Engaging in small talk is the easiest way to start engaging with your customers. Examples of small talk are as simple as talking about football, fishing, or an activity your customer is passionate about. Have the customer talk to you and use active listening skills.
I like this ability as a cornering, similar to how a sheepdog can corner a crowd of sheep without disturbing them.
A trained professional salesperson can direct the customer’s conversation to achieve the goal with the customer moving forward without objection and actually wanting to do so. This requires a lot of skill.
The ability to relate is a difficult skill to master as it is a ‘feel like’ skill and includes communication, recognition and empathy. Many salespeople when asked why they got into sales say it’s because they like people. As important as this may be, it is only one part of your relationship with your customer. Rapport is the “like people” part and the talk of relating. This can limit a salesperson’s ability to just that part of the relationship: the “communication.”
These salespeople don’t reap the benefits of using recognition and empathy in their dialogue. A great example of this was a recent training exercise I ran for a Real Estate office. During this training, the sales group was confronted by an angry customer who said, “You talk in jargon and promise things you never deliver, how do you expect me to understand, let alone believe, what you’re telling me?”
Salespeople were asked to respond to this customer with empathy. Salespeople had trouble responding with empathy, and instead their responses were defensive, like ‘what part of what I said didn’t you understand?’ This type of response without empathy creates more dissent.
Finally, after many attempts, the sellers started to get the idea and finally came to “I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you and I certainly didn’t mean to confuse you by using jargon, I’m very glad you brought it to my attention, now that specifically. …?
Recognition and empathy are very powerful skills that need to be continually honed, as they go numb the fastest. While questions can be empathetic in tone, they can never replace empathy or acknowledgment. An example of this is when a customer tells you about a problem. A good salesperson may ask, “How did you handle that?” A great salesperson, on the other hand, would present the question with empathy, conveying concern, and more importantly, encourage a more complete response, eg, “I’m sorry to hear that,” followed by the question.
Empathy and recognition are important in an active dialogue. However, empathy goes beyond recognition by showing concern for the customer and, when used correctly, can create a personal bond. Some salespeople find it difficult to express empathy. Some may empathize but are uncomfortable communicating it, and others go overboard and make the client feel uncomfortable. Empathy is a good balancing act.
Expressing caring and concern verbally can help lower a customer’s defenses, and when used by great salespeople, it will break down the customer’s defenses and make them very persuasive.
WARNING: EMPATHY MUST BE GENUINE.
Today’s savvy customers easily pick up on false empathy.
Use these pencil sharpeners:
To recognize: Verbally acknowledge what your customer has said
Empathize: Be genuine when your customer is upset, excited, or emotional
Relationship: Plan and rehearse how you will build a relationship, practice with your friends and colleagues, this is the first step in building a relationship.