Back To The Basics

Recently I noticed many of the salespeople I've been training have been skipping the basics. Instead of taking time to build the frame of the influence puzzle, They start quickly throwing pieces out there and trying to match them up to see if they match.

That's not good. It causes more work than necessary.

The basics are there for a reason.

You've probably heard stories about sports greats like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and others who would consistently drill the basics. Standing and shooting hundreds of free throws each day to master the basics.

It's the same with influence.

The basics are your foundation. When you use them they don't let you down.

A building without a solid foundation it will easily crumble. The slightest wind can knock it over, like the little pig's straw house. And you have to start rebuilding again.

With face-to-face selling your foundation begins with rapport.

When you meet with someone you want to be matching and mirroring their behavior. If the person speaks with animated hand gestures, when you speak use the same gestures.

If he speaks with a slow pace, you speak at the same slow pace.

Use the exact words he uses to describe his problem. When he says he's looking for "peace of mind" you don't tell him how your product will give him "security." Your product will give him "peace of mind."

Your goal is to be a mirror image of the person you're influencing.

Go to a nice restaurant and watch the couples who look like they're on dates. Notice the couples sitting across from each other that look like mirror images. They both reach for their drink at the same time. They both smile, nod, and move at the same time.

That is rapport. That date will probably end well.

When you speak and behave like the person you trigger the the mirror neurons to activate and think, "Hey, you're just like me. You understand me."

When you're "just like me" how can I argue with you?

That's the foundation where you want to stand.