Let’s be honest about it. We’ve all dealt with difficult customers who we had to sell to. On a regular basis, we deal with tough clients, ranging from the demanding, abrasive consumer to the one who never seems to make a purchasing decision. The alienation we feel as a result of our contrasting personalities is part of the explanation behind this. This article will go through the four types of people and how to work with each of them to better your results.
Be direct, Donna. Donna has a direct approach to her work. She has an aggressive personality and always tries to dominate or manage the sales call. Her demeanour is aggressive; she makes eye contact with you while speaking, interrupts you to challenge you, and is uninterested in knowing more about your new product or service in depth. “Cut to the chase,” she says, and “tell me the bottom line.” Donna is a goal-oriented, results-oriented person who despises squandering time.
To get the best sales results, you need to be more direct and firm with this person. Tell her right away that you understand how busy she is and how essential her time is at the start of the sales call or meeting. Tell her you’ll “cut to the chase” and focus your conversation on the advantages she’ll get from using your product or service. If she challenges you, avoid the temptation to back down or you may lose her respect. Donna’s situation isn’t personal; it’s simply business.
Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for her business—you don’t have to be bashful about it.
Tim is a talkative individual. Tim is an egocentric, cheery, and gregarious individual. He’s always late for meetings, and his constant interruptions and rambling anecdotes cause your sales calls to drag on. He appears to be more interested in hearing himself speak, which is inconvenient because you don’t always have enough time to present your concept.
Talkative Tim places a great value on connections, thus he spends more time interacting with others. Even if you don’t understand what you’re doing, he’ll enjoy it and like you more as a result. This person’s purchasing decisions are frequently influenced by his gut feelings and how he perceives the salesman.
Tim will feel rejected if you challenge him, and he will “shut down” and become unresponsive as a result. Throughout your sales presentation, tell him how great your solution will make him look to his coworkers or how his position or image will improve. To put it another way, make an ego appeal to him.
Steady Eddie. Eddie is a soft-spoken “nice” guy who appears to care more about his team and coworkers than his own achievements. He is quiet and may be difficult to read in comparison to some of your other options. But it’s his unwillingness to make a purchase that frustrates me the most. Eddie adds, “I’m still thinking about it,” but thanks for following up.
Eddie finds it difficult to make adjustments since these people cherish structure and security. He considers the impact of his action on other employees in the company. Slowing down the sales process, illustrating how your solution will benefit the team, and removing as much risk from the decision-making process as possible are all examples of this. Make sure your sales presentation is well-organized and softens your tone. Use words like “fair,” “reasonable,” and “your team” in your presentation.
Analytical Alice. She meticulously examines every aspect and feature about your product or service, and no matter how much information you provide her, she always wants more, including formal warranties and proof to back it up. Alice is difficult to read, and persuading her to engage in an open discourse is even more challenging because she makes decisions without regard for personal feelings or emotions.
As soon as possible, provide Alice a written, bullet-point agenda of your meeting. Send it to her a few days ahead of time through email so she has time to prepare. Make sure it’s free of typos, misspellings, and punctuation errors. Stick to the agenda when you meet, and have supporting documentation available for her to read if you make any type of accusation.
While the strategy you should employ with each of these people may seem unreasonable or illogical to you, it’s important to remember that the way you naturally and instinctively sell might not be the best way to achieve success with someone else. Changing your approach and style, even if only for a few minutes, will help you connect better with your clients and prospects, resulting in more sales.
