 per cent of the conversation talking about whom they are, what they own, what they like and all the “I” or “me” talk. They hardly ask their dates questions about their aspirations, needs, desires, what they do etc.
Worse of all, they fail to listen to their dates’ aspirations. The result is that of failure to build a mutually beneficial rapport.
Selling is just like dating. The job of sales professionals when interacting with potential customers is to ask questions to establish needs, aspirations, motives and pain. Listening to and understanding the needs and pain of potential customers allow sales professionals to become successful.
- Nurturing the relationship with your date
So you are officially dating, right? What do you typically do to keep that relationship going? You nurture it by the frequent late night telephone calls, whatsapp messages, handwritten notes, as well as the small gifts – chocolates and so on.
Remember the saying: “Out of sight, out of mind.” In the same way, sales professionals will have to nurture their relationship with their prospects with the view of accelerating them through the sales pipeline.
This includes regular face-to-face contacts, invitations to company events, remembering them on their anniversaries, major milestones and many more. These nurturing activities build familiarity and trust in the relationship.
Just think about the relationship you have with your favourite brand through the continuous ad campaigns, promotions, events and other brand activation activities.
- Proposing to your date when conditions are right
There’s one thing which strikes FEAR in the heart of many men when it comes to dating. And it is the fear of REJECTION.
Think about it, you have spent months dating a guy or lady whom you believe has all the attributes of your perfect partner/spouse. Your date likes you and enjoys your company.
You share the same aspirations and goals; and all the signs point to compatibility. In spite of all the positive signals – body language and words, you are unable to propose.
In the same way, sales professionals have to ultimately ask for the sale when they deal with prospective customers. The end result of every sales process is to close the sale. All you have to do as a salesperson is to ASK! If the answer is YES, that’s good news! If NO, ask why? If there’s no answer to your “why,” it’s a REJECTION. Accept it and move on.
Have a memorable Valentine’s Day!
