As you know, I am really passionate about self-improvement, inspiring people to lead a better life, making people happy etc. It excites me whenever I see an opportunity for them to be inspired. The problem is that, sometimes I get overly excited doing so and people start to perceive me as being too pushy. This turns people off.
Because of my poor skills to convince and influence people, I have been ruining several relationships with people around me. People have become wary of me, do not talk to me as much.
But through these bad experiences, I have gained some insights which I hope to share with you so you won't make the same mistakes as me!
1. Have Patience
Before, I would be so excited to talk about my idea that I would keep trying to convince someone how good it is before they are ready to accept it. Over time, I have learn that before anything, you need to build the relationship and trust. Only when you have established a certain level of credibility with them, would people trust you and listen to what you say. Before that, never mention anything about what you are trying to sell. The trick is to be patient. Be prepared to wait for months even for your customers to be ready.
2. Show genuine interest in the person
Always talk in terms of them. Find out their needs, find out what they are looking for before pushing anything to them. Let them talk about themselves. I have come to realize that the more you allow them to talk about themselves, the more they feel you understand them, and the more they will believe you when you try to recommend them something.
I once heard of a friend who clinched a deal without talking about the deal at all. She was just being there for her client while she talk about her life etc. and the client felt so comfortable and understood with her that she just decided to do business with her.
People can tell whether you are genuinely interested in them or you are just talking to them to sell something. Show genuine interest in the person and you never know, you might land yourself a customer and a friend!
3. Ask the Right Questions
“There is no such thing as a worthless conversation, provided you know what to listen for. And questions are the breath of life for a conversation.”
James Nathan Miller
Asking the right questions is important and is a skill that has to be developed over time. So practise, practise, practise! When you are able to ask the right questions, you find out more about the client, and may uncover what they really need. The right questions will also allow your client to open up to you, and feel understood. Try open-ended questions that would allow them to talk more, this way, while they talk about themselves, you get to know them better as well.
4. "Pull" strategy instead of "Push" Strategy
"Push" strategy refers to trying to convince someone to do what you want them to do. "Pushing" them to a certain end point. For "pull" strategy, it refers providing the value such that they are lured to follow you. "Pull" strategy is more effective as people like to make decisions for themselves and it is always better if they decide to follow you instead of you convincing them to.
This requires a little strategy. To tell them how the product you are selling will benefit them, without pressurizing them to get it. If they see value, they will naturally come to you. Would be good to be specific, and provide examples on how others have benefited from the product.
5. Slow down and Listen
When you find that while trying to convince someone about something, you are speaking most of the time, you are headed for disaster! The client should be doing most of the talking, not you! Your job is to LISTEN and ask questions. Listen out for what they have to say, not just listen to their words, but also their tone, body language, energy, all these will give you a hint on how to better approach the situation.
For example, if energy is low, the client is probably not interested, then do not push it anymore, change the subject, if not you will just scare them off.
I hope that is useful! It's based on my reflections after my failures. I am still in the midst of mastering these techniques as well! (:
---
A goodie for you!
Here's a talk I would recommend for anyone seeking to have a heart to heart talk about Passion and Success in Life and be inspired.
It is FREE and really inspiring! If you are free, do register and drop by for a look! It talks about doing things with PASSION in life, you will meet celebrity artiste Adrian Pang and Everest Climber, Grant Rawlinson! Cool place to meet great people and get inspired! ;)
Register at www.tinyurl.com/PassionUnleashedTalk
Find out more: www.fb.com/PassionUnleashedTalk
Because of my poor skills to convince and influence people, I have been ruining several relationships with people around me. People have become wary of me, do not talk to me as much.
But through these bad experiences, I have gained some insights which I hope to share with you so you won't make the same mistakes as me!
1. Have Patience
Before, I would be so excited to talk about my idea that I would keep trying to convince someone how good it is before they are ready to accept it. Over time, I have learn that before anything, you need to build the relationship and trust. Only when you have established a certain level of credibility with them, would people trust you and listen to what you say. Before that, never mention anything about what you are trying to sell. The trick is to be patient. Be prepared to wait for months even for your customers to be ready.
2. Show genuine interest in the person
Always talk in terms of them. Find out their needs, find out what they are looking for before pushing anything to them. Let them talk about themselves. I have come to realize that the more you allow them to talk about themselves, the more they feel you understand them, and the more they will believe you when you try to recommend them something.
I once heard of a friend who clinched a deal without talking about the deal at all. She was just being there for her client while she talk about her life etc. and the client felt so comfortable and understood with her that she just decided to do business with her.
People can tell whether you are genuinely interested in them or you are just talking to them to sell something. Show genuine interest in the person and you never know, you might land yourself a customer and a friend!
3. Ask the Right Questions
“There is no such thing as a worthless conversation, provided you know what to listen for. And questions are the breath of life for a conversation.”
James Nathan Miller
Asking the right questions is important and is a skill that has to be developed over time. So practise, practise, practise! When you are able to ask the right questions, you find out more about the client, and may uncover what they really need. The right questions will also allow your client to open up to you, and feel understood. Try open-ended questions that would allow them to talk more, this way, while they talk about themselves, you get to know them better as well.
4. "Pull" strategy instead of "Push" Strategy
"Push" strategy refers to trying to convince someone to do what you want them to do. "Pushing" them to a certain end point. For "pull" strategy, it refers providing the value such that they are lured to follow you. "Pull" strategy is more effective as people like to make decisions for themselves and it is always better if they decide to follow you instead of you convincing them to.
This requires a little strategy. To tell them how the product you are selling will benefit them, without pressurizing them to get it. If they see value, they will naturally come to you. Would be good to be specific, and provide examples on how others have benefited from the product.
5. Slow down and Listen
When you find that while trying to convince someone about something, you are speaking most of the time, you are headed for disaster! The client should be doing most of the talking, not you! Your job is to LISTEN and ask questions. Listen out for what they have to say, not just listen to their words, but also their tone, body language, energy, all these will give you a hint on how to better approach the situation.
For example, if energy is low, the client is probably not interested, then do not push it anymore, change the subject, if not you will just scare them off.
I hope that is useful! It's based on my reflections after my failures. I am still in the midst of mastering these techniques as well! (:
---
A goodie for you!
Here's a talk I would recommend for anyone seeking to have a heart to heart talk about Passion and Success in Life and be inspired.
It is FREE and really inspiring! If you are free, do register and drop by for a look! It talks about doing things with PASSION in life, you will meet celebrity artiste Adrian Pang and Everest Climber, Grant Rawlinson! Cool place to meet great people and get inspired! ;)
Register at www.tinyurl.com/PassionUnleashedTalk
Find out more: www.fb.com/PassionUnleashedTalk
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