Charming, easy to talk and a good listener... Just some of the traits we see in some of the best salespeople. Certainly, it is something that we, as salespeople, hope all of our prospects and clients see in us.When we think of developing a relationship or a sale, we'd all agree that we need to develop some level of rapport. Without it there is no trust, no conversation and typically no deal.
So what do we have to do be charming, likable and the person they trust? And maybe this is where that word "vulnerable" comes in.The dictionary defines vulnerable as "susceptible to physical or emotional injury". Well, we are not going to get physically hurt in a sales call (If you are that could be a bigger issue).
Could this emotional piece play a bigger role? We know prospects don't always come right out and tell us the truth. And why is that? Imagine if fear played a part - why would I tell someone my issues that I just met, I could be embarrassed or ashamed.
Imagine a kid that just made a mistake, how do we handle their emotions? Don't we want to make them feel as comfortable as possible to tell us the truth? Often, we will share a story of when we were kids and made a similar mistake. It makes us vulnerable & could open the lines of communication.
Flash back to the prospect who we're asking a lot of personal questions to... could we handle it similarly? Is there an opportunity to share a time we're things maybe didn't go well for us or a similar client? Pretend you were in the clients shoes, who would you want to be talking to you?
Imagine if we used the same type of approach with a child that we did with adults and became vulnerable - any chance your prospect would open up more? Any chance you could have a better conversation? We'd all agree that developing rapport is critical to making a sale. Is there any chance that letting down your guard, becoming "susceptible to emotional injury" could help? A little vulnerability could go a long way.
