In the Part I of this series, Selling is Like Dating, we looked at the five lessons from dating: finding potential dates, making a good first impression, showing genuine interest in your date, nurturing the relationship and proposing.
In this second and final part of the series, we are going to discuss how to recognise whether your date is interested or not.
Are they interested in you?
Sales, like dating, requires a lot of investment: time, emotions and effort. On the part of prospects (potential customers), some of them may well play some of the sales games that some of our dates play. Because of that, it is very important for you as a salesperson to possess that ‘sixth sense’ to see whether your prospect is “pulling for” you or not interested.
Let me tell you a story to illustrate my point. When I was in my final year in the university, I dated, or I thought I was dating a beautiful lady. The relationship kind of continued during our National Service with no breakthrough. Everything stalled.
I was frustrated the process was not making any progress. My calls were not returned, she failed to show up at my company’s launch when she promised to do so, I wasn’t given any forthright answers to my request to discuss the next step in our relationship, she wasn’t honest about the fact that there was someone else she had an eye for, and even played ‘hard to get’ at times.
As one can imagine, I wasn’t getting much in terms of feedback from my date. I recall on Valentine’s Day I walked to Placito to buy a card for her. I remember vividly the message on that card: “Just pull for me.” To cut a long story short, she never “pulled for” me.
So here’s how to tell if potential customers are “pulling for” you:
1. You have an open communication with them based on mutual respect and interest. They will return your calls and respond to your emails. They pay attention to what you have to say in terms of your solution and trust what you tell them.
These are signs that the potential customer is “pulling for” you. On the contrary if they don’t return your calls and emails; they make excuses for not reverting; they are always in meetings; and most importantly they are not being frank with you, then they are most likely not “pulling for” you.
2. They freely discuss “privilege” information and provide insight about their industry, company, competitors and themselves. Potential customers who are eager to provide answers to questions about their pain, needs and wants are admitting to you that they have challenges which have to be resolved by your solution.
Generally you feel an openness/warmth between you and the potential customer, and you find yourselves agreeing with each other. They are open to your suggestions even though they may not necessarily be in agreement with them.
All these mean they trust you and it is a great sign that they are “pulling for” you. On the other hand, if answers to your questions are not forthcoming and candid, they might not be “pulling for” you.
3. They are committed to move on to the next step to continue the sales process conversation. This could involve follow-up appointments and meetings to firm up matters of mutual interest. Clearly, this is a sign that they’re “pulling for” you.
However, a failure to move the sales conversation to the next step is the beginning of a world of frustrations for you the salesperson. It simply suggests that the potential customer is not “pulling for” you. It’s stalled, just like my experience.
You’ll notice a lot of effort from your side with no response from the other end. When you reach them, they give you their assurances that “they’re still interested” and when you press to ask about specific timelines, their responses are usually vague.
They are either playing a game of hide-and-seek, playing hard to get or not interested. The fact is that, they may be shopping around to see what else they may get from your competitor or already committed to someone else.
They may string you along knowing in their minds that they already have an alternative solution to yours, but don’t want you to go away yet, because in the event of it not working out, you serve as a fall-back plan.
4. They are visibly excited to see you when you meet them in person with body language playing more than 50 per cent of the communication. Their arms are opened in a welcoming manner; they shake your hands firmly, make eye contact and smile. When you move, they adjust their posture to match yours.
This means they are “pulling for” you. Contrast this with a situation where your date (potential customer) speaks to you with arms folded accompanied with curt “yes” or “no” answers to all your questions. They may not even make eye contact with you.
This is a “clear and present” indication to you that they won’t “pull for” you. Once you get a sense of a lack of interest, the recommended action is to end the conversation politely. Flee before you get involved in a rat race.
Conclusion
Just like dating, there is a tall list of reasons for potential customers (dates) not “pulling for” you and it’s important for salespeople to recognise the cues and abandon the process.
Don’t act desperate: cut out the phone calls and emails; stop begging for another meeting. As a matter of fact, dump them! As illustrated in my failed dating example, it’s not worth it to spend time on a relationship that is going nowhere, especially when you’re honest, show respect and share information. GB
The writer is the C.E.O of Salesmark Services. He is also a Sales Consultant, Trainer & Coach For a FREE Consultation,
you can reach him at ,E-mail:
