Selling to the Four Temperament Styles by John Boe

Have you ever wondered why you seem to hit it off right away with some customers, while with others it's more like oil and water? That's because we respond intuitively to the natural chemistry, or lack there of, between temperament styles.

Our temperament style not only determines our behavioral traits, body language patterns and buying style, but it also influences our compatibility with other people.

Today we have access to innovative tools such as the Internet, cell phones, faxes and voice mail all designed to enhance our communications and support us in selling more effectively.

Nevertheless, even with all of these technological tools at our disposal, the alarming number of failed relationships, dissatisfied employees and lost sales all reflect the fact that none of us are as effective at understanding others as we would like to believe.

For example, what about that sale you thought you had made, but for some unknown reason your prospect changed their mind and didn't buy… or at least they didn't buy from you. Chances are you lost that sale because of your inability to recognize and adjust to your prospect's preferred buying style. This temperament mismatch is often referred to as a "personality conflict."

Research in the field of psychology tells us that we are born into one of four primary temperament styles (Aggressive, Expressive, Passive or Analytical).

A person's temperament style is determined genetically and has nothing to do with his or her astrology sign, birth order or childhood experiences. Our temperament style is also unrelated to race or gender. Each of these four primary behavioral styles requires a different approach and selling strategy.

Ancient Wisdom - Hippocrates, the father of medicine, is credited with originating the basic theory of the four temperament styles twenty-four hundred years ago. Since the days of ancient Greece there have been many temperament theories and a wide variety of evaluation instruments, but essentially they utilize the four temperament styles that Hippocrates identified. Hippocrates observed that these four styles have a direct influence on our physiology, character traits and outlook on life.

The Aggressive or Worker style is: Extroverted - Determined - Demanding - Domineering - Controlling - Practical - Self-reliant - Decisive - Insensitive

Their major weakness is "anger management". Under pressure the Worker will work harder and may become ill-natured or explosive.

The impatient and goal-oriented Worker prefers a quick, bottom line presentation style. They expect you to be on time and well prepared. They like it when you avoid small talk and get right down to business.

Workers are generally quick to make a decision. They are focused on results and ask “what” questions. Keywords to use when presenting to a Worker are results, speed and control. Give them options so you don't threaten their need for control.

The Expressive or Talker style is: Extroverted - Enthusiastic - Emotional - Sociable - Impulsive - Optimistic - Persuasive - Unorganized

Their major weakness is "emotional management". Under pressure the Talker will talk more, shop or eat, and may display an emotional outburst.

The playful and friendly Talker prefers a fast paced and enthusiastic presentation style. Use a short warm up and allow extra time in your presentation for them to talk.

Talkers can be impulsive shoppers and are generally quick to make a decision. The key to making a sale to a Talker is to keep them focused on the presentation and allow time for them to express their feelings.

Talkers seek social acceptance and are concerned about what other people think of them. They ask “who” questions. Keywords to use when presenting to a Talker are exciting, fun and enthusiastic.

Keep your presentation big picture and avoid giving them too much detail. Consider using colorful pictures, pie charts or graphs when presenting to this style.

The Passive or Watcher style is: Introverted - Accommodating - Harmonious - Indecisive - Patient - Polite - Uninvolved - Friendly - Sympathetic

Their major weakness is "self-esteem management." Under pressure the Watcher will avoid conflict by sleeping in longer.

The peaceful and stoic Watcher prefers a slow, deliberate presentation style. Watchers, unlike the impatient Worker, require extra time to warm up before you begin talking about business.

Watchers are very sensitive to conflict or “sales pressure.” They have a need to accommodate others and tend to ask “how” questions. Keywords to use when presenting to this style are family, service and harmony.

Help the Watcher make a decision by giving them assurance. They dislike having to make decisions and are natural born procrastinators who love the status quos.

The Analytical or Thinker style is: Introverted - Thoughtful - Organized - Critical - Shy Detailed - Pessimistic - Introspective - Secretive - Aloof

Their major weakness is "stress management." Under pressure the Thinker becomes withdrawn, depressed and worries more (panic attacks). They "stress out" and seek perfection.

The cautious Thinker prefers a slow, detailed presentation style and warms up slowly. They are skeptical and typically research before they purchase. Thinkers want detailed information and they tend to ask “why” questions.

Keywords to use are logical, safety and quality. Because they are concerned about making a wrong decision and appearing incompetent, you can expect the Thinker to want to take their time.

Their frugal nature will cause them to “shop your numbers” to make certain they are not paying too much. Because of their desire for research and their need to avoid making a mistake, Thinkers often get bogged down in details. They get what is called "paralyzes from analysis." Close the sale with the Thinker by reducing their fear of making a mistake. Give them evidence, facts, testimonials and guarantees.

While there are certainly many factors that influence the selling process, by far the most important factor is to identify your prospect's preferred buying style. Once you learn how to quickly and accurately determine your prospect's temperament style using body language, you will be able to close more sales in less time!
_____________
John Boe is recognized as one of the nation's top sales trainers and motivational speakers. He helps companies recruit, train, and motivate salespeople to achieve peak performance. John is a leading authority on body language and temperament styles. To have John Boe speak at your next event, visit www.JohnBoe.com.

The It Isn't in the budget Close By Tom Hopkins

You'll often come across people who use their budget as a way to keep from committing to a purchase. Use this close to remind them of the true purpose of a budget and who's actually in control.

I understand your need to stick to your budget, John. In fact, that's why I contacted you in the first place. I'm fully aware of the fact that every well-managed business controls the flow of its money with a carefully planned budget. The budget is a necessary tool for every company to give direction to its goal. However, the tool itself doesn't dictate how the company is run.

The budget must be flexible. You, as the controller of that budget, retain for yourself the right to flex it in the best interest of the company's financial present and competitive future, don't you? What we have been examining here today is a system which will allow your company an immediate and continuing competitive edge. Tell me, under these conditions, will your budget flex or will it dictate your actions?

This script can be tweaked for a personal sale, too, if your clients are using their household budget as a stall. What they're really saying is that they don't see enough value to take money from something else they have budgeted for and use it for your product or service.
____________
Tom Hopkins International
7531 E. 2nd St., Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Tel: (480) 949-0786 or 800/528-0446 Fax: (480) 949-1590
TomHopkins.com - Visit our website for a great "Tip of the Day"

Buying is Not a Spectator Sport By Tom Hopkins

Operating their mouths at light speed, some salespeople put on amazing demonstrations. They flip levers, punch buttons, and zip stuff around. Out of the machines they're demonstrating come a flood of perfect parts, data, copies, or whatever. But they don't sell much with these superb performances. Why not? Because apathy rushes in where involvement fails to tread.

Buying is action. It can't take place unless there are decisions, and decisions require a switched-on mind. Watching, instead of doing, is a switch-off. The longer your prospects are switched off, the harder it will be to switch them back on again when you want the paperwork approved at the end of your demonstration.

The Champion salesperson avoids the long switch-offs, and demonstrates by encouraging the client to enter the data, thread the needle, or feed the parts. Of course, the client won't do these things as well as, or as fast as, a practiced salesperson can. But if the client is participating instead of watching, he or she is thinking about your product instead of wondering how to spend the weekend or what to have for dinner that night. In fact, the client is doing more than merely thinking about your product — he or she is experiencing it. That means getting emotionally involved with what you're selling.

However great or small this emotional involvement may be, it's certainly going to be far greater than if your prospect just sits there while you give your presentation.

Rather than thinking of yourself as the star of your presentation, think of yourself as the manager for a star. The star, of course, is your product. Your major focus in getting exposure and building relationships for your star is to help others get to know it better. You simply operate the spotlight to control the show where the potential client gets emotionally involved with your star.

If you accept that, you'll want to find as many reasonable and positive ways as you can to involve your prospects in your product. First, and foremost, get yourself out of the picture. Unless you, personally, move in with the client (and the product) the client should never see you stand between them and the product. Their exposure needs to be firsthand.

One of the greatest fears we all have in selling situations is that we will trust what the salesperson shows or tells us, buy the product or service that's for sale, and then, once we own the product, it won't fulfill our expectations or meet our needs. The best demonstrations give us the opportunity to prove to ourselves that what the salesperson is telling us is true.

Some of the best methods I know of for encouraging relationship-building between your product and future client are participation techniques that we've been discussing. If you've been switching your prospects off with “I'm-the-star!” performances, you'll need to completely overhaul your demonstration to successfully convert it — and yourself — to the client-participation method.

The truth is, you will be the star when you master the client-participation demonstration: first, when you have your prospects happily involved in your demonstrations and product, and second, when they happily approve the paperwork.

The difference is small, but vital. Win your ooh's and ah's by showing your prospects how to do amazing things in your demonstration model, not by doing amazing things on it yourself. They'll be ‘selling' themselves on moving from a state of wanting the product to a state of needing it. Once they realize it suits their needs, it's just a matter of closing.

Here's how to develop the client-participation demonstration technique into a powerful selling tool:

1. List all the steps the client must go through to understand how badly they need your device's capabilities. Then, figure out as simple an exercise as you can, to demonstrate each capability. Make each exercise distinctive, and give it a name that's easy to remember. Use as much color as possible.

2. List every question and objection that you're likely to encounter during a demonstration.

3. Arrange the demonstration and the question / objection answering into a smooth-flowing sequence.

4. Check and re-check the delivery of your lines. Discard those that don't work well, and add new ones that do.

The successful client-participation demonstration is organized so that each step is simple and leads smoothly to the next, yet the prospect feels a constant challenge and a growing sense of excitement. Keep the pace fast. Brush over minor details. And encourage, encourage, encourage.

If your product is tangible, you must have the future client push the buttons, make the connections, flip the switches, and so on. For example, with a copier, Sue should bring in something she needs copied today. Verbally walk her through making the copy. Then have her learn something about a new feature on the machine that will fulfill other needs she has.

If you market intangibles, preparation is critical. Bring with you either a customized presentation, which includes specific information about the client or a laptop with capabilities for providing specific answers when you plug in the information you gain during the qualification sequence. Until the figures become real for the potential client, there's little emotional involvement and not enough information for them to make a wise decision. Once they have their actual numbers, they can easily see the value of your product or service to them.

Take the frustration and pressure out, put the fun and relaxation in, and you'll be successful with client-participation demonstration.

When you're confident of your new techniques, go out and happily involve two, three, or four times as many people in experiencing your product as you ever did before. Do that and two more benefits will automatically come your way:

1. You'll spend less time making each sale because you will have solved the challenge of involving people in your offering.

2. You'll get more referrals because you will be developing greater rapport with your clients. In other words, they'll want others to have the same enjoyable experience they have just had with you.
_____________
Tom Hopkins International
7531 E. 2nd St., Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Tel: (480) 949-0786 or 800/528-0446 Fax: (480) 949-1590
TomHopkins.com - Visit our website for a great "Tip of the Day"

Salesmanship and Empathy By Jeff Blackwell

One of the simplest ways to increase your productivity as a salesperson is to tune into your buyers point of view. When you are in tune with your buyer you have empathy. This means that you can identify with and understand their situation, feelings, and motives.

When you are in tune with your buyer everything you say or do seems to be right on the mark. The buyer gets the feeling that you really understand them and the road to a successful sale lights up like an airport runway. The opposite is also true. When you are not in tune with your buyer nothing you can do or say will seem to be right. When you push they pull and vice versa.

Master salespeople know the importance of empathy and tune in to their buyers as quickly as possible. Novice salespeople on the other hand, rarely make the effort. This lack of empathy between buyer and seller accounts for much of the negative experiences many consumers experience.

This kind of selling requires a genuine desire on the part of the salesperson to try and be of service. It is pretty easy to spot the salesperson with this kind of desire. These salespeople take an interest in the buyer on a more personal level. The empathetic salesperson asks more questions and better questions. They ask the type of questions that get the buyer to open up and talk about their situation.

Buyers like salespeople that reach them on a personal level. Everyone likes to be listened to and understood. When you demonstrate to your buyer that you are interested and paying attention they will open up to you and tell you what it will take to make a sale. Here are a few reminders to help you focus on your buyers:

* Focus your attention on your buyer. Do not allow yourself to become distracted.

* Look for something you like in the other person. What do you think their friends like about them?

* Get your buyer to tell you their situation, hopes and fears with well prepared questions.

Sell with empathy and increase your productivity immediately!
__________
Jeff Blackwell is the founder of SalesPractice.com, an online Sales and Marketing Community where members from around the world can discuss all issues related to sales, marketing and sales training.

The Fine Line Between Persistence and Stalking By Colleen Francis

In sales, there's a fine line between persistence and stalking. In my experience, with the exception of prospects who are already in the sales cycle, that line is usually drawn at about once every 6 weeks.

So given that you only have once every 6 weeks to make a direct impression on your "B" and "C" list prospects, how can you make sure those follow-up calls have the greatest possible impact?

Let's go back to the science of sales, and dissect a typical opening call that I hear 80% of the time when I'm coaching sales people:

"Hi Mary, this is Colleen from Engage Selling. How are you today? Great. I'm just calling to check in and see if anything has changed since the last time we spoke?"

Did you spot what's wrong with this opener - and why? I see at least three big mistakes, any one of which could cost you a potential sale.

Mistake #1: "How are you today?"

Please, please, please never use an opening statement that starts with "how are you today!" Why? Because all it does is remind your customers of all those dinnertime calls they receive from telemarketers. Are you a telemarketer? I didn't think so. So don't act like one!

Besides, do you really believe that your customers actually think that you are even listening to the answer? Are you listening to the answer? Of course not. So remember: your prospects see through this opening question just as easily as you do whenever a telemarketer (or less professional salesperson) calls you.

Instead, try this rapport-winning phrase: "Did I catch you at a bad time?" This works well because it points out the obvious, and that makes the customer laugh. Of course it's a bad time! Any non-scheduled call is an interruption, and no interruption ever comes at a "good" time. After all, if all your customers spent their days just waiting at their desk for you to call, then sales would be too easy!

Mistake #2: "I'm just calling to check in and…"

Are you their mother, or their sales rep? Seriously, are you really calling just to check in or check up? If so, either you've got a lot more time on your hands than I do, or else it's time to seriously consider a career change!

First, start by removing the word "just" - it makes you sound unimportant, and your call seem like an afterthought. Instead, replace it with something like: "The last time we spoke, you…." By taking the customer back to the last time you spoke, you remind them of your relationship, and prove that you are carrying through on what you were asked or promised to do. Nothing builds rapport better than a promise kept. And as we know, rapport leads to trust, and trust leads to loyal customers.

Mistake #3: "…to see if anything has changed since the last time we spoke."

Don't be vague. These days, your prospects don't have the time to try to decipher why you're calling - and neither do you.

According to a study conducted by the American Association of Professional Organizers, the average executive has over 52 hours of unfinished work on their desk every day.

Our experience in today's market shows that if a prospect doesn't understand the purpose of your call within the first 30 seconds, 99 times out of 100, they will simply lose interest, stop listening and start looking for a way to get you off the phone. (Does the phrase, "Please send me some information," sound familiar?)

State up front exactly why you are calling, and your prospects will appreciate your openness. To complete what we started in the response to Mistake #2, try tying your opening statement back to something specific the client requested on your last interaction, like: "The last time we spoke, you mentioned that you wanted me to call before we had a price increase…" or, "The last time we spoke, you mentioned you were looking for consultants with experience in the banking industry."

Breaking the rules

By the way - there are ways you can stay in touch with your prospects more often than once every 6 weeks, and still not be considered a stalker. Just use a combination of direct contacts (the phone) with indirect contacts (email or mail).

In fact, I've found that using the phone exclusively is generally not the best way to stay in touch with prospects. Instead, I recommend that sales reps use a variety of means to reach their prospects.

Mix up a phone call with an email, and then later maybe send them an individualized hard copy mail piece - not a generic corporate brochure, but something that's relevant to them, like an article you clipped from a magazine with a personal note, a celebration card recognizing their company anniversary or an invitation to your open house.

To get you started, try the following schedule:

- Week 1: Follow-up call with action items noted for the next direct contact.

- Week 3: Company email newsletter, announcement or article. It doesn't really matter what, provided it is content-rich and NOT an advertisement. After all, this contact is intended to increase your credibility, not weaken it.

- Week 4-5: Another indirect contact such as a birthday or anniversary card, a note in the mail with a newspaper clipping they might be interested in, or an email with a newsworthy article about their industry. This contact is designed to strengthen your personal relationship, and help you build rapport.

- Week 6-7: Follow up again with another direct phone call.

Finally, a last piece of advice: when making a follow-up call, make sure you're never in a position where you're still thinking about what you're going to say while the phone is ringing.

Even if you're a veteran salesperson, pick up a pen and script the first 45-second "opener" of your next call right now. Then, look in a mirror and say it out loud.

Would you listen to you? If not, hang up, and try something else!
______________
Colleen Francis is the Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions, which delivers sales solutions that realize immediate results, achieve lasting success and permanently raise the client's bottom line. She can be reached at EngageSelling.com.