I once had a meeting with a client who had been working for a senior position for 25 years. We had breakfast at the Dallas hotel, and I tried my best to put him at ease. He was a very pleasant Texan with a Texas drawl and a very slow speaking style, so I slowed my speech to match his and sat down in a comfortable position. As we talked, I realized that the company had a chance to sign a contract worth 700,000$. The more I thought about the contract, the more excited I became. I was very eager, and I started talking faster. It took me a while to notice that he had changed his sitting position. He leaned forward, crossed his legs, and sat at a 45-degree angle to me. It was as if he was signaling me to back off. A disconnect began to form between us. He was trying to protect himself from the pressure I was putting on him. He was still hesitant, and I was excited by the coffee and thinking about that 700,000 $. My over-enthusiasm almost ruined the deal. Fortunately, I forced myself to relax in my chair, cross my legs, and slow down. We felt comfortable again and the relationship was restored. (And of course I got the contract.)
Chapter Three:
Cai Nem Business Meeting
In the Indiana Jones movie called The Ark of the Covenant, there is a scene where Harrison Ford is confronted by a terrifying character. He draws his sword and makes threatening sword moves, gesticulating continuously until Ford, with a calm demeanor, draws a gun from his belt and abruptly ends the villain's performance.
There’s a reason why so many prospects are impatient when it comes to sales presentations. In the traditional sales process, there are two parties: you and the prospect. The sales call is about your ability to build rapport, to get to know the prospect, to ask the right questions that will uncover their pain points. The traditional sales approach assumes that the prospect knows their pain points and will tell you. Then you’ll find a solution, propose a plan, fix all the pain points, and close the deal. The traditional sales approach is a doable process. Billions of dollars in sales of products and services have been made using this approach. But it often doesn’t work. Your prospect will do like Ford, pull out his gun at the end of your presentation and fire the fatal shot: “Let me think about it.”
Why do traditional sales methods fail so often? I believe there are two key reasons:
First, as we have discussed, traditional selling does not take into account competitors. Therefore, when applying traditional selling, your attention is not on competitors. Furthermore, if your customer has a supplier, there is a huge opportunity for this supplier to leverage their relationship with the customer, align their plan with the proposal you have presented to the customer, and retain their customer. This explains why in many industries, companies can have such a high rate of returning customers. Traditional selling fails to recognize that there must be a loser in the market if you want to win.
Second, the traditional approach assumes that most consumers know exactly what they are dissatisfied with. I don’t think that’s true. They just lower their expectations to the level they can get and get what they currently want. When you ask these customers how things are going, they say “Fine.” When you ask them if there are any problems, they say “Not much.” Unless you can raise their expectations and create frustration, you have nothing to offer them.
Unlike the traditional method, The Wedge is a tactic where when you start calling your customers, you already know where they are not being served well or are likely to perceive you as superior to your competitors. It is a tactic that makes potential customers aware of those dissatisfactions, and you can apply the Wedge strategy to customers and competitors.
This section of the book will guide you through the six steps of a Wedge Sales Meeting. We will explore how each step works and why it works. You will learn simple yet powerful phrases that you can use in future customer interactions to slowly lead them into asking you to work with them and stop dealing with their current manufacturer and perhaps ignore their competitors, just to use your services.
First, however, we need to look specifically at how to build rapport with your customers. This may sound familiar to you. However, we are looking at rapport through the lens of the Wedge. The goal of establishing rapport early in the call is more important than making the customer feel comfortable during the call. Your goal is to initiate an open and honest conversation, which is essential for the Wedge to be effective.
BARRIERS IN RELATIONSHIPS
In other words, any customer you are going to is either already in your sights or already owned by someone else. If there is an existing supplier, they have already established a relationship with your customer. The supplier and the customer have already overcome the initial barriers. They are now talking to each other, exchanging ideas without any pretense. You are the outsider. The supplier has a relationship while you do not. Furthermore, if the customer is not already working with anyone, they are being courted by your competitors. In that case, you are like seducing someone who has never had a lover or has never dated.
As discussed, there are reasons why clients may not be completely honest or straightforward with you at the outset. They may be shoppers with no intention of buying. They just want to give you a chance to show them what is available. Furthermore, they may already have a current supplier. So when you offer a partnership opportunity, you are challenging a decision your client has already made. Even if the supplier has shortcomings, no one wants a third party to tell them that they made a mistake.
Likewise, most potential clients, like most people, want to be treated with courtesy. You may have gotten the appointment for this reason, in which case your reward will be a pleasant chat and a free cup of coffee. Or perhaps you and the client just didn’t click in the first place. The catalysts won’t help, and your client may feign interest, hiding their own personal feelings behind a facade of politeness.
So how do you overcome barriers like these and create an open, honest relationship so you can move the conversation into the right 6 stages of a Wedge Sales Call?
COMFORTABLE AND RELIABLE
To create an atmosphere that encourages people to tell the truth, you need to pass two tests. Failing either one will result in a total loss for the deal. The first test is about comfort. You have to make the customer feel comfortable in your presence. The second test is about credibility. The customer has to believe that you know what you are talking about, that it is relevant to their wants and needs, and that you are a straightforward person who is always honest.
In the book Instant RelationshipIndustrial psychologist Michael Brooks discusses rapport as a learned skill, not an inborn talent. The point is that there are strategies you can use to create an environment where customers are willing to tell you the truth. Why are they willing to tell you everything? Because they feel comfortable and trusted. You have met their need for someone to talk to about all their problems, someone who can solve those problems.
Although communication is a two-way street, the burden of establishing rapport is on you. You can't expect the customer to be a good host or to initiate conversation. This is a business call, not a social call. You have a purpose. So it's your responsibility to make the customer happy.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
I once had a meeting with a client who had been in a senior position for 25 years. We had breakfast at the Dallas hotel, and I tried my best to put him at ease. He was a very pleasant Texan with a Texas drawl and a very slow speaking style, so I slowed my speech to match his and sat down in a comfortable position. As we talked, I realized that the company had a chance to sign a contract worth 700,000$. The more I thought about the contract, the more excited I became. I felt very excited, and I started talking faster. It took me a while to notice that he had changed his sitting position. He leaned forward, crossed his legs, and sat at a 45-degree angle to me. It was as if he was signaling me to back off. A disconnect began to form between us. He was trying to protect himself from the pressure I was putting on him. He was still hesitant, and I was excited by the coffee and thinking about that 700,000 $. My over-enthusiasm almost ruined the deal. Fortunately, I forced myself to relax in my chair, cross my legs, and slow down. We felt comfortable again and the relationship was restored. (And of course I got the contract.)
We’ve all heard the saying “when in Rome, do as the Romans do.” This doesn’t mean you have to become a chameleon or dilute your individuality. However, there is a lot you can do to fit in with your client’s style. People generally like people who are like them. Making your client feel like you is one of the most important steps in building the rapport needed to create the open and honest conversation that will allow you to use The Wedge effectively.
Rapport can be either conscious or subconscious. For example, if you see a picture of a prospect skiing on the table, you might ask him when he took it or what his favorite time was while skiing. You might also tell him that the iPod on the table is the same as the one you have. You might even create a physical similarity. From there, you can begin to build a subconscious rapport by mirroring or adapting to the attitude your prospect initially displayed. You might adjust your speaking speed, tone of voice, and body language to your prospect. These comforting techniques can help and encourage your prospect to open up and share his true concerns and goals with you. They make your prospect more willing to talk about his concerns. And when customers openly share their feelings and thoughts with you, you have control over the conversation and you will win a greater chance of winning that deal.
TELL A STORY
The customer may feel comfortable, but are you trustworthy? That is, do they trust that you can solve their problem? Do they trust that you are well-informed, honest, and knowledgeable? They may think you are a nice person, but that may not be the right person. And you can’t convince them that you are trustworthy. You can’t build trust with phrases like “trust me,” “call Bruce if you want more information,” or “I’ve been there and done that.” Your challenge is to get the customer to conclude that you are trustworthy. One way I’ve found to do that is to tell a story.
By stories, I mean stories that involve a third person who is similar to your customer. By detailing how you helped that person solve their problems, you can build trust without sounding forced or like you’re reciting a section from your company’s brochure. Here are six steps to telling a story:
1. You know, Susan, from my experience working with a number of companies similar to yours, I've found that …[tell her how well you understand the industry and market]
2. The owner of one of these companies, Mr. Richard Green of Amalgamanted Corporation, is very concerned about the problem of ………”[tell her specific problems, similar to hers, that you can solve]
3. When I talked to Richard, he said what he wanted was…….[ define the solutions in specific, practical terms]
4. So we worked together, and we were able to…”[Explain how you proposed the solution to Algamnated]
5. As a result, Algamanted has achieved…[Quantify and describe the benefits achieved]
6. Susan, tell me about your situation…[discover her needs]
In fact, you told Susan the real story without exaggeration, emphasis, or hyperbole. That was the context of your story. But the subtext, the underlying message you wanted to convey to Susan, was very assertive:
1. Look, Susan. We know your business, your industry, and your market.
2. I have worked with people like you at the leadership level on issues similar to yours.
3. You can tell me your problem and I will help.
4. We can give you the same solution we did with Algamnated.
5. You will benefit significantly from these solutions.
6. Start working on this now.
By indirectly demonstrating your strengths through a story, you let Susan draw her own conclusions. You give her a concrete, real-world example – one that both demonstrates your abilities and relates to her situation.
SUMMARY
Before moving on to the next step of the Wedge strategy, let's review what we've already covered:
· Traditional selling methods are often ineffective because (1) they do not take into account the seller's competition and (2) they assume that the customer knows all of their pain points.
· In fact, (1) the success you enjoy in business often depends on how well you deal with your competitors, including your current suppliers, who are able to adjust their plans to match your offer and retain customers. (2) Most customers lower their expectations to the extent they can get them, storing their dissatisfaction deep in their memories. Customers often do not realize that they are hurt.
· Unlike traditional selling, the Wedge strategy allows you to (1) show your customers how they are not getting the best service possible (2) raise their expectations beyond their current level, creating a sense of frustration so you can pitch them your offer – and this also allows you to accomplish all of these goals without saying anything bad about your competitors or even selling yourself.
· For the Wedge Sales Meeting strategy to be effective, you need to create a relationship with your customer that allows you to have an honest and open dialogue.
· To achieve customer relationships, you must pass two tests, one is comfort, the other is trust.
· You can make customers feel comfortable by adapting or mimicking their style and attitude, and finding common ground.
· You can build trust by telling a story about a third party you helped, in a situation similar to the customer's. This helps you establish your strengths and relate them to the customer's needs without directly asserting them and creating more skepticism.
Now let me ask you something. What if you had a simple way to ask questions that would let your customers know they were underserved without saying a single bad thing about your competitors? What if you could get your customers to know the good things about your organization without telling them? What if you could quickly gauge the level of customer dissatisfaction to determine whether it was strong enough to make them decide to switch? What if you had a way to make it easy for customers to invite you to do business with them? And what if you could get customers to confirm to you that they would even be willing to switch to your company?
If you could accomplish those things in the relatively short amount of time it takes to close a new sale, wouldn't you be interested in hearing more?
That’s exactly what I’m going to show you below – how to take your customers through the 6 steps of The Wedge sales conversation. Learn these steps, and you can get more customers than ever before.
