- Selling 101- Why do people buy things anyway? (Part 1 of 3)
- Fear of public speaking? - This five part series will help it go away (4 of 5.)
- Office Politics - This article will help you motivate people
more easily. (4 of 8.)
SELLING 101Why do people buy things anyway?
Think about the last time you bought something of significant value. Maybe it was a car, house, or even your computer. Chances are you had a series of attributes in mind with varying degrees of importance. There was also, probably, a logical reason why you purchased what you did, and an emotional reason as well.
For instance, if we only bought what was absolutely logical, we'd all be driving white Hondas or Beige Volvos. Instead, when we choose a car, we do so based on a hierarchy that we have established -- either consciously or sub-consciously -- before we even start looking. Everyone's hierarchy is different, and the two biggest mistakes that salespeople make is when we either have a standard pitch or presentation that we use for every situation, or we guess about our prospect's hierarchy and guess wrong.
Let's use car buying as an example to explain how a person's buying hierarchy works. The first thing that we have to realize is that PRICE is almost ALWAYS last in the hierarchy. I know what you're thinking... "You are just saying that price isn't the main factor because you don't sell ______________s. In the _________________ industry, price is the main thing that buyers consider." Bear with me for a second, and let me show you how that may not be exactly true.
Getting back to the car dealership example, let's say that a couple comes onto the lot with this buying hierarchy. They want a car that is...
1) Dependable, 2) Safe, 3) Fuel Efficient, 4) Roomy, 5) Under $20,000
The couple goes to three dealerships and look at three cars. The salesperson at each dealership says just about the same thing, "This car is the best bang for your buck." Each car has a three-year warranty, each has air-bags, each has the exact same fuel economy number printed on the sticker, each looks like it has about the same space inside. What is the only thing left for the couple to make their decision based on? That's right, PRICE. Keep in mind, though, that only one of the three cars can be proven to be the most dependable, only one can be proven to be the safest, only one can be proven to be the most fuel efficient, and only one could have the most room inside. If any of the three salespeople had differentiated their product by proving to the couple beyond a shadow of a doubt that their car was the most dependable, the safest, the most fuel efficient, or the roomiest, then the couple would probably have been willing to pay a little more for that specific car.
The difficulty comes in trying to get your prospects to disclose their buying criteria. However, this process is not as difficult as it may seem. In the next newsletter, we'll cover ways to get prospects to disclose this information to us, so that we can help them make a more-informed buying decision.
Our sales training course, The Sales Leader, helps salespeople and sales managers generate a higher number of more qualified leads, get in step with your prospects so that a trusting relationship develops, and streamline the selling process to close more deals. Click here for information.
FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING?Turn Fear into Confidence
(Part 4 of 5)
USE NERVOUSNESS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
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In previous newsletters, we've covered the importance of being a great speaker, how we develop habits and fears, and specific fears associated with public speaking and how to overcome them. In the last newsletter, I made a statement that 90% of our nervousness doesn't even show. Now, we'll cover how you can actually build trust and credibility with your audience by using this nervousness to your advantage.
90% OF NERVOUSNESS DOESN'T SHOW?
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I remember the first time I had to give a real presentation. I had to present my project results to about a half dozen vice presidents of the company I worked for. My stomach was in knots, my palms were sweaty, I felt nauseous, and I was so nervous, that I gave my entire 15-minute speech in about 5 minutes without leaving anything out.
When it was over, I thought that I had bombed. I was scared I was going to lose my job. I didn't find out until years later, that that presentation was one of the defining moments of my career. My immediate boss and his boss determined during that presentation that I had a real future with the company.
Imagine it. I felt like I had failed, but the people in the audience saw me as a great success. I replayed and analyzed that 5 minutes over and over for many years, and I think I finally came up with an answer that made
sense.
My stomach was in knots, but the audience didn't know.
My palms were sweaty. They didn't know that either.
I felt nauseous. Invisible to the audience.
I talked really fast. The audience just thought that I was excited about the project. My boss told me later that the passion and enthusiasm that I had for that project would take me far in the company.
VISIBLE SYMPTOMS OF NERVOUSNESS
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1) We speak faster.
2) We move faster.
3) We use more hand gestures
VISIBLE CHARACTERISTICS OF ENTHUSIASM
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1) We speak faster.
2) We move faster.
3) We use more hand gestures.
In the last 10 years, I've trained hundreds of new sale people. When I first began teaching, I was amazed at how a brand new salesperson, who knew almost nothing about the product or service he was selling, had an easier time selling that some of the seasoned veterans.
Many times, the new salesperson is so nervous, that on a sales call, he may speak faster and move faster. A lot of the time, the prospect assumes that the salesperson is enthusiastic about the product. "Boy, if he believes in this thing that much, it must be good."
The same thing can happen in public speaking. We can use that nervousness to our advantage. If we are speaking on a topic that we really believe in, then the enthusiasm will come naturally anyway.
WHAT ABOUT THE INVISIBLE SYMPTOMS?
In the next e-mail, I'll share with you some of the processes that we use in the Fearless Presentations program to help overcome the invisible symptoms of nervousness.
| *********************************************************************************************** "The class is very impressive. Now, I don't mind getting up in front of a group and speaking. I know how to prepare myself ahead of time and I'm much more confident when asked to speak under pressure." David Anderson, James R. Thompson Const. *********************************************************************************************** The absolute best way to overcome the fear of public speaking is to get a good coach and practice in a positive environment. The High Impact Leaders Class offers a step-by-step program that will help you develop poise and confidence speaking in front of a group, become more persuasive, and ultimately control your audience. To check schedules in your area, visit this link http://www.fearlessandpersuasivespeaking.com/schedule.html Don't see your city? Send us an e-mail to find out how to get a class started in your area. class@leadersinstitute.com *********************************************************************************************** "I have gained more confidence at speaking to larger groups. I've always felt comfortable speaking to smaller groups of two or three people, but now I have expanded my comfort zone to include groups of all sizes." -- Nickey Smith-Freightliner *********************************************************************************************** |
OFFICE POLITICS
How to Motivate People
(Article 4 of 8)
When he created his Hierarchy of Needs, Dr. Maslow realized that a person would focus solely on lower level needs until these needs are satisfied, and at that point, upper level needs become more important. Our role as leaders is to determine where others are on this diagram and determine how to get them to the next level.
The same person can be at different levels of this hierarchy at the same time in different skills or situations. For example, if a CEO of a prominent company has spent years having reporters and trade journals interview him, he may eventually get to the point where he has accomplished so much, that he has accomplished so much on the outside, the he wants to focus more on the inside. He would be in the self-actualization level for his career. But if an imminent threat presented itself to one of his children, that person would drop everything to ensure the safety and security of his child.
A more "real-life" example might be if a person has been in her position as an accountant for a few years and has really proven her value to the company, she might be in the acceptance level or even esteem level for her career. But if she were elected to be Chairperson of the Chamber of Commerce, and she is not as confident speaker as she might like to be, she may feel that her security in that area has been threatened. She will react differently to protect herself.
Most people that we know will typically be at the acceptance or esteem levels. So, if we can show people how what we want them to do will either help them become more of a part of the team or to be looked upon with esteem by their coworkers or customers, they will usually enthusiastically do what we ask.
The following tips are a few things to keep in mind when attempting to motivate people.
- Solid trust must be established before we can motivate anyone.
- People are motivated by different things in different situations based upon their comfort level (see above.)
- Money rarely motivates anyone to do anything.
People who seem to be motivated by
money
are often motivated by the recognition
that
money brings.
In the next newsletter, we'll introduce some principles to help gain enthusiastic cooperation from people.
If you'd like your co-workers or team to develop more positive relationship accounts with each other and customers, our High Precision Teams program could be helpful for you.