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Tough Customers
…I’ve got a
little list—I’ve got a little list….
The
Mikado
Attention
fakers, fact gatherers, mental rehearsers:
they’d none of them be missed!
By Alvin M. Hattal
You’ve
met them all, right? The glassy-eyed prospect who
pretends to be taking in every word you utter. The fact-gathering stoneface
who takes copious notes. The criticizer who clearly enjoys poking holes in
your pitch and the mental rehearsers who plan their remarks while you’re
speaking? They’d none of them be missed!
Unfortunately,
they never entirely go away.
So
how do you handle them? How do you break through the barriers—barriers your
prospects are often unaware of—and get to a substantive discussion of the
excellent, organized reasons why they need what you’re selling?
Sure,
you’ve developed your own techniques for overcoming those frustrating
obstacles. But chances are you’ve done it the hard way. They work fine. But
there are better ways. Listen to three experts: a sales speaker and trainer, a marketing and public relations consultant, and a top
mediator for the federal government.
“Any
one of those types can exhaust your patience, even anger you,” says Arnold Sanow, a Virginia-based sales speaker and trainer.
Attention Fakers
“Everyone
listens in a different way,” Sanow says. “So before
you judge that your prospect is faking it, be certain that he or she is.
Observe their body language. That often signals whether there is an internal
problem. And, of course, notice your own body signals.
“Studies
have shown that only 7 percent of the messages people receive are conveyed by
the words they hear,” says Sanow. “About 38 percent
comes by way of the voice, and 55 percent from
perceived body language.
“So
you can’t just focus on the words that clients use. Look at his body. Is he
crossing his legs away from you? That could indicate unconscious rejection.
Has he folded his arms, leaned back? You can’t generalize, but many people
unconsciously indicate negative reception that way.
“When
that happens, you have to stop and ask questions—open-ended questions, such
as, ‘What do you think about that?’ or ‘How close does that come to answering
your need?’”
“If
you’re convinced you’re dealing with an attention faker who’s clearly
coasting in neutral, you might ask a specific question that will bring him
back to reality. With a genuinely friendly smile, of course, because you’re
forcing him to change gears abruptly.”
But
that’s only the start, says Sanow, who, besides
training sales managers and their staffs to deal with problem clients, has
also written several books, including “Marketing Boot Camp.”
“You
can’t just plow ahead,” Sanow says. “You need to
take the conversation in another direction, sometimes with a surprising
question or abrupt change of subject to really get that client’s attention.”
Jeffrey
Geibel, a Belmont,
MA, marketing and public
relations consultant agrees. “People can fake attention only if you’re the
one talking, especially if you use diagnostic questioning in your sales
approach. If they remain ‘mentally disengaged’ even when they are talking,
you’re probably dealing with the wrong person.”
But
attention fakers may actually be adequate, though superficial, communicators.
It goes back to basic communication theory, says Gary Hattal, director of the
Federal Mediation & Conciliation Institute for Conflict Management in Washington, D.C.
“The average person in this country speaks
between 150 and 200 words a minute, depending on region. But the average
person also thinks four times that fast. And the hundreds of images that
flash through his or her mind while someone else is talking make them
impatient with the relatively slow pace of those spoken words.”
Which is one of the reasons Power Point has become
more popular than conventional presentations.
Listening
requires a person to slow down to receive outside stimuli. The objective, of
course, is to have a true meeting of minds. Easier said than done,
considering the external visual bombardment most business people are used to.
“Now,
what are they doing while you think they’re responding to you? They’re
uttering a lot of nonverbals and ‘um-hums’ or
partially verbal responses intended to make you think you’re on the same
wavelength,” says Hattal. “They’re really engaging in ‘ego speak.’ They nod
to indicate they’ve heard and understood you.
“One
effective way to snap them out of it is to ask an open-ended, provocative
question that requires a meaningful response—a question that requires more
than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’—such as: ‘How can we go about meeting your needs? I have
some ideas; what are yours?’”
If those gentle nudges don’t get your prospect back on
focus, Hattal suggests trying a somewhat different approach. Attention fakers
sometimes think they know exactly what they want, he explains. They believe
they’ve done the proper research and have now narrowed their thinking. But
mediators often have reason to doubt this person has the entire knowledge base.
Likewise, salespeople just as often doubt that the prospect has all the
available information.
So
it may be time for a more pertinent question, Hattal says. “For example, if
you’re selling a telephone service, you might ask: ‘What versatility do you
need this service to provide? Multiple phones or ways to reach salespeople
with several phones that need to be networked
because they may be hard to reach?’ That’s the kind of ‘question break’ both
mediators and salespeople can interpose to restart the client’s engine.”
Salespeople
themselves face the same mental bombardment as their clients. Before you can
communicate with someone else, Hattal says, you have to listen to yourself.
Your pitch may well stir a set of stored reactions instead of fresh responses
to your statements and questions. “If the guy across the table seems to be in
a trance,” he says, “I’ll change my speech pattern, be very self-effacing and
say: ‘I’m sure I’ve not been clear about this. Let me retrace my steps. This
is what I’m trying to say, and maybe you can help me out.’”
Fact Gatherers
This type is concerned with details—often obsessively,
says Geibel. When he encounters such prospects, he
might reply to still another query: “Good question, but suppose we get the
conceptual groundwork down first. Then we’ll know just what details we need
to fill in.”
That
responds to their need for details, yet keeps things moving, Geibel explains. “I went on a strategic alliance pitch
with one of my clients to make a presentation to a major player in his
industry. In the planning stages, he would get so bogged down in detail that
I had to say almost every five minutes, ‘Let’s remember this is a conceptual
sale; let’s make the conceptual
sale first, or we won’t be making any sale at all.’
“And
sometimes it’s necessary to ask your prospect: ‘Can we upscale this
conversation?’ It’s a bit blunt, but it gets the point across.”
Fact
gatherers, says Hattal, are generally analytical, linear thinkers who want
things to be precise.
“The
best way to work with type of person,” he says, “is to be on the same plane.
Forget your own way of looking at things. That customer wants a lot of
details up front, before you get to any generalities or philosophical
statements. Bring all the data. And be sure it’s all accurate.”
“I
was making a sales presentation on Long Island,”
Sanow recalls. “A woman came up before we got
started to point out a misspelled word in one of my handouts and expressing
her subsequent misgivings about the seminar itself.
“Obviously,
I can’t change her personality, but I’d better be more accurate if I want to
sell someone that concerned with a typo.”
Criticizers
“Second cousin to fact gatherers,” adds Sanow, “are people who like to take your story apart.
When such clients take aim at me, I suggest they check with my last hundred
clients as evidence that my ideas work, and I immediately offer their phone
numbers. Not just two or three, but a hundred, literally. They can’t all be
my friends, I point out. That, of course, also shows my wide capability
range.
“Example:
When Promar International, an Alexandria, VA-based
company of marketing consultants in the agriculture field, was searching for
a sales trainer last year, the executive in charge of the search not only
criticized my proposal; he also told me, ‘You don’t seem to have done any
training for companies like ours.’
“Instead
of arguing the point, I sent him a list of my last 100 clients and their
phone numbers. It sold him. Later, when I asked him what he had learned about
me, he confessed that he had never got around to calling them. “Anyone who’s
willing to give me the names and numbers of a hundred clients,” he said, “had
to know what he was doing.”
“Criticizers
don’t want to dwell on the details, the way fact gatherers do,” Hattal points
out. “They’re very aggressive, hoping to find fault with your proposal.
Whereas the fact gatherer is introverted and wants to work by himself to solve his problems, the criticizer, who really
is a driver type, will use the opportunity to knock you down a peg.
“You
deal with that type in one of two ways: if his criticisms are valid, you own
up to them immediately and say, ‘I see what you’re saying, and you’re right.
Let me try to be more accurate and give you the information I have that I
know is accurate, and let’s see if we can answer your questions that way.’
“When
he’s not right, and it’s something factual, not subjective, and you can
demonstrate it conclusively, I would (1) thank him for his perspective and,
especially if he seems emotional about the matter, (2) say something like, ‘I
understand you feel strongly about that. Let me offer another perspective.’
Not ‘my’ perspective, not the ‘right’ perspective, but another perspective. Your objective here is to enable that person
to come to terms with his errors by himself.”
Consensus Blockers
The
most difficult type of prospect to penetrate may be the “consensus blocker,”
especially if that person has a hidden agenda. When the decision to buy rests
with more than one person, says Hattal, decisions sometimes are made through
a consensus process.
“That
means a lot of discussion and give-and-take to resolve conflicts within the
group,” he explains. “Sometimes a single member can block the decision to buy
for personal reasons. So if the group regards homogeneity as vital, your
challenge is to discern the blocker’s real motive before you can develop a
strategy to persuade the entire group.”
With this type, says Geibel,
“The offer has to be framed in terms of their particular thought process or
aligned with their way of thinking, needs and ‘pain.’ Otherwise, it’s a waste
of time. But a preliminary meeting should emphasize that need for common
ground.”
Hattal
agrees. “If you’re speaking to a group—a small group of three to five
individuals—rather than one on one, that group very often comes in with its
own culture. Remember, a group is always doing two things simultaneously:
getting a job done and managing its decision-making process.
“You
might actually hope for some conflict there, some difference of opinion,
because you often get the best decisions when the group members are not
restricted by their leader or by one member who is blocking. You may have
sold everyone else. But that one person blocks the consensus, sometimes for
reasons you may never know.”
Sanow recalls such a case. “I was present at a meeting
last year at which two salespersons were trying to sell a woman executive who
was about to join a client company of mine. She had one of her assistants, a man,
at the meeting. They had a product that interested her, and they presented it
well. But those two sellers, unaware for some reason that the man was
subordinate, foolishly directed their presentation to him, presumably because
he was a man. They were courteous to her but addressed themselves primarily
to the man, both with their eye contact and body language. His boss was
pleasant, didn’t say a word, and neither signaled the mistake. But those two
fools turned her into a blocker.
Not surprisingly, she told me later, ‘I will never deal with them again.’”
Distraction
Tolerators
People who take phone calls or allow trivial
interruptions while receiving a sales presentation are similar to blockers.
All three experts agree on that. Again, it helps to establish ground rules
for the meeting. Are you meeting in the best place to avoid such
interruptions? There’s not much you can do if it’s in the prospect’s office
except to ask, in a pointed way, for that person’s full attention.
“If you anticipate the problem, suggest meeting on
neutral territory,” says Geibel. “A hotel lobby or
its coffee shop. I make it a point to take out my cell phone and suggest we
both turn ours off, along with our pagers. That usually works.”
When necessary, says Hattal, “Draw up an agenda and
suggest that you both become incommunicado
for 10 to 15 minutes.”
Note Takers
Don’t be fooled by a busy pencil. If you see someone
taking voluminous notes, don’t assume that person is fascinated by your
spiel. It can be just the opposite. Note takers are first cousins to
attention fakers. They can be wide-eyed and mind dead. They might even take
down your every word, or they might be just doodling, waiting for you to run
down.
“With such persons,” Hattal says, “you may need to put
reason aside momentarily and mount a barrage on their emotions with
attention-getting statements. At the proper time, you might then narrow your
presentation by focusing on only two or three points you’d like them to take
away from your discussion.
“You could also reverse the procedure by asking them to
tell you exactly what they want to discuss.”
Geibel takes another tack.
“Tell them you’ll send them an email or follow-up letter with an outline of
what was discussed, so they don’t need to take notes.”
Mental Rehearsers
They’re planning their remarks while you’re still
speaking. Accordingly, these are one of the most difficult kinds to
communicate with, says one veteran marketer, because their minds are in the
broadcast mode, rather than receiving. All three experts agree on the need to
break through the mind set with compelling dialogue to keep the exchange
spontaneous.
That’s where your selling skills can make a difference.
“If you can engage their minds—if you ask good questions,” says Geibel, “they have to think about their response. It
can’t be canned. A real-time answer doesn’t allow for a rehearsal.”
You can blame it on the short attention span so
prevalent these days, says Sanow, who puts it
another way. “It’s only eight seconds for adults, according to a recent Wall Street Journal story. About the
same amount of time they give to a billboard as they drive by.”
That doesn’t mean they won’t listen to you at all, says Sanow, “But you need to be interactive, with open-ended
questions, from the start. If you fail to get their attention right away, if
you don’t excite them and keep them enthusiastic about your message, their minds change direction. They no longer hear
you.”
“Let’s say you’re one of several salespeople that
prospect will be talking with today,” says Hattal. “Company policy or
personal preference may require asking each one the same questions. Unless
you ignite that customer’s mind with engaging dialogue, all you’ll get is the
canned speech. They’ll tell you what (they think) their needs are, not what
they really are. To break through, you first have to recognize what type of
individual you’re addressing.”
Those, of course, are only a few types of tough
customers. And while it’s a mistake to generalize, they fit patterns you
undoubtedly recognize. But inside each attention faker and note taker is a person with real appetites, and also a person who has
developed individual mental defenses and filters to help him or her achieve
their goals. Figuring them out is part of the job. How to do it is another
story. But, hey, no one said selling is easy.
#
SIDEBARS
How to Spot the Ideal Listener
The ideal listener:
ü has
high energy
ü has
already organized his/her thoughts but leaves room for “customizing”
ü is
open minded, willing to interact positively and give you the benefit of any
doubt
ü will
cooperate in synthesizing the discussion before making a decision
ü plans
to follow up and take action within a reasonable time
To help create the ideal listener:
ü uncover
the customer’s underlying needs and interests
ü recognize
his/her interpersonal comfort zones and accommodate their requirements and
ability to receive information
ü when
a question arises, withhold the full answer, if necessary, until credibility
has been established to ensure trust
ü provide
options within mutually agreed-on standards
ü repeat
your visits, depending on the need, to help build rapport, credibility and
trust
#
SOURCES:
Arnold
Sanow, President
The Business Source
2810 Glade
Vale Way
Vienna,
VA 22181
v: 703/255-3133
f: 703/255-4668
asanow@arnoldsanow.com
Jeffrey P. Geibel, President
Geibel Marketing & Public
Relations
P.O. Box
611
Belmont,
MA 02476-0005
v: 617/484-8285
f: 617/489-3567
jgeibel@geibelpr.com
Gary R. Hattal, Director
Institute for Conflict Management
Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service
2100 K St.,
N.W.
Washington,
D.C. 20427
v: 202/606-9144
f: 202/606-3679
ghattal@fmcs.gov
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