For Jane’s 50th birthday, her big surprise gift was an eight-week workshop on Improv comedy for the two of us. Believe me, she was surprised! I thought it would be a great thing to experience together, that we’d meet interesting people and would laugh a lot. Mission accomplished on all fronts! The course concluded with a show at The Funny Bone Comedy Club in Columbus. Working with 10 people in a safe space week after week is different than doing a live show in front of friends, family and strangers, so we were both a little nervous about that. But, we had so much fun we signed up for another course and concluded our second Improv show in late February. As I reflected on the Improv experiences we enjoyed together, I saw interesting parallels between Improv comedy and sales. Even if you don’t consider yourself a salesperson the reality is every one of us sells ideas and ourselves daily. Practice. I can’t imagine reading a few books on Improv or following a blog for a period of time then trying to perform in front of a live audience. Practicing in a safe space with a teacher was a huge confidence builder for all of us. And we learned quite a bit from one another as we observed each other on stage. Salespeople traditionally hate anything remotely close to role-play and think reading about sales or attending a seminar will give them all they need to succeed. Wrong! The more you role-play the more ready you are for a sales call as long as your scenarios are realistic. I’ve also seen where salespeople learn as much, if not more, from each other during the training.Unscripted. Improv is short for improvisational comedy, which is unscripted. When you improvise you are creating in the moment and Improv is all about taking what’s given to you then creating a funny reality. Quite often audience members shout out people, places and things leaving the people on stage to use their imagination to construct a funny scene. You don’t know what will be thrown at you onstage and that’s the same when it comes to sales calls. You don’t know exactly what might come up before, during or after a sales call. You don’t know what objections you might be hit with so you need to be comfortable responding in the moment. The longer you’re in sales the more situations and objections you’ll face and the more comfortable you’ll be in dealing with whatever comes at you. Just as more practice and performances help comedians, so it is with salespeople.Study. Great comedians don’t just wing it even though they might improvise. Through study and observation they learn what makes something funny and why some jokes fall flat. They draw from the world around them so the audience can relate and understand their jokes. Imagine a comedian making jokes about King Henry the 8th and England in the 16th century. That probably won’t go over as well as jokes related to the present and politicians people know something about. By the same token, good salespeople understand their customers, their needs and speak to both. Good salespeople study their craft and learn how to speak persuasively so the customer “gets it” just like the audience gets a joke. Timing. Timing is crucial in comedy. Two comedians can tell the same joke but how they set it up, how they deliver the punch line and exactly when they deliver the punch line can make all the difference between laughter and silence. Sales are very similar. Two salespeople can say essentially the same thing and for one it comes across in a natural, conversational way but for the other it feels like a pushy salesman. Timing is also very important when it comes to closing a sale. When to close can vary based on many things and there is some “art” as to what you do to close the deal. Do it too early and prospective customers recoil because they feel like they’re being sold. As Jeffery Gitomer likes to say, “People don’t like to be sold but they love to buy.”Yes, and…When people hear Improv comedy one of the first things you’ll hear them say is, “Yes, and…” Improv is much more than this little phrase but it’s one of the first concepts you’re taught. In order to make a scene work you’re told to take whatever is given to you and build on it. Nothing kills a scene quicker than rejecting what someone has said or done. Sales is similar in that shutting someone down, rejecting what they say, insisting they’re wrong and you’re right, is a sure way to alienate them. “Yes, I can understand why you feel that way and…” then transition into something to hopefully get the other person to start seeing things differently.So if you want to succeed in Improv or sales remember to be PUSTY (Practice, Unscripted, Study, Timing, Yes). And one more thought to consider: Everything I just shared applies to parenting. Give what I just shared a quick reread and see if you get what I mean. Most of us are not handed a training manual when we become parents so we figure out quite a bit as we go along. I believe these same principles I’ve just outlined can help you be a better parent.Interested in learning more about Improv? If you live in the Columbus metro area I encourage you to reach out to Jeff Gage. He was a great teacher and it was apparent he loves what he does because, despite doing this for decades, he laughed as much as anyone during our workshops and shows. Reach out to him to see when his next classes will be held. It’s guaranteed you’ll have fun, meet interesting people, and laugh a lot. There’s not much better in life than that!
Brian Ahearn, CMCT® Chief Influence Officer influencePEOPLE Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.
Setting the Stage for the Up Front Close
If you’re in sales you can probably relate to the following scenario. You met with a prospective client and immediately had great rapport, which opened the door for you to compete for their business. You gathered the necessary information and provided them a better deal than they currently had. They asked for time to think it over and consider a couple of other quotes. Despite all the positive indicators, in a follow up phone call you learned they opted for another provider. You’re left wondering what you could have done differently to seal the deal.Sound familiar? One way to reduce the odds of that happening is to engage the principle of consistency through a technique known as the “up front close.” Consistency is the principle of influence that tells us people feel internal psychological pressure and external pressure to be consistent in what they say and do. Getting someone to commit to you early on exactly what it will take to win their business is what the up front close is all about. It might look like this: “Mr. Smith, I’d like to know exactly what it will take in order for you to move your business to our firm. If I can’t do something you require I’ll let you know right away and save us both time. How does that sound?” Your goal is to find out all the things you need to do for the customer in order for them to make the switch to your company. If you can’t meet the price, delivery date, service requirements, etc., then let the customer know and remove yourself from the sales process as soon as possible. If you think you can meet all the requirements then go for it and use their requirements as leverage during the sales presentation.During a recent coaching call a graduate of one of my Principles of Persuasion (POP) workshops asked how he could easily and naturally work his way into the up front close. That’s a great question because you don’t want to jump right into the up front close in the first five minutes of meeting a potential customer. It takes some finesse but you can do it! Here’s how I would envision using questions in a natural, ethical manner to move into the up front close. Salesperson – It looks as if business is going great and you seem like you’re very busy.Customer – Never been busier but I suppose that’s a good thing in this economy.Salesperson – Agreed, better too busy than not busy enough. With all that’s going on I’m going to guess saving time is pretty important for you?Customer – You bet. I’m usually in here by 7 a.m. and rarely leave before 6 p.m.. I even put in extra time on the weekends.Salesperson – I have many days like that myself. If you’re like most people I talk with buying insurance isn’t high on your list of fun activities. It’s not like planning a vacation or shopping for a new car. Knowing that, I have an idea that might save us both a good bit of time when it comes to your insurance. Would you like to hear it? Customer – I’m all ears.Salesperson – Since the insurance buying process is a necessity I’m sure other agents are competing for your business. While that’s a good thing, you probably don’t want to deal with any more agents than you have to in order to complete the process, right?Customer – Exactly. It’s a necessary evil and time consuming. That’s why we only put it out to bid every two or three years.Salesperson – Here’s what I propose that could save us both time. I’d like to know exactly what it would take in order for you to move your business to our agency. If I can’t do something you require I’ll let you know right away and remove myself from the quoting process and save us both time. How does that approach sound?Customer – I think that’s a great approach.From this point forward the salesperson has to use good questioning techniques to learn the key factors in the buying decision. The conversation should end something like this: Salesperson – We’ve covered a lot of ground today! If I understand you correctly we need to do A, B and C in order to become your new insurance agent. Am I correct?Customer – That’s right, A, B and C are critical.Salesperson – And there’s no other reason you wouldn’t make the switch if we do A, B and C?Customer – Nope. You do those three things and we’re in business together.If you return to the office and realize you can’t do all three just let the customer know right away. But, if you can do all three that becomes you’re leverage to easily ask for the business when you present your proposal. Will everyone say “Yes” at that point? No, because sometimes things change. However, using this approach will get far more customers saying, “Yes” because the psychology of consistency drives them to naturally do that.
Brian Ahearn, CMCT® Chief Influence Officer influencePEOPLE Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.
Using Scarcity with Qualified Prospects
Last month I hosted a webinar on the principle of scarcity for the Cialdini “Influence” Series. During the 30-minute webinar I introduced participants to the ethical application of scarcitywhen it comes to managing salespeople and increasing sales. If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time then you know scarcity is the principle of influence which alerts us to the reality that we place more value on things when they’re rare or becoming less available. We see this principle at work constantly: Advertising – Perceived limited time or limited availability gets customers to act in ways they wouldn’t otherwise.Relationships – When we lose someone we love we often wish we’d done more for them or with them. The mere thought of losing someone could change our behavior.Work and School – Deadlines drive much of our prioritization and activity when it comes to school or work.I’m sure you can think of your own examples where you’ve seen your behavior influenced by this psychological principle. What I want to explore is a question that came up as the webinar was ending. Someone asked if personal preference played into scarcity’s effectiveness. It was a great question, one I’d never considered before. The example that came immediately to mind as I pondered the answer was something from my childhood.When I was young I collected baseball cards. This goes way back to the days before you could buy whole sets of cards. Kids got their baseball cards when they bought the bubblegum packs with cards inside them. From there we traded to round out our collections. I still remember the most famous card was the 1909 Honus Wagner. Although neither my friends nor me knew anything about Honus as a player we knew there were only six in existence and that made it the most valuable card. The card is reportedly worth $2.8 million today!
Certainly anyone reading this would love to have that card but for the most part baseball cards are only valuable to those who collect them. When I showed one of my old cards to Jane and told her it was worth about $200 she said, “Hmmm, four pairs of shoes.” She could have cared less that my Ted Williams 1956 Topps baseball card was in very good condition and she never would have paid $200 for the card because baseball cards mean nothing to her.Much like beauty, scarcity is in the eye of the beholder. For example, hearing a furniture outlet is having a half price sale that ends Sunday will do nothing to incent my behavior if I’m not considering getting new furniture for my home. A large part of selling is contacting qualified prospects. Qualified prospects are those people or organizations that are in the market for what you sell. When a prospect realizes they may lose out on a great opportunity that could fulfill their need, quite often scarcity will impact their decision to act. Another category of qualified prospects would include people or organizations that might not see their need for what you sell unless you can arrange to meet with them and show how your product can positively impact them. Once you’re talking with this type of qualified prospect, introducing scarcity might be enough to get them off the fence to make a decision. In the Principles of Persuasion workshop I emphasize this point – scarcity is best used to motivate behavior. If you’ve already established some relationship and the prospect isn’t unsure about what to do – they’re just not making a decision – then scarcity can be just the thing to get them over the hump. However, just indiscriminately telling people they’ll lose something by not acting when they could care less about what you’re offering is a recipe for failure in sales. Here’s my sales advice – really get to know your current and prospective clients. Understand their business and their needs so you can match your product offering accordingly. Once you’ve done that, when you have genuine scarcity make sure you introduce it during the sales process because that might be just the thing that helps you make the sale.
Brian Ahearn, CMCT® Chief Influence Officer influencePEOPLE Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.Cialdini “Influence” Series! Would you like to learn more about influence from the experts? Check out the Cialdini “Influence” Series featuring Cialdini Method Certified Trainers from around the world. Next up is Hoh Kim talking about Authority on April 17.