Stop Dumping your Message on Prospects
I gave up the idea that people wanted to hear what I had to say a long time ago...
If you want people to know anything about you, you need to be willing to tell them. That doesn’t mean they want to know it.
My wife will tell you that I'm a difficult person to get to know. I don't disagree. It's not that I'm guarded- I'm willing to share more about myself than most people. However, I don't volunteer much in that regard. I don't feel like the responsibility is mine to tell you all about who I am and what I like. Why should I expect you to care?
If you want to know something about me, ask. Your interest in me will be well-rewarded. I'm a pretty interesting guy. I have layers. I have a lot to offer. I'm actually willing to go a lot of places that others aren't, so the relationships that I cultivate tend to be pretty deep and valuable. I just need to suspect you're interested before I go there.
Believe it or not, this mindset has helped me tremendously in my sales career. I don't tell people a whole lot that they aren't interested in learning. When I need to deliver a message and sell something, I find a way to get people interested.
You can't just be the strong, silent, mysterious type and expect people to flock to you. That only really works in movies and romance novels. Most people, particularly in the business world, are too consumed by their day-to-day activities to pursue anything that isn't immediately in front of them.
Distracting and interrupting, however, especially with a broadcast of your message, is going to have very limited success. First, because there are so many messages being broadcast at people that it's difficult to cut through the noise. Secondly, if there's no context for that message to be received, how will they interpret it in a meaningful way?
Now more than ever, if you want people to hear your message (let alone have it resonate with them) you need to secure their interest first. When you share your message with the world, you can't assume that everyone is listening.
I think a lot of salespeople are overly concerned with their pitch… how it's structured, what the perfect words are, and if it's too long or short. Unfortunately, not enough of salespeople are concerning themselves with giving their prospects a reason to listen in the first place.
Here's my challenge to you, dear reader. I want you to stop dumping your pitch on prospects like it's your job, because steamrolling prospects with your message is not your job. Your job is to make connections that lead to sales.
Instead, I want you to open your sales conversations in such a way that they ask you what you called to talk about. You can't start with your product, but you also can't be boring. You're need to be relatable. You need to be intriguing. Leading with intrigue and relatability requires a lot of thought on your part and probably a bit of extra prep work. But think about it. It’s a much more effective approach.
Imagine that, a prospect actually interested in you for a change!
Look, you're not begging for a new friend any more than they are, so that's not what this is about. My point is simple. Spend more effort engaging your prospect in the process, and you'll have more success.
I don't assume that people want to know much about me, but when they ask, I over deliver. As a result, my friendships and relationships tend to be really rich. As I've taken the same approach with my sales career, my customer relationships are much deeper as well. This leads to more sales, more loyalty, more referrals, and so on.
Take a look at your approach, and see if tweaking it along these lines wouldn't be beneficial.
Jeff Bajorek
Real. Authentic. Experience.
There’s a big difference between knowing how to sell and being able to. Jeff Bajorek spent over a decade in the field as a top performer. He’s been in your shoes. He knows what it will take. He can help you succeed.
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