This analogy is dedicated to my buddy Kurt. He always sez: Selling isn’t much different than dating. Don’t ask for the girls’ phone number unless you’re sure she’ll give it to you. You have to earn the right to ask.
So here’s my Analogy:
You’ve been asked out on a first date and you meet for coffee. The first five minutes are great! He’s friendly, giving you all the signs that he’s interested in getting to know you, asking a lot of questions and listening! He’s awesome.
Then, it’s as if someone blew the whistle and it's his turn to talk. For the next 45 minutes he talks non-stop about himself. You try and get in a couple of words…but he's on a mission to let you know what a great catch he is. You start looking at your watch and at the top of the hour you interrupt and make your break.
I’m thinking the chances of a second date are pretty slim.
Today, I had this very experience with a representative from a publication I have interest in as a potential marketing partner. She contracted for the appointment a week ago and as we sat down and began to talk she was doing a nice job of establishing rapport. She was smiling and asking easy, comfortable questions. She was making me feel as though she was genuinely interested in learning more about our business. She spent 5 minutes (exactly) giving me hope.
Unfortunately, she spent the next 45 minutes talking about her product. The design concept, the front cover, the ad sizes on each page, the features, the special content, the supplemental products, the online options, the restrictions, the promotion, the demographic profile, the research, the mission, the rate card and the webinar on managing social media.
No different than a first date, there were several topics of interest which could have developed into rich conversation and spilled over into a second or third appointment(date) yet because I was being spoken to and not with, the likelihood of a second meeting is slim.
My advice is to slow down, have several concersations with your prospects just as you would if you were dating and trying to get to know someone. There's no rule(in spite of what your sales manager might say) that you have to pitch and try to close on the first date.
So here’s my Analogy:
You’ve been asked out on a first date and you meet for coffee. The first five minutes are great! He’s friendly, giving you all the signs that he’s interested in getting to know you, asking a lot of questions and listening! He’s awesome.
Then, it’s as if someone blew the whistle and it's his turn to talk. For the next 45 minutes he talks non-stop about himself. You try and get in a couple of words…but he's on a mission to let you know what a great catch he is. You start looking at your watch and at the top of the hour you interrupt and make your break.
I’m thinking the chances of a second date are pretty slim.
Today, I had this very experience with a representative from a publication I have interest in as a potential marketing partner. She contracted for the appointment a week ago and as we sat down and began to talk she was doing a nice job of establishing rapport. She was smiling and asking easy, comfortable questions. She was making me feel as though she was genuinely interested in learning more about our business. She spent 5 minutes (exactly) giving me hope.
Unfortunately, she spent the next 45 minutes talking about her product. The design concept, the front cover, the ad sizes on each page, the features, the special content, the supplemental products, the online options, the restrictions, the promotion, the demographic profile, the research, the mission, the rate card and the webinar on managing social media.
No different than a first date, there were several topics of interest which could have developed into rich conversation and spilled over into a second or third appointment(date) yet because I was being spoken to and not with, the likelihood of a second meeting is slim.
My advice is to slow down, have several concersations with your prospects just as you would if you were dating and trying to get to know someone. There's no rule(in spite of what your sales manager might say) that you have to pitch and try to close on the first date.
Your goal for the fist date? Secure the second date.
Chic flicks optional, highly recommended, but optional.
