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Few people are building and, as reports show, remodeling activity for homes isn't picking up the slack. These factors have changed the wood flooring sales profession, along with the overall economy, dramatically. Cutbacks, downsizing and a need to do more with fewer resources dominate many in the business. For both dealers and contractors, this means a tougher time prospecting and a longer timeframe for converting those prospects into paying customers.
As a result, many salespeople are either getting a lot more "no" answers, or they're getting no answers at all. And the more times a salesperson hears "no," the more he develops a fear of rejection and dreads prospecting in general. To counter this problem, many sales books and training programs tout a "secret formula" or "key closing statement" that will make prospecting easier. Salespeople are taught how to lead prospects, how to counter an objection and how to close the sale. The problem is that all those suggestions are focused on the salesperson and not on the person who matters the most in the interaction: the prospect. Such salesperson-focused training and approaches may have worked when the economy was stronger, but they are simply ineffective today.
To be great at prospecting when economic times are tough, you need to go beyond yourself and your fears and focus on the prospect. Only then will your fear of rejection and prospecting procrastination disappear. Use the following suggestions to revitalize your prospecting efforts and put your fear of rejection in its place.
Shift Your Internal Dialogue
The physical act of picking up the phone, walking into a prospect's office or approaching a prospect on the showroom floor is not difficult for salespeople to do. What stops them in their tracks from performing these seemingly easy tasks is their internal dialogue. "Why should I bother? He's just going to tell me 'no.'" "The last 10 people told me 'no,' so why should this one be any different?" Such internal messages are called negative projection. Realize that whenever you approach a prospect and believe the other person is going to blow you off or tell you "no," that's exactly the result you'll get. Prospects pick up on what you're projecting and respond accordingly.
So what's the solution? Positive expectations. When you have a genuine positive thought about someone and believe your interaction will work out well, your chance of success increases. Even if the prospect doesn't want your help, that's okay; his or her reply has nothing to do with you. As long as you believe that the conversation will go well and you think highly of the other person, you'll no longer fear the actual act of prospecting—and that's the main objective. So shift your internal dialogue to create the kind of experiences you want to have.
Make Prospects the Priority
In sales, you get paid in proportion to the amount of people you serve and to the degree in which you serve them. Therefore, the more you focus on your prospects and make them the priority, the higher your chances for success. Unfortunately, many salespeople get confused about exactly how to focus on their prospect. They'll open conversations by saying something like, "Hey, how's it going? … I'd like to show you a new flooring line that has been really popular." While on the surface such an approach seems focused on the prospect, in reality prospects know exactly what it is: a sales pitch, which is precisely what they don't want.
So what do prospects want? To feel respected. Yes, they want salespeople to respect them and not begin with the salesperson's agenda. The first way to respect prospects is to respect their time. Therefore, a better way to open the prospecting call or visit is to simply ask, "Do you have a few moments to talk?" or "Is this a good time for us to meet?" Respecting your prospect from the first contact sets the stage for success. Therefore, always do a respectful introduction and make the initial contact about the prospect.
Listen to Validate
During the initial prospecting, good salespeople are listening more than talking. Great salespeople take it further and employ what's known as "listening validation." The goal of listening validation is understanding the prospect. It's empathic listening. Active listening—the technique that most salespeople employ—is simply listening to prospects and then feeding them back what they just said so they feel understood. Listening validation goes a step further and listens for the feelings behind the prospects' words—the intent and the motivation—and then replays the emotions back to the prospect.
Here's an example. Suppose you're meeting a prospect face-to-face at her home. You've just discussed your latest flooring line and the homeowner has just explained what she wants for the house. As the conversation ends, she says to you, "So we're really looking for three things: something that's durable, inexpensive and low-maintenance."
If you were employing active listening, you would then say to the prospect, "So what you're looking for is something that's going to last for years and show minimal wear, and something you can afford. Did I hear you right, ma'am?"
If you were a savvy salesperson and employing listening validation, your response would go a step further and you'd say, "I heard you say price, durability and easy maintenance, Ms. Prospect. But what I'm sensing from you, and if I'm wrong then please correct me, is that cutting costs and having that warranty would be most important to you. Based on what you've said, it seems that you're trying to improve your home but still save money. So having a low price point backed with a warranty would really help you feel like you're being taken care of. Am I catching that right?"
See the difference? Active listening just restates actual words; listening validation gets at the feelings and emotions behind the words. Realize that everyone wants to be understood; it's a basic human need. Listening validation is one key way to let your prospect know that you understand his or her situation. And when your prospects feel understood, they'll feel good about you and will be more likely to buy. By employing listening validation, you're building trust, which is the foundation of any sale.
Prospecting Made Easy
Successful prospecting in today's economy requires that contractors make a paradigm shift in their way of thinking. This shift happens when you release your fear of rejection and satisfy your security instincts by putting your thoughts solely on what's best for your prospects. Only then will you be at ease when prospecting. And, to be at ease when prospecting is a powerful—and profitable—place to be.