Sweeney Todd? I again parroted. Now Phil was getting fired up. Yeah,
great music and an unbelievably bizarre story....
Bizarre story? I parroted. Well, thats all Phil needed. For the next half
an hour, Phil told me the shows story about a Lodon barber who went
around murdering people. I half dozed, but soon decided his tale of
Sweeney Todds cutting off peoples heads was disturbing my sleepy reverie.
So I simply backed up and paroted one of his previous phrases to get him
on another track.
You said it had great music?
That did the trick. For the rest of the forty-five-minute trip to my home,
Phil sang me Pretty Women, The Best Pies in Lodon, and other songs from
Sweeney Toddmuch better accopaniment for my demi-nap. Im sure, to this
day, Phil thinks of that trip as one of the best conversations we ever had.
And all I did was parrot a few of his phrases.
Salespeople, why go on a wild goose chase for a customers real
objections when its so easy to shake them out of the trees with Parroting?
Parroting Your Way to Profits
Parroting is also a can opener to pry open peoples real feelings. Star
salespeople use it to get to their prospects emotional objetions, which they
often dont even articulate to themselves. A friend of mine, Paul, a used-car
salesman, told me he credits a recent sale of a Lamborghini to Parroting.
Paul was walking around the lot with a prospect and his wife, who had
expressed interest in a sensible car. He was showing them every sensible
Chevy and Ford on the lot. As they were looing at one very sensible family
car, Paul asked the husband what he thought of it. Well, he mused, Im not
sure this car is right
Technique #20
Parroting
Never be left speechless again. Like a parrot, simply repeat the last few
words your conversation partner says. That puts the ball right back in his or
her court, and then all you need to do is listen.
How to Never Need to Wonder, What Do I Say Next? 81
for me. Instead of moving on to the next sensible car, Paul paroted
Right for you? Pauls questioning inflection signaled the prospect that he
needed to say more.
Well, er, yeah, the prospect mumbled. Im not sure it fits my personality.
ooja
(Ooja)
#1