Confidence and Competence

courtesy of jscreationzs

Take yourself to the simplest of all transactions.  You've undoubtedly been through a drive through.  Countless, I'm sure.  How many of those transactions can you remember?  Seriously, of ALL time, how many can you remember?  Probably, the best and the very worst.

Well, I had a memorable one this week.  I just wanted coffee and a yogurt parfait.  Nothing complicated, as Bon Qui Qui would shout "I gotta complicated order!".   Just a coffee and yogurt.  I sat staring at the callbox for a good three minutes, feeling myself aging.  I glared at the box, thinking that somehow that might get translated to the disinterested person on the other end.  Finally my order was taken, and I progressed, irritated, through the line.  I get to the window to find a very entertaining lady talking to herself and shaking her head.  She occassionally would look at me, inviting me to join the conversation, but I simply smiled. 

"I just can't believe..... oh boy.... I just, well..... phew..... oh my...." 

I started feeling badly for the obvious stress she was self-imposing, clinching my unwanted $3, waiting for the invitation to hand it to her.  She occassionally would stare out the window at the car in front of me driving away.  It became obvious that she had billed the car in front of me for my order.  My amusement turned to concern.  Was I even going to get my coffee?  After the manager came over with the "magic manager key", she reprocessed my order.  I repeated it several times.  She repeated back everytime incorrectly.  Finally, I said, "ma'am, it's ok.  Please look at me.  I just want a coffee and a yogurt.  Nothing else."  Embarrassed, she entered the order, and I tepidly drove to the second window to claim my Egg McMuffin and Diet Coke.  (kidding).

How did I feel?  I'll tell you what I expected, and so do your customers.  Competence and confidence.  Failure to exude these traits results in customer anxiety, frustration, and they probably will try to find ways not to do business with you!  As a sales professional, these are undoubtedly what your clients expect.

  Guess what? Even if you are new, unfamiliar with your product, coming off a bad day, no matter what - you can control these traits!  The best way is to have a PLAN!  For example, you KNOW the most common objections you hear - so be ready for them!  Have a good, sound plan (not just witty one liners) for the objections you always encounter. Consider this example:

Customer:  "I think you are overpriced"
You: "Ummm.  sorry.  it is what it is!"

Really? You haven't heard that before?  That's all you got??  Try this:

Customer:  "I think you are overpriced"
You: "Thanks for sharing.  Tell me, how do you come to that conclusion?"
C: "Everything else I've seen is about $5,000 lower."
You: "I'm so glad you said that!  You know, I'd love to take 5 minutes and show you why all my other clients chose me and my company to do business with, making us number one.  Ultimately, they all found that they could actually save money by choosing me.  Let me show you how......"

Get the difference?  Sales Pro #2 had a plan, and was ready for the objection.  This demonstrated confidence and competence, and it is attractive to a buyer.  Especially TODAY's buyer.  And you are exuding confidence because you actually thought about the scenario before being IN the scenario.  Think about the best and most productive sales pros you know - I bet they demonstrate these two traits to their prospects, don't they?  So get going!

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