Show and Tell

Do you look for ways to involve your customer during your presentation or do you just babble on hoping you might say something that will generate a sale? Regrettably, unsuccessful salespeople display poor listening skills and have a tendency to talk too much. They use a “show and tell” sales presentation style that can quickly turn a customer off and cause them to mentally shut down. On the other hand, by developing your listening skills and finding ways to keep your customer actively involved in your presentation, you will dramatically increase your sales effectiveness and close more sales!

Several years ago, I heard an interesting story about a safety glass salesman named Bill Johnson. Bill was the top producer in his company and consistently outsold the other salespeople by a significant margin. One day the owner of the company congratulated Bill for setting a new quarterly sales record. The owner was curious about Bill’s outstanding accomplishment and asked him what he felt was the secret of his success. Bill replied he was selling the way he had been trained to sell, but that he had added something to his presentation. He stated that during his sales presentation he used a hammer to strike the safety glass several times to demonstrate its strength and durability. Excitedly, the owner asked Bill if he would be willing to teach his hammer technique to the other salespeople at the next company training meeting.

Thanks to Bill’s training, the company shattered its previous monthly record for safety glass sales! The owner was extremely pleased, but noticed Bill’s sales had also increased dramatically and that he continued to maintain his production lead over the rest of the sales force. Surprised that Bill’s production was still significantly higher than the rest of the sales force; he asked Bill if he had discovered any new techniques. Bill replied that he had made a minor change to his presentation that really made a major difference in his sales effectiveness. “I still use the hammer technique,” Bill said, “except now when I get to the part where I demonstrate the strength of the glass, I hand the hammer to my customer and let them hit the glass!”

By handing the hammer to his customer, Bill discovered the secret of successful selling. He took his sales career to the next level by finding a way to keep his customer actively involved during his presentation. Are you keeping your customers actively involved? If not, learn from Bill and discover a way to put the hammer in your customer’s hand!