“80% Of The Sale Is Made In The First 5 Minutes. Here Are The Secrets Handed To You On A Silver Platter!”

No, you don’t really make sales the first 5 minutes. But that’s where the majority of us lose sales.

Where? In the Greeting.

As humans, we go through most of the day in “Alpha state”. That’s where we are on Auto-pilot and not concentrating on what going on around us. We do this when we drive, eat, listen to the radio, or watch TV. (most of the time). Many of us have read entire chapters of books & then can’t remember what we read. That’s Alpha state.

When someone asks you “How are you” and you say anything other than “Fine” or ““Great, how about you?”, their brain has to engage so they can change from an established unthinking response.

What do you say as a Greeting? “Hi, How are you?” ?

Here’s why that is wrong. Because the customer is still in Alpha-state. You need to “Snap them out of it” so they can actively listen to your questions.

I say “I’m here to serve” and I say it slightly louder than normal.

They may smile. They usually do. Or you may see a slight widening of the eyes. This means that they are now concentrating on you. This is what you want.

You can use any greeting you want, as long as it can’t be answered without thinking.

And never….never ....say “May I help you?”. Now, in everyone’s mind...you are a clerk.

Then you ask the qualifying questions.

I’ve gone over this many times, so I won’t waste the space here with the series of questions. If you like, you can find them in several issues of this newsletter. Just go to www.unfairadvantageretail.com and go to the Member area.

Anyway, the point I wanted to make here is that you want to change the position you hold in the customer’s mind.

If you start showing a product without asking a series of questions first, you are a clerk at worst, and a salesperson at best. You want to be thought of as a trained advisor. Like a doctor..or lawyer.

Your qualifying questions accomplish two goals. They let you know what to show the buyer, and they establish the relationship that you will both experience.

You want your opinion to have Value. You want to be able to give a recommendation & have it be taken seriously.

Here’s a secret. Find a greeting and qualifying series of questions that works for you (or just use mine) and memorize it. Use it the same every time.

Here are the benefits to you;

You won’t have to think of what you say. It will take no thought on your part but will force the customer to engage their attention.

While the customer is talking, you can be listening & also deciding what to show the customer.

You will be confident & at ease. The customer will value that & feel that you have rapport.

““But Claude….I don’t want to memorize anything. It won’’t sound natural”.

Everything is memorized. Everything you say has come from your memory. You say “Hi, how are you” and that’s memorized.

And your product demonstration should be entirely memorized. People who are unprepared wing it.

Have you ever watched a comedian on HBO? Do you think they “wing it”? Not on your life.

When I was building my vacuum cleaner demonstration, I listed all the unique benefits, the most dramatic way to show that benefit, and I listed all the possible objections to buying.

I answered all the objections in the demonstration. I memorized clear and convincing answers to nearly every possible question.

And as a result, 95% of the people who see my vacuum cleaner demonstration (Yup, that’s a real figure) either buy right then or come back (with their spouse) and buy within 30 days.

Now you know the secret.