Jeannie and Nan who run a communications training operation jumped in.

“Image…as long as you mean that it’s not what you say,” Jeannie started. “But how you say it” finished Nan.

I kept my mouth shut. They’ve each been arguing the same views as long as I’ve known them. Trouble was, this was a Friday night and my wife Susan was out of town so I couldn’t claim that I had to get home for dinner. I was stuck for the duration.

So I tried a little change in direction saying, “Guys, you’re all right as usual, but I need help with a little problem.” I’m trying to come up with basic ways for a client to more quickly develop their business, any suggestions?

Mike started, “I’ve heard you say that businesses are built one contact at a time. And you’re right. But a contact is just the beginning. You need to pitch ‘em and close ‘em to get the sale. That takes presentation skills. If you want to persuade someone to buy you have to get in front of them, connect with them. Show them how much you care and earn their trust. People won’t buy from someone they don’t trust.

Getting to trust isn’t easy. But I’ll guarantee that if you follow my rules you’ll get more sales:

1. Tell the prospect what you have in mind right up front.
2. Shut up and listen to their needs first (the more you listen, the easier the sale)
3. Show how much you care… about their problem and your product or service.”

“The sale is the thing,” agreed Steve, “but what about the pre-conditioning of the prospect? Seems to me you’ve overlooked how much easier it is to get in the door if they know about the company or product. I can guarantee that if we’ve done our homework and prepared the materials and the web site properly we’ll have expert information and opinions, statistical data and facts as well as solid examples of how to use the product or service. If you can‘t get to them, we’ll do it with direct mail or phone. And on top of that we’ll add an emotional hook to make it memorable. We can make it easier for you, or make the sale or both.”

Nan piped up, “There’s an awful lot of guaranteeing going on around here! But you guys are overlooking the basics. You gotta be believable. You’ll get nowhere if you aren’t. Whether it‘s an ad or a brochure or sales letter or a sales call you have to be believed. There are two techniques that will make you more believable every time.

Jeannie picked it up there saying, “Try the first-hand story. Stories, told with lots of detail will be more easily remembered by the prospect. We know from psychological research that stories are stored differently in the mind…like events that we were involved in and that makes them more credible…so you’re more likely to get the sale.”

“No matter what you do,” Nan said, “you have to understand that getting someone to buy requires a change in their behavior…and that only happens for three reasons:

            To avoid pain.

            To gain pleasure.

            To respond to their emotional condition at the moment

The question is, which can you honestly, believably use? The better you know your audience and the more enthusiastic about your product you are the easier it will be to choose.”

I ordered a round and said, “You did it! You’ve given me a raft of ideas I can use but something each one of you said was on the same wavelength.  Mike said show how much you care, Steve talked about an emotional hook and Jeannie & Nan hit on enthusiasm and emotional states.

It all comes down to one word…passion. Passion is what is missing from the presentations we’ve developed. And passion is what we need to get to the Perfect Pitch. Thanks!”

Get passionate about building your business. Call Jerry Fletcher direct toll-free at 800 533-2893 or visit www.JerryFletcher.com

To schedule the Networking Ninja to speak visit: www.NetworkingNinja.com