Archive for Category: Buyer behaviour

Avoid These Sales Mannerisms That See You Shooting Yourself In The Foot

“Why would you want to interrupt a conversation that is to your advantage?” Success in selling is not just about what you say. Sometimes what you do shoots you in your foot.   These three mannerisms work against the seller, possibly losing him the sale. Cell phone etiquette. Francis (RIP), salesperson par excellence, once told me

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It Takes Patience And Commitment To Attain “I Have A Guy…” Status

Getting to “I have a guy” status is a long term game because people take time to trust you. Nonetheless, there is selfish reason why you should aim for it… “I have a guy…” These are words every salesperson should aspire to. They are words that position you as the go-to person. And they are

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To get his attention, make the opening about buyer

Make opening about the buyer. Include these three qualities: brevity, succinctness, and being gripping. Remember the objective is to engage… “Boss. Hiyo wiper yako ikipiga, itaharibu kioo” Told to me by a hawker, this is the most gripping opening of any sale I’ve heard. In only seven words he had my full attention. He did

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Three Landmines That Can Blow Up A Potential Sale

When the buyer asks why he should deal with you, it’s not facts he seeks, it’s emotion— a hand in marriage. “Why you?” she asks and he says, “Because your friends will be jealous of you for bagging tall, dark and handsome me. ”Vain? Yes! And that’s how you also sound when you rattle off

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Why you should embrace selling even if you are not a salesperson

No buyer is concerned with your product or service (yes, you too have one you are selling). Your buyers (yes, you have those too) are only interested in what your service or product can do for THEM. How will it benefit THEM? So, embrace selling even if you are not a salesperson Embrace selling even

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Connect with the customer by using his jargon-not yours

Tribe is not a bad thing; it’s just twisted to be so. When one is obviously struggling to speak in English or Kiswahili and, judging from their accent or name, you switch to speaking in one’s vernacular, an emotional bond is quickly formed. You Connect With The Customer “You are so anti-jargon,” a reader told

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Treat customers like patients to help them make sound buying decisions

Customers don’t know what they want. It is a sad truth, rarely verbalized. So treat customers like patients. Help treat their pain through insightful questions, thought through before the meeting Customers are like patients. Sell to them like a doctor. When you are feeling unwell and visit the doctor, the only thing you know is

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Maintain customer dignity when he’s cornered

When you have a customer ‘cornered’, instead of chest thumping for outing him, give him an out instead. Maintain customer dignity. Even if he’s wrong he’s still right. I learnt from a security expert, that riot police have several techniques at their disposal to disperse a riotous crowd. This was after one of the anti-IEBC

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For A Faster Close, Make It Easy For Buyer To Understand And Decide

Driven more by esteem than need, buyers want all the trending bells and whistles in a product. And yet, will most probably use one ‘bell’. If in doubt, how many features on his phone do you suppose the average person uses? It’s the seller’s job to know all the bells and whistles but limit the

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Why we should deploy words wisely when selling and especially avoid but

Words are the most powerful tool we use when selling. It is imperative that we deploy them wisely. For instance, the word but is best avoided. It irritates; ‘but’ erects walls, instead of building bridges… Communication is the most powerful tool a salesman has. A successful sale is more a factor of how he uses

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