Communicating with Style and Grace
S – Seek to Understand
T – Touch Hearts
Y – Yearn to Excel
L – Listen and Speak Enthusiastically
E – Express Thanks
And
G – Give Freely
R – Reciprocate
A – Accept Differences
C – Court Your Callers
E – Express More Thanks
Make Money with FAME
F – Family/Goals
A – Activities/Hobbies
M – Money/Expenses
E – Employment/Income
Sell with AIDA
A – Attention
I – Interest
D – Desire
A – Action
Attention | Getting another person's attention sets the tone: first impressions are better when you smile (even on the phone because people can hear it in your voice), be happy (but not annoyingly so), be natural, honest and professional |
| If you're not in the mood to smile do some paperwork, instead |
| Think about how to create warm calls – getting attention is more difficult than it used to be, because people are less accessible, have less free time and there are lots of competing distractions |
| Gimmicks, tricks and crafty techniques don't work, because your prospective customers - like the rest of us - are irritated by hundreds of them every day |
| Regardless of whether you are calling on the phone or meeting face-to-face you only have about five seconds to attract attention, by which time the other person has formed their critically important first impression |
| Despite the time pressure, relax and enjoy your sales efforts (expect no’s and no thanks but take time to learn from them) |
| You now have maybe 5-15 seconds in which to create some interest |
| Something begins to look interesting if it is relevant and potentially advantageous |
| The person you are approaching should have a need for your service (which implies that you or somebody else has established a target customer profile) |
| You must approach the other person at a suitable and convenient time |
| Empathize with and understand the other person's situation and issues and learn to express yourself in their terms (i.e. talk their language). |
| You need to be able to identify and agree the prospect's situation, needs, priorities and constraints on personal and organizational levels, through empathic questioning and interpretation |
| You must build rapport, trust and preparedness in the prospect's mind before the prospect will choose to do business with you personally (you must remove doubt or risk about your own integrity and ability) |
| Understand your competitors' capabilities and your prospect's other options |
| You must obviously understand your product (terms, pricing, availability, options, features, advantages and benefits), and particularly their relevance and implications for your prospect |
| You must be able to present, explain and convey solutions with credibility and enthusiasm |
| The key to success is being able to demonstrate how you will properly align to your prospect's needs as identified and agreed to, within all constraints |
| Creating desire is part skill and technique as well as part behavior and style |
| In modern selling, trust and relationship (the 'you' factor) are increasingly significant, as natural competitive developments concentrate more on commodity selling than in developing uniqueness |
| Action is simply the conversion of potential into reality, to achieve or move closer to whatever is the target |
| Natural inertia and caution often dictate that clear opportunities are not acted upon, so you must suggest agreement to move to the next stage of the sale |
| The better the preceding three stages have been conducted, then the less emphasis is required for the action stage; in your perfect sales you should strive to have prospects decide to take action without any encouragement at all |
A more sophisticated approach includes a Commitment step before Action. When it all comes to an end, people choose to do business with people they like! It’s hard to commit to do business with someone you don’t like.
Using Your Time Efficiently – the Egg Timer Method
3 – Minutes at first, no good get off
2 – Minutes to give, if you aren’t sure
1 – Minute to wrap up, one last chance
After six minutes you should know if this client is for you! How many times have you spent 45-60 minutes with someone that you didn't do the loan for? Further, never send out GFE's! Learn to sell on quality of service, not on price.
Ten Commandments – Marketing From Your Answering Machine
-
Thou shall always include thy mini-mission statement.
-
Thy message shall be consistent with thy unique selling proposition.
-
Thou shall always strive to be professional.
-
Thy announcement shall always be updated.
-
Thou shall never let your inbox get full.
-
Thou shall let callers know when you return calls.
-
Thou shall provide alternatives to leaving a message – a colleague’s extension, emergency number or e-mail address.
-
Thou shall include a call to action.
-
Thou shall not play phone tag.
-
Thou shall never not return a call!
More Commandments when Leaving Voice Mail
- Thou shall always get to the point.
- Thou shall leave thy contact information twice – once at the beginning and the other at the end of each call (and that such callback information is valid and available).
- Thou shall assume the caller’s answering system records the date and time of the call.
- Thou shall not leave multiple messages that are the same (try another contact method).
- Thou shall concentrate on one theme per message left.
- Thou shall restrain thyself from using humor or offbeat material.
- If allowed, thou shall review thy message and respect the time and patience of the recipient.
- Thou shall remember it is usually more important how something is heard than what is said.
- Thou shall not ramble or speak drunkenly, be prepared to leave a message before placing the call.
- Thou canst write the numbers or details thou leaves to match thy voice message with the listener’s ability to write.
Top Ten Communication Mistakes
1. Defensiveness (reacting). It is very common to become defensive and react back with anger when we are criticized. Unfortunately, reacting causes the one damage that only we can inflict on ourselves: the damage to one’s integrity. When I react I give the other person the power over how I am going to behave instead of maintaining my identity and power. 2. Placating. Some people react to criticism not with anger, but with placating and submissive behavior. This type of behavior is often a subconscious attempt to get the other person to calm down versus a true apology. Placating behavior actually has the effect of escalating the anger of the upset person in many cases. Upset individuals respond better to genuine and respectful apologies given from a position of strength instead of weakness. 3. Lack of Pacing. Many times our first response to an upset individual is to quiet our voice and stay calm. Does this really calm the person down? In most cases it does not have a calming impact because the person feels like you don’t understand how upsetting the situation is to them. A better approach is to match their voice volume at first (without verbally attacking them) and then slowly soften your voice during the course of the conversation. 4. Forgetting that understanding is not the same thing as agreeing. How much of your listening time is spent deciding how much you agree with what the person is saying versus making sure you understand what they are saying? Whether you disagree or agree should not be considered until you have made sure that you completely understand what the upset person is saying. If you are not sure, then ask them! 5. Verbal and nonverbal behaviors do not match. Has anyone ever told you that they were sorry for what they did to you, but said it with their teeth clenched, arms crossed, and a rigid body posture? Which message did you believe? Whenever my wife and I experience this with each other, we simply ask the other person to give us one message instead of two. 6. Failing to use the appropriate listening style. There are five listening styles: appreciative (for enjoyment), empathic (to emotionally support the speaker), comprehensive (to organize the material), discerning (to gather all the information) and evaluative (to make a decision). Make sure you are listening in the way that the person wants to be heard! 7. Focusing on the details of the discussion instead of the core problem. Excellent communicators do not allow themselves to get sidetracked by insignificant details of the discussion; they stay with the core issues and try to own up where they have made mistakes and move to a compromise. 8. Failing to reflect back what the person is saying. If the upset person doesn’t know for a fact that you have heard exactly what the problem is, they will keep telling you. Reflecting back gives them the piece of mind that you know what they are saying. Remember to reflect back both emotions and verbal content. 9. Not utilizing the “100 + 1% principle.” Usually our response to an angry person focuses on where we disagree. Using the “100 + 1% principle” means that you find the 1% that you agree with and agree with it 100%. 10. Putting your “but” in the wrong place. Compare these two apologies: “It was wrong of me to get so angry, but your behavior really frustrated me” versus “Your behavior really frustrated me, but it was wrong of me to get so angry.” The word “but” is like the control-alt-delete function on a computer; it erases everything that came before it! If both messages are important to you, put the connecting statement after the “but”, not before it. I call this technique “reversing the ‘but.’”
Think Before You Speak
Existing Partner
You have just recovered this message from one of your top agents:
“You won’t believe this! A buyer I am working with is a transferring executive who has been working with a mortgage company recommended by the employer’s relocation service. Unfortunately their loan officer has quit and just changed firms. I spoke to the loan officer and he indicated that taking the loan with him might jeopardize his commissions and has refused to work on the file. The current mortgage company appears to be reeling and can’t get control of their loans. No one will return my calls and things appear to be in a downward spiral. Can you help me?”
You visit with the buyer and the real estate agent and cover a lot of ground in a little time. Their loan is approved and closed. Your referral partner is thrilled, saying:
“You saved this deal as I knew you would. Thanks a million!”
What do you say (remember you only have about 30 seconds to say it):
Response:
New Contact
You have just learned of a newly licensed agent that has taken a position in a real estate company you call on. You want to get an appointment with her so you call her and leave this message on her voice mail:
Bonus Material: The Seven Steps of the Sale
A very common approach to selling is seen in the following seven steps:- Preparation/Planning/Research
- Introduction/Opening/Approach
- Questioning/Identify Needs
- Presentation/Explanation/Demonstration
- Overcoming Objections/Negotiating
- Close/Closing/Agreement/Commitment/Confirmation
- Follow-up/After-sales/Fulfill/Deliver/Administer
| Assure yourself that you know your products, lenders, guidelines and processing capabilities extremely well – especially features, advantages and benefits that will be relevant to the prospect you will be meeting |
| Ascertain as far as you can the main or unique perceived benefit that your service will give to your prospect |
| Discover who the current mortgage companies are that provide services and assess what their reaction is likely to be if their relationship is threatened |
| Understand what other mortgage companies have to offer and which ones are being considered |
| Identify as many decision-makers, influencers and opinion leaders as you can and carefully assess their needs, motives and current relationships |
| Try to get a feel for what the company politics are (i.e., do they have an inside lender or if they run a closed shop) |
| What are your prospect's decision-making process and financial parameters (i.e., budget, co-op advertising efforts or illegal referral fees) |
| What are your prospect's strategic issues, aims, priorities and problems (if you can't discover these pre-meeting then consider what are they generally for other companies in the sane market sector) |
| Prepare your opening statements and practice your sales presentation (remember an irresistible offer answers three questions: what’s for sale, what does it cost and why do business with me) |
| Prepare your presentation in your preferred format (i.e., Microsoft PowerPoint slides for laptop or projected presentation) and make sure you have plenty of all materials, samples, hand-outs and brochures you want to distribute |
| Prepare a checklist of questions to ensure that you collect all information you need from the meeting |
| Think carefully about what you want to get from the meeting and organize your planning to achieve it |
| Smile - be professional, and take confidence in knowing you are well-prepared |
| Introduce yourself – hand out a card, give your first and last name, what your job is, the company you represent and what you specialize in (you can modify your introduction to your prospect's strategic issues) |
| Set the scene – explain the purpose of your visit from the orientation of your prospect not yourself (i.e., "I'd like to learn more about your situation and priorities, and then if there looks as though there might be some common ground, to agree how we could move to the next stage.") |
| Know how much time your prospect has for you and re-emphasize you do not intend to overstay your welcome |
| Ask if it's okay to take notes (it's polite to ask and asking shows that you understand all business information is potentially sensitive) |
| Ask if it's okay to start by asking a few questions or whether your prospect would prefer a quick overview of your own company first (this will depend on how strongly known and credible you are) |
| The main purpose of questioning is to confirm or discover the strongest perceived benefit that would accrue to your prospect from using your services – it may be only one or two key things, which may be obvious to one or both parties or not obvious to either, in which case questioning expertise is critical |
| Questioning also discovers how best to develop the sale with your prospect – competitor pressures , how they decide, when they decide and the people and procedures involved |
| Good empathic questioning also builds relationships, trust and rapport – nobody wants to buy anything from a sales person who's only interested in their own product or company – we all want to buy from somebody who gives us the time and skill to interpret how their service will properly meet our personal needs |
| You may have prepared a list of questions or headings – now use it |
| Use open ended questions to gather information – good questions start with Who, What, Why, Where, When and How (refer to the Rudyard Kipling rhyme: "I keep six honest serving men, they taught me all I knew; Their names are What and Why and When, And How and Where and Who." – from Just So Stories, 1902, The Elephant's Child) |
| Use "Can you tell me about how..." if you are questioning a senior-level contact - generally the more senior the contact, the bigger the open questions you can ask, and the more the other person will be comfortable with and able to give you the information you need |
| What and how are the best words to use in open questions because they provoke thinking and responses about facts and feelings in a non-threatening way |
| Use why to find out reasons and motives beneath the initial answers given, but be very careful and sparing in using why because it is threatening to most people – it causes the other person to feel they have to defend or justify themselves, and as such will not bring out the true situation and feelings, especially in early discussions with people when trust and rapport is at a low level |
| Listen carefully and empathically, maintain good eye-contact, understand and show that you understand – especially understand what is meant and felt, not just what is said, particularly when you probe motives and personal aspects |
| Interpret and reflect back and confirm you have understood what is being explained, and if relevant the feelings behind it |
| Use closed questions to qualify and confirm your interpretation – a closed question is one that can be answered with a yes or no, such as "So it concerns you when a lender or broker breaks a promise?" or "Are you saying that you current lender partners don’t seem really interested in helping you achieve your goals?” |
| After you ask a question, SHUT UP - do not interrupt |
| Your prospect should be doing 80-99% of the talking during this stage of the sales call – if you are talking for a third or half of the time you are not asking the right sort of questions |
| Do not jump onto an opportunity and start explaining how you can solve any problem that is proposed until you have asked all your questions and gathered all the information you need (it might be that the issue being jumped on just isn’t as important as another issue yet to be discussed) |
| For the entire time you are together try to find out the strategic issues affected or implicated by working with a mortgage company – these are where the ultimate decision-making and buying motives lie |
| If during the questioning you think of a new important question to ask note it down; you don’t want to forget or overlook it |
| When you have all the information you need, acknowledge that fact and say thanks, then take a few moments to think about, discuss and summarize the key issues from your prospect's perspective |
| Questioning should focus on ways to facilitate the buyer in making the best decision possible not as much as creating a process to help you close the sale |
| The sales presentation should focus on a central proposition, which should be the unique perceived benefit that the prospect gains from using your services (USP) |
| During the questioning phase you will have refined the understanding (and ideally gained agreement) as to what USP is – the presentation must now focus on matching the benefits of your service with the prospect’s needs so that he or she is entirely satisfied that the proposition |
| You need an excellent understanding of the many different benefits that accrue to customers and referral partners from using your services – these perceived benefits will vary according to the type of client (size, structure, market sector, strategy, general economic health, culture, etc) |
| The sales presentation must demonstrate that using your services meets the prospect's needs, priorities, constraints and motives – otherwise the prospect will not even consider buying or moving to the next stage; this is why establishing the prospect's situation and priorities during the questioning phase is so vital |
| The above point is especially important to consider when you have to present on more than one occasion to different people or groups, who will each have different needs and will therefore respond to different benefits (even though the central proposition and main perceived benefit remains constant) |
| All sales presentations, whether impromptu or the result of significant preparation, must be well structured, clear and concise, professionally delivered and have lots of integrity – the quality and integrity of your presentation will always be regarded as a direct indication as to the quality and integrity of your services |
| It follows then that you must avoid simply talking about technical features from the seller's point of view, without linking the features clearly to organizational context and benefit for the prospect – also avoid using any jargon that the prospect may not understand |
| Sales presentations must always meet the expectations of the listener in terms of the level of information and relevance to the prospect's own situation, which is another reason for proper preparation – a vague or poorly prepared sales presentation sticks out like a sore thumb and it will be disowned immediately |
| When presenting to influencers, which is necessary on occasions, it is important to recognize that you are effectively asking the influencers to personally endorse the proposition and the credibility of the selling organization and you, so the influencers' needs in these areas are actually part of the organizational needs of the prospect company |
| The presentation must include relevant evidence of success, references from similar sectors and applications, facts and figures (all of which should back up your USP) |
| Business decision-makers buy when they become satisfied that the decision will either make them money, or save them money or time; they also need to be certain that the new product/service will be sustainable and reliable – therefore the presentation must be convincing in these areas |
| Private consumer buyers ultimately buy for similar reasons, but for more personal ones as well, such as image, security and ego, which you may need to feature in these type of presentations if they form part of the main perceived benefit |
| While the presentation must always focus on the main perceived benefit, it is important to show that all the other incidental requirements and constraints are met – do not over-emphasize or attempt to pile up loads of incidental benefits as this simply detracts from the central proposition |
| Presentations should use the language and style of the audience (i.e., technical people need technical evidence; sales and marketing people like to see flair and competitive advantage accruing for their own sales organization; managing directors and finance directors want clear, concise benefits to costs, profits and operating efficiency (generally the more senior the contact, the less time you will have to make your point – no-nonsense, no frills, but plenty of relevant hard facts and evidence) |
| If you are required to present to a large group and in great depth, then it's extremely advisable to enlist the help of one or two suitably experienced colleagues from the appropriate functions (i.e., technical, customer service, wholesale rep or underwriter) in which case you must ensure that these people are prepared, properly briefed on your USP and that the prospect approves of their attendance |
| Keep control of the presentation but in a relaxed way; if you don't know the answer to a question don't waffle – say you don't know and promise to get back with an answer later, then make sure you do |
| Knocking the competition undermines your credibility and integrity - don't even imply anything derogatory about the competition |
| If appropriate, publish notes or distribute copies of your presentation |
| If relevant and helpful use props, samples and demonstrations but please make sure that any materials are perfect and that you have sufficient items to give out |
| During the presentation seek feedback, confirmation and agreement as to the relevance of what you are saying, but don't be put off if people stay quiet |
| Invite questions at the end or if you are comfortable at the outset invite questions at any time (remember the key is to make a controlled presentation) |
| Whether presenting one-to-one or to a stern group, relax and be friendly – let your personality and natural enthusiasm shine through – people buy from people who love and have faith in their products and companies |
| Decades ago it was assumed that at this stage lots of objections could appear, and this would tend to happen, because the selling process was more prescriptive, one-way, and less empathic; however, successful modern selling now demands more initial understanding from you, even to get as far as presenting, so the need to overcome objections is not such a prevalent feature of the selling process |
| When objections arise the key to handling them is to do so constructively |
| Qualify each objection as it arises by reflecting back to the person who raised it to determine the precise nature of the objection – a good start is to ask "Why do you say that?" |
| It may be necessary to probe deeper to get to the real issue by asking a why question to a series of answers – some objections result from misunderstandings and others are used to disguise other concerns that you need to expose |
| Lots of objections often reflect the needs for more information, if this happens do not respond by trying to re-sell the benefit – simply ask and probe instead; the best standard response is something like "I think I understand your concern but can I ask you to elaborate on it and what's important for you here?" |
| Try to avoid using the word “but” – it is inherently confrontational |
| An old-style technique was to reflect back the objection as a re-phrased question, but in a form that you are confident of being able to answer positively, for example: the prospect says he thinks it's too expensive; you reflect back: "I think what you're really saying is that you have no problem with paying a lot of fees, would you prefer that the lender compensate me for my services?” |
| Another old-style technique used to be to isolate the objection (confirming that everything other than that sticking point was fine), then to overcome the objection by drawing up a list of pro's and con's, analyzing to death all the hidden costs of not going for the deal or re-selling the benefits even harder – then try to close more powerfully (today such a contrived approach to objection handling is likely to insult the prospect and blow your credibility) |
| While it is important to flush out all objections and isolate them as the only reasons why a prospect should not proceed – a better technique may be to work with the prospect in first understanding what lies beneath each objection and then working with the prospect to shape the proposition so that it fits more acceptably with what is required |
| Avoid head-to-head arguments even if you win them you can destroy the relationship – instead you must enable a constructive discussion so both parties work at the problem together |
| If your USP is sound most objections are usually overcome by one of the parties adjusting their position slightly – you must understand that negotiating goes beyond objection handling |
| You've handled all the objections when you've covered everything that you've noted – it is critical that you keep notes and show that you're doing it (but remember to ask for permission) |
| By this stage you may have seen some signs that the prospect is clearly visualizing or imagining the sale proceeding – he or she may even begin talking in terms of your working together; this is called buying warmth |
| Certain questions and comments from prospects are described as buying signals because they indicate that the prospect may be visualizing using your services (in the old days, sales people were taught to respond to early buying signals with a trial close but nowadays this widely perceived as clumsy and insulting) |
| Respond to early buying signals by asking why the question is important and then by answering it as helpfully as possible |
| In modern selling every sales person's aim should be to prepare and conduct the selling process so well that there are few if any objections and no need for a close |
| The best close these days is something like "Are you happy that we've covered everything and would you like to go ahead?" or "Would you like to go ahead?" |
| In many cases, if you conduct the sale properly, that is to say you are civil, respectful and professional your prospects will close the deal themselves (this implies and requires a high level of sales professionalism) |
| The manner in which a sale is concluded depends on the style of the decision-maker – watch out for the signs: no-nonsense high-achievers are likely to decide very quickly and may be a little irritated if you leave matters hanging after they've indicated they're happy; cautious technical people will want every detail covered and may need time to think, so don't push them, but do stay in touch and make sure they have all the information they need; very friendly types may actually say yes before they're ready, in which case you need to ensure that everything is suitably covered so nothing can rebound later |
For the record here are some closes from the bad old days:
| The pen close: "Do you want to use your pen or mine?" (while producing the application) |
| The alternative close: for example - "Would you like me to call you Tuesday or Wednesday to start your application?" |
| The challenge close: "I know most men wouldn't be able to buy something of this value without consulting their wives – but you did say you were the financial decision maker in the family so do you really need to get your wife's permission on this?" |
| The ego close: "We generally find that only the people who appreciate and are prepared to pay for the best quality apply with us – I don't know how you feel about it?" |
| The negative close: "I plan on leaving for the holidays next week so if we are going to get your loan closed on time, we need to start your application today or tomorrow, is that okay?" |
| The guilt close: "Over thirty years it seems a lot of money, but we find that many responsible people go this route since they don’t plan on being in the home for that long." |
| The sympathy close: "I know you have some reservations that we can't overcome right now, but I've got to admit that I'm pretty desperate to get a loan in my pipeline – my manager says he'll sack me if I don't get another application this week. I'd be ever so grateful if you'd go ahead - and I promise you we'd be able to sort out the extra features once I speak to my underwriter." |
| The last ditch close: You pack your case and start to leave, but then stop at the door, "Just one last thing - would you tell me where I went wrong - you see I just know that my services are right for you, and I feel almost guilty that I've not sold them to you properly, it’s as if I've let you down." |
| The pro's and con's list: "I can appreciate this is a tough decision – why don’t we write down all the pro's and con's in two separate columns and then we can both see clearly if overall it's the right thing to do." |
| The elimination close: "I can see I've not explained this properly - can we take a moment to go through all the benefits and see which one is holding us back from proceeding?" (it may not be a benefit that is holding the process up) |
After-sales follow-up depends upon how well your loans are processed, but generally for every sale you make you must carry out a number of important processes
| All relevant paperwork must be completed and copies provided to the customer |
| Sales reporting is necessary to measure success and analyze performance |
| You must also make follow-up contact with the customer as often as necessary to confirm that the customer is happy with the way the loan is being processed; this helps reduce possible confusion and misunderstood expectations that can become a big cause of customer dissatisfaction if left to fester unresolved |
| Customer follow-up and problem resolution must always be your responsibility, you should consider yourself as the 'guardian' of that customer, even if well-organized processing and customer service exists in your company |
| Customers rightly will hold you responsible for what happens after the sale is made and good conscientious follow-up will usually be rewarded with referrals to other customers |
| Follow-up is an important indicator of integrity; when
you make a sale you are personally endorsing your product and your company,
so ensuring that value and satisfaction are fulfilled is an integral part of
the modern sales function
|