The Seven
Ditch the Pitch Habits
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Improvising sales conversations -- ditching the pitch -- is something anyone can do, if they develop the right habits. Like anything we learn to do, we get better at ditching the pitch once it becomes so familiar that we don't have to think about it.
There are seven habits that will help you ditch the pitch effectively and improve your sales abilities. This is true whether you are an expert sales person or a novice, a seller of hardware or a seller of ideas, or someone who isn't an official "sales person" but frequently has to persuade people.
Habit 1:
Be alert to be quick on your feet
The first Ditch the Pitch habit is intense alertness. Improvisation is about paying attention to what is happening around you and developing your own course of action based on what you perceive. If you are completely absorbed in the moment as you interact with your customer, alert to every detail, you will be quick on your feet and be able to improvise.
Habit 2:
Size up the scene
The alertness you practice in Habit 1 enables you to size up the scene -- to gain an understanding of what is happening in the moment you find yourself in. You might notice your customer is in a good mood -- or a bad mood. You may learn that your customer has just met with a competitor and likes what they have to offer.
If you can answer the question, "What's going on here, and why does it matter?" you will be in a strong position to improvise an effective sales conversation.
Habit 3:
Say yes
No matter what your customer says, even if it is something you completely disagree with, you will be able to find something to say "yes" to.
Saying "no" shuts down conversations. Saying "yes" builds conversations. When you create areas of agreement between you and your client, you make it easier to deal with areas of disagreement.
Habit 4:
Explore and Heighten
If you are practicing Habits 1, 2 and 3, you will inevitably discover key, important issues that matter to your customer. Now you can start to explore and develop them.
Great improvisation, and, for that matter, great conversation, involve exploring ideas and heightening them to new levels. When you do this with your customer, she will become much more engaged in what you are talking about.
Habit 5:
Don't talk about yourself
"Don't talk about yourself" may be the #1 rule of selling.
Don't talk about yourself. Don't talk about your company. Don't talk about your products. Talk about your customer.
Your customers are much more interested in themselves than they are interested in you, your company or your products. So why not talk about what they care about -- themselves?
Ensure that 95% of the time in your customer conversations is focused on your customer and her issues. Only tell your customer things about your company or your product when you can relate those things to your customer's needs or interests.
Habit 6:
Don't rush the story
If you are practicing these habits, you will undoubtedly discover many reasons your customer should buy from you. Ideas will be forming in your brain at a rapid pace, and it will be tempting to tell your customer everything you are thinking, as quick as you are thinking it.
Don't.
Have patience. Let your story unfold, through dialogue, at a pace that seems much more like your customer is discovering it than you are pitching it. Avoid the temptation to "load the slingshot" or dump all of your ideas on your customer at once.
Habit 7:
Use callbacks
Watch any episode of Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm, and you will see that certain themes appear and reappear throughout the episode. Each time the theme reappears it seems funnier, because the audience feels that they are "in" on the joke. These "callbacks" tie together the various scenes, giving the viewer a sense of continuity.
The same holds true with your customers. Use callbacks by bringing things your customer said earlier back into the conversation or by referencing shared experiences you and your customer have had, and your customer will become much more engaged in the conversation.
I'll be exploring these Ditch the Pitch Habits in upcoming issues of this newsletter. You can also check out the links on the right sidebar of this article for more information. In the meantime, start practicing these habits! You'll find that as your fluency with them improves, so will your sales abilities.
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steve@yastrow.com
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Ditch the Pitch Habits
Introduction to the Ditch the Pitch Habits
How to Start a Sales Conversation
How to Propel a Sales Conversation Forward
How to Turn a Sales Conversation into a Shared Story
Conversations should be encounters - not transactions.
Download Steve's ebook: Encounters: The Building Blocks
of We Relationships
Get More Steve: Go more in-depth with Ditch the Pitch Habits
Input Before Output
Habit 1: Be alert to be quick on your feet.
Everything your customer says is true
Habit 3: Say yes
Most people are no buts
Habit 3: Say yes
Get rid of your but
Habit 3: Say yes
Work with what you are given
Habit 3: Say yes
Every idea is the bridge to the best idea
Habit 3: Say yes
The #1 Sales Rule: Don't talk about yourself
Habit 5: Don't talk about yourself
The one-paragraph rule
Habit 5: Don't talk about yourself
Sales Tip: Leave things in your pocket
Habit 6: Don't rush the story
Sales Tip: Don't load the slingshot
Habit 6: Don't rush the story
Callbacks
Habit 7: Use callbacks
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