Are you skilled in your area but lack sales experience? Do you struggle to make small talk with clients when you first meet them or to ask them for payment for your service or product? If you said yes to either question, you’ll discover helpful tips on becoming more confident in selling in The Introverts Edge.
Matthew Pollard was a horribly shy introvert in his early 20s when he ended up in his first business-to-business sales job. With absolutely no training on how to sell, he went door-to-door to sign up businesses for a new telecom plan.
On the first day, Pollard talked to 93 business owners before he found one who wanted a mobile phone plan. He realized that as an introvert, he couldn’t keep going like this. After watching YouTube videos and improving his method week by week, Pollard managed to reduce his meetings per sale from one deal for every 93 businesses to one signed contract for every three businesses. By refining his approach, he became the top salesperson in his division and the whole company.
In the Introverts Edge, Pollard explains the secret to his sales success was using his introversion to his advantage. Instead of relying on an extrovert’s gift of gab, as an introvert, he had to create a sales process he could easily follow and repeat. Here is an outline of his seven-step process to increase your confidence and your sales.
1) Create trust and set an agenda.
When you first meet a client, Pollard suggests you have three go-to topics for small talk to build rapport from the start. Topics as simple as discussing the weather to how bad the traffic is that morning will help create a bond of trust with the client.
After building a rapport, Pollard suggests you set an agenda for the meeting. This prepares the client so you can ask them probing questions.
2) Ask probing questions.
After you set the agenda, start in with your prepared list of questions. These questions will help you probe for the pain points in their life or business where you can help them. You could ask how much they are paying and how much they use [insert whatever you’re selling]. Is it working for them? Are there any problems with the product or service? Who is having the problems?
Once you determine the pain point, for example, the client is paying too much for a plan they rarely use, you could frame the costs for them. You could illuminate how much money is being spent on an unused plan and couldn’t they use that money elsewhere?
3) Speak to the decision-maker.
Stop before you go any further in the sales process. Make sure you have the right person who can complete the sale with you. Some sales guides suggest this question as the first step, but you could offend someone by asking if they are the decision-maker. They might think they are, even if they need someone else’s input. Moreover, Pollard suggests you build rapport with the first person you meet so they can be your advocate with the decision-maker. You can then ask, “Is there anyone else we need to weigh in on this decision?”
If you are with the right person, you can continue with the next step. Otherwise, your next goal is to set up a meeting with the decision-maker.
4) Use a story to sell.
One of the biggest mistakes in selling is to give customers too much information. Listing features or numerous package choices will only confuse and overwhelm a prospect. Instead of putting on an information seminar, use a story to sell the benefits of your product or service. Have at least three stories prepared you can use.
For example, if you are selling a cheaper phone plan you can tell how using this plan saved a former client money, which they were able to put toward their dream beach vacation. Your current prospect will then think about what they could do with their savings that would have a similar benefit in their life.
5) Use stories to overcome objections.
Sometimes your first story will not hit the mark. So have a couple of stories prepared to overcome common objections you or other salespeople have encountered.
Perhaps your current client doesn’t like to travel. Maybe they don’t want the hassle of changing a service. You could tell a story about how another client had a similar issue and didn’t want to change, but then her service provider changed their plan to make it more expensive without her knowing. Your past client ended up paying more money because she didn’t take the time to change and it’s actually quite easy and you’ll guide them every step of the way.
6) Take their temperature.
After telling your stories, you’ll want to see if your client is ready to move forward. Pollard suggests you could take their temperature by saying something like, “So do you think Plan A or Plan B would work best for you?” If the person agrees to one of the options, then you can move forward to close the sale in the next step.
If the person gets irritated by your assumption, then you could back off and say you were only trying to get more information to help them. Then you could return to asking probing questions.
7) Assume the sale.
Finally, make your move. But don’t ask for the sale—assume the sale. This could be as simple as saying, “Would you be using a credit or debit card to sign up for the plan?” If the person is ready to buy, then the person will give you the information without you ever asking if they want the plan.
You don’t have to be an extrovert to thrive in sales. The key for both introverts and extroverts is to treat the system as a process that gets perfected. No need to feel rejected when someone turns you down. You won’t win every sale, but as you tweak your small talk, probing questions, and connecting stories, you will have more sales than before.