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Let your passion fill your life with purpose
And therein lays the critical point. If you push your enthusiasm on a prospect before that person is ready to listen, you come across as a hard sell salesperson. Your potential buyer may visit a few minutes longer before leaving, probably for good. On the other hand, if you demonstrate that you care about the customer’s concerns first, ask questions and probe to understand better, without rushing into the product, you are demonstrating a soft sell sales approach. People want you to care about what they really need and want before you try to sell them. If you do this, you will be able to help customers buy.
For example, I had a Chrysler salesperson in 1981 who was passionate about the new K-car. Had he gotten to know me first, though, he would have discovered that I had zero interest in the K-car. I might have been interested, however, in a LeBaron.
On the other hand, we were recently browsing in our Glendora Best Buy and stopped in the Camera Department. I was curious about their pricing and models available on the Flip Video camera. My initial questions immediately tipped Patrick Brock off as to what my interests were. He was really enthusiastic about the Flip Mino HD. He’d used it professionally so he spoke from experience with the commercial version of this camera to interview professional athletes. He shared with us its strengths and weaknesses, despite which he convinced us it was a great camera.
On the other hand, he was really excited about Kodak’s new Playsport 5.0 MP Camcorder. It too had some drawbacks, yet it won points in his mind in that it has much better video resolution and better audio than the Flip Video cameras. We genuinely enjoyed visiting with him because of his expertise and personal experience with these cameras. His enthusiasm was contagious.
Patrick demonstrated soft sell sales techniques: he clearly was interested in what we wanted to know, recommended someone else when I got outside his area of expertise (tablet PCs), and never tried to push me into anything or confuse me by showing me everything in the department.
There’s a power in passionate salespeople that attracts us because it gets us excited too. Because Patrick made our shopping experience so positive, we feel good about the Best Buy in Glendora, CA. Patrick knows his products and shares his passion for them while having the patience to listen to his customers first. His soft sell sales style impressed me enough that I wanted to know his name so I can return to him when I’m ready to buy.
If you would like to know more about how to use heart-centered, soft sell sales and marketing in your business, please sign up for my community. For a few months longer, I’m offering my eBook and eCourse, “9 Steps to Finding Prospects Who Want What You Provide,” a $47.00 value for free in exchange for your name and email address. After that this course will become a product I sell.
How to Ask a Closing Question
Gratitude Sets the Right Attitude
Heart Centered Selling’s not for Wimps
Have You Heard the MLM Lies?
Sales Motivation – Remember, There’s more to Life than Money
Trusting a Salesperson Is Tough; Liking Is Easy
If No One Cares, It’s Not a Unique Selling Proposition
If Sales Calls to You Are Win-Lose Battles, Read No Further
