Sales Lessons From A Jehovahs Witness!
by Bangalore 2 Replies latest jw friends
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Bangalore
Last week Sunday, I was woken up at about 8.30am to the sound of my doorbell, ringing off constantly as if someone had an emergency going on!
This was followed by the letter box clanging, as if a hundred junk mail leaflets were being thrust through the door like a scene from a Looney Tunes cartoon.
Now, I’m a man who takes his hygiene game seriously – I have to use the bathroom and freshen myself up the moment I wake up, but this constant knocking had me seriously worried. So as i put on my dressing gown with eyes barely opening, I fly down the stairs opening the door expecting to see the fire brigade, the police or even a worried neighbour…
On my doorstep, are two old ladies both standing there in their Sunday best with their widest smile, one with all 32 teeth showing, the other with maybe 24 teeth, both with their WatchTower Jehovah’s Witness magazines in hand!
Before I even had time to explain that I’m just not interested and I want to come back to my bed so, politely, leave me the hell alone, they jumped straight in and began explaining all the reasons why I would want them to go and the reasons why i should give them just 5 minutes of my time, to hear them out.
Because of their approach, I ended up given them about 10 minutes – once I firmly stated I’m not interested and I’m definitely going back to my bed and as they left to wake up next door, I did found myself admiring their tenacity, their resilience and their ability to stay focused on what they were ‘selling’.
So how does that all relate to business?
Here are a 5 things I have taken from that experience, that i feel is relevant:
1) Highlight the objections first - You will always receive an objection in the sales process. Fact. But it is to your advantage to research, plan and be both honest and transparent about your understanding of those objections from your customer’s perspective – build empathy, integrity and trust through a clear and open relationship with your customer first!
2) Never take no for an answer – The more no’s you receive, is the more likely you are to get a yes! The important thing, is that you understand why you are receiving those no’s and use that knowledge to create your responses / products / services ahead of the next customer interaction!
3) Stay professional at all times – This seems like a no-brainer, but being professional also means staying true to what you stand for, your ethics and your beliefs, whilst being open to debate and discuss with those who don’t share the same views as you. The art of education is to ‘lead out’ or ‘to bring forth’ – this only comes through clear communication and a genuine respect for diversity!
4) Ask for the sale – If you want your potential customer to buy from you, you will, at some point in the conversation, have to ask. SO MAKE SURE YOU ASK!! Fear of closing is such a troublesome area for many, for fear of rejection yet your potential customer will expect you to ask them. The key is to ensure that you ask the right questions i.e. What are the key reasons why you may not wish to make a purchase today? Would you like to go ahead now etc..
5) Say thankyou – Even the most aggressive, rude and obnoxious person will appreciate a genuine thank you, even if they choose not to buy from you. That one thank you, may be the very reason why they might from you at a later date and time too!
Being yourself regardless of the challenges you face, is something that we are helping aspiring entrepreneurs to do in The Hot500 – is there anything that you can do to help them too? Check us out here!
Till the next time,
J
Bangalore
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cantleave
All good advice. I guess one reason many of us EX-JWS are comfortable selling is because we can handle rejection and have no problem asking for the order.