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Hi!

 

    Here's the June  2010 issue of Psyche-Selling TM eNewsletter, and the weather is getting hotter while we get ready for summer.

 

    Speaking of which, since making sales visits in summer sometimes can be real challenge due to the immense heat.  However, the sales person is unable to build the right rapport and win the trust of the customer during the sales visit, then there may be the double-blow of suffering in the heat AND still losing the customer.

 

Hence, this month's topics:

 

  1. How to Build Instant Trust & Rapport with Any Type of Customer; and

  2. Training on Innovation and Innovative Thinking

 

  This issue's main article is on  "How to Build Instant Trust & Rapport with Any Type of Customer", and the focus is on how you avoid things that make customers distrust you, as much as it is about how you win their trust.

 

    In brief:

  • Many sales people were told (or trained) to get customer's Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action, only to find the customer running away from them;

  • Unbeknownst to most sales people, the first step in building trust is to start with building rapport, and different customers will require different ways for you to build the right rapport with them;

  • Beyond the initial trust and rapport building with customers is the ongoing and sustained efforts to keep that trust and rapport if you want to build profitable relationships with your customers.  Read on... ...  

    To read the rest of this newsletter, pls. click here (http://www.psycheselling.com/page4.html.

 

    In the meantime, here's a video that is a prelude to this month's newsletter.  It's called "How to Read People Like a Book".  You can also go to http://www.psychogeometrics.com/onlinetest.php to get a deeper understanding of your communication and rapport building style using Psychogeometrics®.  Simply enter DMC in the coupon code by 31 Aug 2010, and you DON'T have to pay for the test.

How to Build Instant Trust & Rapport with Any Type of Customer

 

by c.j. Ng

Psychogeometrics® Licensee

Sometime Handwriting Analyst

 

     It was a bright and sunny day as George plans to meet with this new, hot prospect.  George provides financial products for expatriates in China, and his ideal customer profile will be successful senior managers with lots of disposable income and high propensity invest.


     George's team have spent the past 3 months trying to get an appointment with this prospect.  In fact, this prospect was a lead that came from George's predecessor.  Before finally agreeing to meet, the prospect had asked for George's company information, as well as specific details of some of George's products.  While George did send their company profile, he told the prospect that it will require some elaboration and explanation of those products to do justice to the products, and to make sure the prospect fully understand its benefits.  Based on this premise, the prospect agreed to meet.


     The prospect has requested the meeting to be held in his office.  As what any high-flying hotshot manager of a large multi-national company possess, the prospect has a large corner office, with a large office desk almost the size of a conference table.  The walls in the office were decorated with awards and pictures the prospect had taken with prominent business and political leaders.

 

     "How are you today?", George asked in as a enthusiastic tone as he possibly could have made it.

 

     "How can I help you?", the prospect answered a question with another question, which seems to be actually mean "What do you want?".

 

     "Well, I'd like to introduce some of our wealth management solutions for you.  But first, let me briefly introduce my company."  George replied, seemingly as enthusiastic as ever.

 

     "Well, I already have your company's profile."  the prospect replied.

 

     "Oh, I'll be brief."  George said, and then went on for a full 30-minute "introduction" about his company and details about each category of products they provide.

 

     When George finished his "introduction", the prospect said as calmly as possible, "I'm sorry, but you have wasted 30 minutes telling me what I already know.  I have a meeting soon, why not you email details of those products I had mentioned to you, and we can carry on from there."

 

     "Sure!  I'll send you those details as soon as I get back to my office.  Now can we schedule a time to meet up next week?"  George is really, really keen on this hot prospect.

 

     "I'll be travelling next week.  Send me the details first, and I will decide later."  the prospect insisted. 

 

     While George did send the required information, he could not reach the prospect again.  The prospect had barred George's phone number from reaching him, it seems.  Till this day, George still hasn't figured out why the prospect did not buy from him.  In fact, George had felt that had he been more aggressive enough, he would have gotten the deal.

 

     Unfortunately, George, just like many other sales people before him, is dead wrong.

 

Out of Sync
 
     Depending on what your conclusions are with regards to what George did wrongly and what he could have done better, from the prospect's communication and behavioural style point-of-view, George had been completely out-of-sync with the prospect.  When a sales person gets out-of-sync or out-of-rapport with the customer, it may cause the customer NOT to trust  the sales person.

 

     According to a communication and behavioural profiling methodology called  Psychogeometrics®, we can categorise people into 5 broad catergories:

 

  • Dominant.  These are the high-flying hotshots who are status and power conscious.  These are also people who hates to waste time, and want to get straight to the point.  While different Dominant people will have different levels of intelligence, most if not all of them believe they are very smart and has the right answer to most problems;

  • Analytical.  These are the people who likes facts and figures as well as evidence and proof.  They like to apply rigour to testing and analysing test results.  Sometimes they see the trees but miss the entire forest;

  • Confused.  When people are transiting to a different job in a different arena, or are taking on new responsibilities, they sometimes can be in a confused state as they are grasping the new rules of the new game that they are playing.  They are inquisitive, fickle and are subjected to wild mood swings;

  • Social.  These are the people person who likes to make friends with you.  Their boss sometimes believe that they socialise to much and work too little though;

  • Creative.  Finally, we have the oddballs who always seem to have new ideas and fresh perspectives in any given situation.  They are easily bored, and are always looking for some kind of thrills and excitement in whatever they are doing


     What George did above is to simply try to get his prospect's Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action (or AIDA for short) without really understand how to get his message across effectively.  Hence, if you want to get in sync and build instant rapport with each of the above type of customers, here are the very obvious answers:

 

  • Dominant.  Provide an executive summary upfront about what you can do for this customer, and you will get his attention.  Dominant people are task-oriented, and they tend to trust people who are perceived as capable and could get things done quickly;

  • Analytical.  Prepare your facts and figures and the sources of your facts and figures.  Be prepared to be questioned and scrutinised for every minute detail.  Analytical customers trust those who have "done their homework" and know what they are talking about;

  • Confused.  Contrary to what most consultative sales methodologies to start ask questions and gather needs, Confused customers don't really know what their needs are.  Instead, provide them with some options, AND gently suggest what you believe is the best.  Confused customers tend to trust people who can point to them the right direction, but are not pushy to get them in that direction;

  • Social.  Get to know their family, hobbies and dog, and tell them about yourself.  Avoid discussing price or be pushing to close the deal in the first meeting.  Social customers trust people they know well;

  • Creative.  Ask them for their opinion, and be prepared for "customised solutions".  Creative customers make an effort to be different, and trust sales people who demonstrates the willingness to help them be different.  Never sell a standard product that everyone already has to a Creative customer.

 

Identifying the Right Type

 

     As mentioned earlier, it will be a lot easier to build trust and rapport with each type of customer IF you already know what type they belong to.  Apart from subjecting your customers to rigourous psychometric profiling, here are some ways you can identify what type they are within the first 30 seconds of meeting them:

 

  • Dominant.  Look out for public display of awards, pictures taken with famous people, expensive clothing, accessories or cars.  Also, if you felt your bones crushed during that handshake, or any other kind of mannerisms that seem to dominate you;

  • Analytical.  If they keep on asking for more details when you feel you already have given ALL details.  They tend to wear conservative clothes and drive conservative cars.  Their hair always look as if they just stepped out of a hair salon, even though they may be standing in the middle of a tornado;

  • Confused.  If they appear nervous, and keeps on emphasizing "I don't know" repetitively.  If they couldn't make up their mind where to meet and what to drink or forget that they were supposed to meet you, they could just be confused;

  • Social.  When they smile at you, you really feel that they are really pleased to meet you.  They have photographs of their family, friends and dogs all over their office and even in their computers too;

  • Creative.  They speak real quick as if they need to keep pace with the speed of their thoughts.  When you give them one idea, they respond with 10 of their own.  Either they are dressed like a rock-star, or they have some clothing item that is just irrepressible such as a purple tie, green lipstick or orange hair.

 

     Of course there are other traits that will help identify what type they belong to, such as the words they use, the tone of their voices and even their handwriting.  What is important is that you don't pass judgement by just any one of the above traits they possess.  As a rule of thumb, if you observe any traits, do note that:

 

  • Once is an occurence;

  • Twice is a coincidence;

  • Thrice and there may be a pattern

 

Appealing to All Types of Customers

 

     So if you want to get that first appointment and you haven't got a clue as to which type that customer may belong to, here's an opener that may help you appeal to all types of customers: 

 

"Hello Mr. Hotshot, I'd like to have a short discussion with you to explore how you can maximise your savings for your retirement income.  We will be glad to share with you the information we have, and will be sharing our ideas to guide you should you require us to do so.  In any case, we will be pleased to get to know you better, and we hope you will be open to any possible synergies that may arise."

 

     In this few sentences, you are communicating:

  • The purpose  of your discussion to the Dominant;

  • Sharing more information to the Analytical

  • Providing guidance to the Confused;

  • Getting to know the Social in person; and

  • Exploring possibilities with the Creative

 

     One note of caution though.  Merely telling the customer the above statement and actually walking the talk by delivering your promises are totally different stories that will lead to drastically different consequences.  What is underlying the building of trust and rapport with customers is the respect that they deserve.

 

     It is also one thing to build instant trust and rapport with customers, and it is another to sustain that trust and rapport throughout the sales process and beyond.  If you promised to get to know your customer and guide them to make better decisions but ended  up forcing them to make buying decisions that are not in their best interests, you will lose trust.  When you lose the trust, you lose the customer.  On the other hand, if you sustain that trust, you shall have a profitable relationship with your customer.

 

     Need help in building and sustaining trust and rapport with your customers?  Simply e-mail info@directions-consulting.com or call +86-136 7190 2505 or Skype: cydj001 and arrange to buy me a mocha.  All information shall be kept in confidence.  Feel free to check out our video on Psychogeometrics® "How to Read People Like a Book" AND go to http://www.psychogeometrics.com/onlinetest.php to get a deeper understanding of your communication and rapport building style.  Simply enter DMC in the coupon code by 31 Aug 2010, and you DON'T have to pay for the test.

 

Power Breakfast Hour: 20 July 2010

How to Build Instant Trust & Rapport with Any Type of Customer

 

     Join International Sales Leadership and Performance Coach c.j. Ng in this Power Breakfast Hour in Shanghai where you will find out:

  • How to use Psychogeometrics® to identify your customers' and your own communication and behavioural profiles?

  • How you can flex to build trust and rapport with different types of customers?;

  • What else you will need to do IF you want to sustain that trust and rapport to develop profitable customer relationships

 

VENUE:  Function Room • Level 4/5 • The Longemont Shanghai • No.1116 Yan'an West Road (near Panyu Road) • 会议厅 • 上海龙之梦大酒店 • 四/五楼 • 延安西路 1116 号 （靠番禺路）
 

DATE: Tuesday, 20 July 2010

 

TIME: 08:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. 

 

PRICE: RMB 200 ONLY!

 

     To make this a more conducive discussion, we are expecting a small group of about 15 people only. The room can only take in 18, so please register early to avoid disappointments. Please e-mail your registrations to sales@directions-consulting.com  To allow more participation from more companies, ONLY 2 registrants per company are invited.  Please take the compliementary online test via http://www.psychogeometrics.com/onlinetest.php before coming.  Simply enter DMC in the coupon code by 31 Aug 2010, and you DON'T have to pay for the test.

 

     Pls. check out our web sites www.directions-consulting.com and www.psycheselling.com/page4.html or check out our video on PsychogeometricsÒ "How to Read People Like a Book" for more inspiration.

Need a Keynote Speaker for your Regional Sales Conference?

 

     Whether you are holding a conference for your regional staff, resellers or even customers, we have the right speaker who can help you deliver the spirit of your conference, and effect positive changes to meet your goals.

 

   The topics our speakers can speak on include:

    • Why Some Sales People Succeed While Others Fail?;

    • How to Build Instant Trust and Rapport with Your Customers;

    • How to Inspire and Motivate Your Team, and Win Big;

    • From Better Service to Greater Profits;

    • Sun Tzu and the Art of Sales Leadership;

    • The End of Guanxi as We Know It!; and many more!


     Simply e-mail your requests to info@directions-consulting.com or call +86-21-62190021 for enquiries.  Sample video and audio recordings available upon requests.

 

Practical Tips for Managers:

Training on Innovation and Innovative Thinking

 

By c.j. Ng

 

I was recently asked to design a trainig programme to "improve the level of innovative thinking and innovation" among their senior management team.  That got me wondering exactly what is "innovation" in the practical sense.

 

I made a reference at Wikipedia, where innovation can be explained as a change in the thought process for doing something or "new stuff that is made useful".  In this sense, any training on innovation will need to help participants come up with "new stuff", and then make this new stuff useful.

 

Hence, if we want to improve innovation and innovative thinking, we will then also have to explore the causes that prevent us from being coming up with "new stuff".  Some of these barriers to innovation may include:

 

  • Trying to find a use for the new stuff way too early, and if the new stuff or idea is not useful, it will be discarded way too early;

  • The fear of failure and rejection (even ostracisation) if the new stuff is not well-accepted by peers or management;

  • Trying to come up with new stuff and new ideas based on old paradigms or old ways of doing things, which stifles imagination;

  • Too much emotional attachment to the first new idea that arises, thereby stifling other potential new ideas which are usually better that the first;

  • The lack of an audacious goal that "forces" people to imagine things they normally won't;

  • The lack of funding to experiment with new stuff and new ideas, so some good new ideas haven't got the chance to be put to good use, etc.

 

As part of my search to see how one of the world's best minds view the innovative process, here are some quotes from Albert Einstein, that may be also shed some light on how you can be more innovative:

 

  • "He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed";

  • "I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right";

  • "Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions";

  • "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it";

  • "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new"

 

Hence, to propose any training programme to help your team to be more innovative, here are some elements that you may want to infuse into:

 

  • Send your team members to a place that are unfamiliar, and ask them do things that they don't normally do.  This is to put them out of their comfort zone so that they go into a different "level of consciousness";

  • Set a seemingly-impossible task for your team to accomplish, and give them enough time to recover from the initial shock and panic;

  • Reduce their resources, since one of the key obstacles to innovation is the lack of funding, your team will have to learn to make lots of cheap and quick mistakes before they generate breakthrough ideas that deliver stunning results;

  • Encourage your team members to always think "what if I do it another way" and keep on experimenting with different ideas. (Small wonder there really is an innovation agency called ?WhatIf! Innovation);

  • Get your team members to learn and practise as much Lateral Thinking as possible, because "You cannot dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper".  (As quoted from the founder of Lateral Thinking, Dr. Edward de Bono)

  • During the training programme, don't just encourage your team to make mistakes, get them to learn from past mistakes as quickly as possible too!

 

In a nutshell, developing training programmes on innovation and innovative thinking is in itself, also a very innovative process.  What this means is that it may not give you your expected outcome, no matter how detailed you had planned for it. 

 

However, one thing for sure is that you will have to be as imaginative as possible in the creation of such programmes.

 

If you would like to get more innovative ideas to deliver innovative training programmes, e-mail info@directions-consulting.com or call +86-136 7190 2505 or Skype: cydj001 and arrange to buy me a mocha.  All information shall be kept in confidence.

About PsycheSelling.com

 

Sales... ...the lifeblood of a company, a matter of "life and death", survival or extinction.  Indeed, something that needs to be studied, applied and re-modified consistently.

 

Yet today,

  • many companies still don't have a coherent approach as to how they can generate more sales and achieve better margins;

  • many sales people are still lying to their customers so that they can meet their targets at the end of the month;

  • many customers are still waiting ethical and professional sales people to help them find out their real needs, and provide solutions that work

 

Psyche-Selling TM is set up so that companies and sales people can make healthy profits and STILL provide genuine solutions to customers.

 

Psyche-Selling TM would like to create an environment where customers can trust sales people to give them what they want, and NOT be pushed with all kinds of products and services.  In return, customers will become loyal fans of these ethical and professional sales people, and repay them many fold for the long-term.

 

Psyche-Selling TM will not rest, until the above is achieved.  Not just in China. Not just in Asia.  But everywhere where buying and selling takes place.

 

Psyche-Selling TM is a wholly-owned brand of Directions Management Consulting Pte Ltd that specialises in the field of improving sales performance by enhancing the performance of the entire sales team.  Apart from the regular "selling skills training", Psyche-Selling TM conducts pre- and post-training analysis, interviews, monitoring and reviews, working closely with managers and even senior management, to deliver real improvements in sales leadership and performance.

 

Hence, Psyche-Selling TM would like to be known as the preferred choice of outstanding and remarkable clients, and pride ourselves as such.  We will also be continuing to assist our clients achieve greater heights in 2009 and beyond.

 

Enquiries and suggestions, pls. e-mail info@psycheselling.com or visit www.psycheselling.com

 

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