Sales Intelligentsia

Building Rapport: Visual, Auditory, Kinetic

In our minds we represent information and experience as pictures, sounds, feelings and to a lesser extent, smells. Many of us use one of these systems as a primary representational system. It has been estimated that 50% of us primarily think in pictures while the 25% hear sounds and 25%, feelings. Our language often gives signals as to which system we prefer. We say things like: ‘Picture this, you’re in a boat on a large blue river with trees blowing in the wind…’ or ‘Imagine you’re in a boat, the water lapping against the creaking wood and the wild rustle of wind all around you in the trees..’ or ‘..the boat is bobbing in the cool current while the gentle breath of wind is coming across the tree lined shore to ruffle your hair..’. Each description tells you how the person describing the scene may process information internally. As blatant as these examples may be they tell us a lot about the people who say them. The first is primarily visual creating a picture in their minds, the second auditory, hearing a soundscape and the third kinetic, describing the physical feeling involved in the memory.
Knowing these systems is important to any human interactive process like selling because they have a direct effect on how successful your communications will be. If you primarily communicate with visual images to a person who thinks in terms of sounds you may have a communications breakdown without ever realizing why. By simply making certain that you couch your presentation in all three systems, you’ll avoid any subconscious failure to communicate.

If you learn to distinguish which of these ways of representing information another person prefers you can match their style and start to build subconscious rapport. If they use visual analogies when they describe things, make sure you’re using similar analogies.

Sales Training: Confusion is normal at the beginning of any process

Learning to sell is a series of steps that are shared by all learning experiences. We start by becoming conscious that there is an underlying process we were not aware of before. We may not have a clear understanding of how to do it but we’ve started to at least know it exists. Because of this awareness we subconsciously start to observe and learn about the process, gathering information and experience without a great deal of conscious organization. This mish-mash of input is the fertile soil that the learning process requires to take shape. As beginners we fill our minds up with a bewildering amount of information that doesn’t always make sense to us.
This information gathering stage is the beginning stage of any learning or creative process. As confusing and disorganized as it may feel it is a perfectly normal and acceptable way to learn. As beginners we don’t have the experience to sort the important information from the less important. All we can do is take it in and remain open-minded.
Somewhere into the process an interesting thing happens: Previously confusing events start to make sense. An order starts to emerge. We see the connections between seemingly illogical actions and information. We’ve left the beginner stage and have begun to have a more engaged awareness. This ‘light of knowledge’ is what drives us as humans to excel. The fact that it is based on an unconscious gathering of knowledge that sorts itself out and emerges into our conscious lives is one of the great fascinations of life.
You have two choices. You can work on learning about selling and treat it as a fascinating opportunity or you can put it on the back burner and let the knowledge force itself out over time. The first choice means embracing a part of your business that may no have an immediate appeal and trusting that it will be worth the effort. The second choice, unconscious selling, will slow you down and may mean missed opportunities.

The Appointment: Ending The Meeting and Following Up

Try to be the one who ends the meeting. Say that you’ve got all the information you need and that you’ll either get back to them or that you can handle the work (if that’s the case). Quickly review what you’ve learned with the customer and ask them if you’ve covered everything. Arrange the next meeting, if necessary or a start date for delivering the proposal or starting the work and thank them for their time.
By taking control at the end you make life a lot easier for them. They don’t have to kick you out or cut you off. And it shows that both you and they have busy lives and that you respect that.

Review and Follow-up

After the appointment it is very important to schedule a review period with yourself. Think about what was accomplished or what was not and try to identify what worked and what didn’t. Make notes in your customer file and use them later. If you missed a question or need a little more information simply call them and ask for it. Say: ‘I was going over my notes and I realized that I still wasn’t clear on….’
Always follow-up with a personal note thanking them for their time. If you’re doing business together tell them you look forward to working together. If you’re not, tell them you hope to in the future. These follow up notes generate future business, turn negative meetings around and generate referrals. They are vital. And your competition probably never sends them.