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You both provide a service you consider important. And much like a doctor, your customer will have to trust you when they make the decision of whether or not you bring their business to you.<\/p>\nWhat do you have in common with a doctor?<\/p>\n
Well you never went to medical school and you don\u2019t wear scrubs. And not to mention, the sight of blood makes you squeamish.<\/p>\n
So nothing, right? Wrong!You both provide a service you consider important. And much like a doctor, your customer will have to trust you when they make the decision of whether or not you bring their business to you.<\/p>\n
Doctors are highly respected, so rarely do patients question a diagnosis or prescription.<\/p>\n
As a small business owner, your main objective is to have your current and potential clients see you inthe same light. If they have a problem that\u2019s at all related to what you do, you should pop in their head as the first person to call because they already know you can help them.<\/p>\n
Anyone can get to this kind relationship with their clients, but you should have some specific skills like keeping the customers best interest in mind and being confident. But being inquisitive is the most important skill you can have as a salesperson.<\/p>\n
Think about it like this. You tell the doctor what\u2019s wrong and he starts to ask you questions. When did it start hurting? Does it hurt if I do this, etc.<\/p>\n
In fact, even if nothing\u2019s wrong and you\u2019re just going in for a checkup, the doctor still asks questions. So you\u2019ll have to learn which questions to ask to know the right plan of action.<\/p>\n
When\u2019s the last time you\u2019ve seen a small business salesperson present a product or service and seen the client make a purchase right away?<\/p>\n
Never! That\u2019s because most people decide whether or not to buy based on word of mouth, ads, intuition, a past experience and more.<\/p>\n
So, if you start with some questions to get your prospect warmed up and talking about their wants, needs, and thoughts of the service or product you offer to get a better idea of what they need so you can help them make a more informed choice and you get the.<\/p>\n
Try asking something along the lines of \u201cWhat have your experiences in the past been with this kind of service?\u201d Be prepared to spend more time filling them in, because they could know a lot about what they need, or they could know nothing.<\/p>\n
Ask what is it that they hope to get from your services. It could be something totally different from what most people look for, so you don\u2019t want to run the risk of turning them off or even intimidating them by talking about something that doesn\u2019t really make a difference to them.<\/p>\n