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Relationships| Article #118 :RELATIONSHIP SELLING – PART 6

In this installment of relationship selling we're going to focus on one of the most important parts of relationship selling, and that's finding and targeting the right people.

We all want to believe that anybody can become a customer. We think we're such good sales people that once we give our pitch to our prospect, he or she will be signing on the dotted line before you can say Bob's your uncle. The truth is, not everybody is a prospect. At least not a viable prospect.

No matter what you do, you're going to find people who, for whatever reason, cannot be sold to, whether it be through old fashioned methods, relationship selling or what have you. You can come on to these people and be their very best friend and it won't matter. So the first thing we have to do is learn to recognize when a prospect is a viable one and not somebody you're going to ultimately waste your time with. This is where the key to relationship selling comes in. It's called connecting with your prospect.

To connect with your prospect you have to do more than just listen. Anybody can listen. The problem with listening is, after hearing what the prospect has to say, most people try to logically answer their questions. Logic doesn't apply to all people, especially not to the more difficult of prospects. What you have to do with these people is connect with them. To do that, you have to put yourself in their place. To do that, you have to understand what they're going through. If a prospect says they're tired of working for somebody else and not having time with their family, think about how you would feel if you were in the same situation. By empathizing with your prospect you can best understand their needs. After you've done that, you'll know the best way to approach them. If then, this approach still doesn't work, then more likely than not, you have a prospect that just isn't worth spending any further time with.

When you speak with your prospect, find out why they want more time with their family. Find out what's important to them. In many cases, what a person says they want, like money, is really just a means to another end. Yes, you will meet people who only want money for the sake of having it. Those people can probably be sold to the old fashioned way. Just tell them that your opportunity is the greatest thing in the world and they'll be all over it. But most people want that money for a reason. They either want security or freedom or something else. It's your job to find out what that reason is by asking questions and listening to what the prospect has to say.

The above procedure takes a lot of practice to perfect. It may seem like it will take a long time to do this, but in the long run, you will end up saving yourself time by not wasting time with prospects who can't be converted into customers.

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