The power of engagement and the reality of marriage
"Will you marry me?" is a powerful question. Engagement with the customer is no different.
The purpose of engagement in sales is to involve a prospective customer in such a way that he is interested enough to think about you in a positive way. More than that, you also want the customer to trust you, want to buy from you, and engage in some type of relationship with you. Engagement is achieved through questions.
Your initial approach to the relationship with the customer determines if you will get a chance to "pop the question." In social settings, examples of phony approaches include such trite come-ons as "Don't I know you from someplace?" or "What's a pretty little thing like you doing here?" Similarly, in the business world phony approaches include lines such as: "Are you interested in saving some money?" or "What would it take to get your business?" With such cliche sales approaches, you are dead before you start. Although the prospective customer may be polite on the outside, he has checked you off mentally and will say anything to get rid of you. Does the following sound familiar?
The situation: In courting a relationship, you have many steps, including the before, during and after steps. Some of these steps are diversions and delays. But regardless of the type of step, they are all choices you make reactions to your words and deeds.
The game plan: The self-confident approach works the best. Be attractive, polished, approachable, humble, well-mannered and, most of all, prepared. Make people want to know you, want to talk to you, want to be approached by you, want to be engaged by you. Assume it's yours, and you'll get it more often.
The object: Gain interest with a question of engagement. "Will you marry me?" is a question that will engage you in more ways than one. First, it is an emotional question. Second, it's a thought-provoking question. Third, it's a question about you that makes you answer in terms of me.
The following are examples of engagement questions in the business world.
To sell life insurance or investments: How much money will it take you to retire? How much of that do you have now?
To sell long-distance telephone services: How is your present carrier teaching you to use your phone in a more productive manner?
To sell temporary employment services: When your receptionist calls in sick on Monday, how do you ensure that there is no loss of service to your customers?
To sell accounting services: If you were paying 20% more in taxes than you had to, how would you know it?
Engagement questions should do the following:
Make the customer stop, think and answer in terms of you
Uncover wants, needs and desires
Uncover feelings
Reveal dreams
Uncover problems and past experiences
Boost the customer's ego
Uncover truths or motives
Gain commitment
Help you better understand the customer
Require a yes or no answer
Whether you are asking someone out on a date, asking to borrow a cup of sugar, asking for a sale, or asking for a hand in marriage, the key word is "asking." And the way you ask can be the difference between a favorable and unfavorable response. You choose whom to question, and you choose what you put in your questions. There's an old sales adage that says, "If you're not prepared for the answer, don't ask the question." There's another one that says, "If you ask, they buy. If you tell, they avoid."
In sales, you are known by the questions you ask. If you ask smart questions, customers think you're smart. If you ask dumb questions
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of "The Sales Bible," and "Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless." President of North Carolina-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts training programs on selling and customer service. He can be e-mailed at salesman@gitomer.com (mailto:salesman@gitomer.com)
