Much of the time, consumers are in a fog - a buying fog. The buying fog is fueled by a lack of personal clarity about what they really want or desire, by their dislike or fear of salespeople (whether it be strong or mild), and by their lack of: time, money, clarity, silence, or priorities.
But it's difficult to make progress when someone is in a buying fog. The fog blurs common sense. It limits emotional buy-in to what you're selling.
Here are 4 ways to clear the buying fog of your prospects this week:
1. Be engaging.
Have your prospect take notes, or fill out a worksheet while you give your presentation. Get him up out of his chair if you sell in a sit-down environment (office), or get him into a chair if you sell in a stand-up environment (retail). Have him help you measure, search a brochure, look up data, call your vendor, punch 3 holes in a document, take something to the copier, listen to your voicemail, try to break your product, take your product apart, press a button, drive you to a demo, open a carton, hold the controller, wipe it down, lift something up, etc.
2. Be undeniably funny.
When someone is laughing, they're not in a fog. So figure out how to entertain your prospect. If you're funny and can elicit a belly laugh - or at least a smile - that buying fog will lift. Would you rather watch a public speaker with no sense of humor? Or one that lets you laugh several times during the presentation?
3. Be outrageously helpful.
Are you offering to get coffee for your prospect during a meeting? Great! But instead of "coffee," hand them a menu of your four different coffee choices. Then bring in a huge tray of different coffee mugs and cups and let the prospect choose one that is to their liking. Don't just offer one sweetener, offer five. Clean your prospect's raindrop-laden glasses. Walk them to their car with an umbrella. Don't just tell them where the restroom is, walk them there. Be a concierge, not just a salesperson.
4. Be outrageous.
Consumers live in a noisy environment. There's noise from their families, their banks, their kids' schools, and their places of worship. The noise continues at work: who is noisier than your manager? Or your employees? Or coworkers? Add the noise of media, of advertising, of mailers and TV and internet marketing and emails and you have one hugely noisy existence for most of us. Constant noise elevates mental fog, and when one of these individuals shop, their fog turns into buying fog. Fight the fog by being outrageous. Do the unexpected. Be the unexpected. Be outrageously you, but in a fog-fighting bigger and better way than you ever have been you before.
If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies and individuals who sell to consumers in B2C, retail, in-home selling, and the financial, real estate, and insurance markets.
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