340 Part VI: The Part of Tens
✓ Maintain rapport with everyone in the sale chain. Even when you
disagree with the content of what they’re saying, match and mirror their
body language and tone of voice. Things progress more smoothly when
everybody listens! We cover the all-important NLP skill of rapport
building in Chapter 7. Also, Chapter 6 gives you more ways of building
rapport by recognising whether someone has a visual, auditory, or
kinaesthetic preference, and then using language to match that person’s
preference.
Meeting Those Sales Targets
You may have met two types of salespeople. Some just want to sell to you
regardless of whether you want to buy: their goal is to hit their targets and
you may be just an enemy – the budget holder – to conquer along the way.
They want to get their commission and then get the hell out of there in their
new car, lights flashing, horn tooting at anyone in their way. Fortunately,
some salespeople take the longer view, and approach their profession by
building good relationships with clients. They’re probably very well-focused
on targets and yet they take their time, and they listen carefully to what the
other person wants before they attempt to share knowledge. Selling the
product comes further down the line.
NLP principles apply to creating strong sales relationships. They allow you to
build rapport, get clarity on what other people want, understand their values
and criteria, and be flexible along the way until you close a deal or decide
to walk away because you know the fit isn’t right. NLP reminds you to listen
not only to the words being spoken, but also pay attention to the physiology.
Where do the eyes move, or how does the colour of someone’s skin change
according to their feelings.
Taking the NLP approach leads to a winning situation that’s highly considerate
and respectful. Integrity is the key word that comes to mind here. Good
salespeople are able to take the customer’s perspective and match the
benefit of the product to the customer’s need. People don’t want to be
blatantly sold to: they want to be listened to and find solutions to their
issues. They want products and services that help them run a business or
enjoy life more; they want the ‘feel-good’ factor. NLP deals with influence and
how people make decisions, and successful sales are ones that match the
customer needs at many levels.
Here’s a saying to bear in mind: ‘People buy on emotion and justify with
fact.’ Whether you’re selling a product or an idea, you connect primarily
with people on an emotional level. People buy you first, before they buy what
you’re selling.
