Shakespeare said "The pen is mightier than the sword."
Steve Lawson said "Your mouth is the most dangerous weapon you have."
Okay Dante Pettis Jersey , I'm no Shakespeare. But there is a lot of truth to that saying. Some people put a lot of thought into WHAT they say, but very little thought into whether they should say anything at all. Here are three specific situations in which I have repeatedly seen advisors LOSE SALES by saying too much.
Situation #1: Shoppers looking to buy a car don't want to know how to build it. Usually, your clients work with you because you are the expert. That takes the burden of being an expert off their shoulders. Yet, I frequently see prospects at a goes from interested to confused Mike McGlinchey Jersey , and confused people don't buy!
Most salespeople usually justify their actions with one of two responses. Some say, "I want the client to understand what they are buying." While this is admirable, you cannot expect clients to understand it to the degree that you do. Remember, you're the expert. They simply need to understand the pros and cons and whether or not it meets their needs.
The other response I hear is Matt Breida Jersey , "I want to establish credibility." This is a little trickier because it is important to demonstrate that you are competent. However, part of being competent and credible is having the ability to make confusing information simple.
Situation #2: Have you ever made suggestions to a prospect only to have the prospect thank you for the idea and then purchase "your idea" from another source? It happens all the time. Why? Many advisors share too much information while trying to impress a it does not work.
Imagine trying to make a living as a guide in a popular tourist destination. You are speaking with someone who has already hired someone else as a guide. The only reason they are talking to you is because they are curious to learn if you know about something their guide does not. The more details you provide, the easier it is for them to ask their guide to take them there. If you get them excited about something that their guide cannot match, they have no choice but to hire you as their new guide.
How does that translate? You must share the benefits of your solution without telling the prospect how to implement your solution. It can often be a fine line George Kittle Jersey , but every time you cross it, you run the risk of training your competition on new ideas. If this is a frequent problem for you, consider working with a professional sales trainer who will show you how to get a commitment from prospects before you "spill the beans."
Situation #3: You have to give prospects time to think and respond. In many sales presentations, I have witnessed advisors ask a question Jimmy Garoppolo Jersey , pause very briefly for a response, and continue on without an answer. Why bother asking a question if you are not getting an answer? Instead, give the client time to think and answer the question. After what seems like an eternity (6-8 seconds usually) the client will usually answer or ask you to repeat the question. Not only do answers to your questions (assuming you ask good questions) increase the effectiveness of your presentation, but it "forces" the prospect the pay attention to you.
All three situations Jerry Rice Jersey , especially the last one, are tied to the fact that may people have a fear of silence when speaking. Toastmasters is a well-known organization that helps people become better speakers. One of the things I learned early on in Toastmasters is that people are so uncomfortable with silence that they will say things like "Uhhhh" just to fill the silence. Yet, the best public speakers in the world all know how to use dramatic pauses and silence to give their speeches more impact.
Advisors and salespeople should follow this example. Learn to harness the power of silence as a tool when you give your next presentation. Saying nothing is a lot more powerful than saying the wrong thing. Giving advice to a teenager is very easy; getting a teenager to take that advice is another matter altogether. It's not only a case of the advice 'falling on deaf ears', sometimes the teenager seems to go deliberately out of their way to do the exact opposite Joe Montana Jersey , that's when you know you've got a problem. So how do you go about giving advice to a teen?
The short answer to this question is "don't". Now at first glance this probably sounds ridiculous, after all parents have more experience of life and most would agree that a parent's job is to pass this experience onto their children.
But the problem with giving advice is that it's really just a way of maintaining control. We often cover it up by saying we know what's best in the situation, we have the experience and knowledge, but in reality what we're saying is what we want to happen Cheap 49ers Hats , this is what we want you to do.
Adolescence is a time for learning to self-manage, to take responsibility for yourself and your actions. It's an essential process if your teen is to become a well-adjusted, fully functioning adult ready for the 21st century. And a fundamental part of the process is handing over control to your teen.
For most parents this is a really scary thought. They're concerned over what will happen if they do, that if they give up some control it will mean they lose all control. They're concerned about what their teen will do Cheap 49ers Hoodie , what happens if they get it wrong, they feel a need to protect their teen.
Firstly, handing over control at this stage is more about handing over responsibility and accountability on how to do something, not handing over total control. It's about letting your teen have an involvement in how to solve a particular problem Cheap 49ers T-Shirts , it's about teaching them problem solving skills. If you always provide the solution how will they ever learn to do it for themselves?