Introverts make the mistake of starting a small business for themselves because they’re good at their functional skill.
But just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean that customers will automatically show up at your door.
You still have to sell.
So instead of learning how to sell, Introverts plow their time and effort into getting better at their functional skill and pour money into advertising, hoping those two things will somehow magically close the gap.
It won’t.
Follow these steps to build a formula, a script, for selling. Introverts need a script – it’s not easy for us to start a conversation, let alone sell as easy as extroverts.
7 Steps to the Introvert’s Edge:
- Establish trust and provide an agenda.
- Ask probing questions
- Speak to the decision maker
- Sell with a story
- Answer objections with stories
- Take their temperature
- Assume the sale
- Lastly, and most important, perfect the process.
Establish Trust and Set an Agenda:
Indifference and emotional detachment from the sales pitch over anxiety and desperation. It’s a sales process. Focus on the system, not the sale. Always have more sales in your pipeline, so you don’t have to worry about getting this sale.
Set the stage that you’ll be asking some questions to tailor a solution to fit your customers needs. That way, they’re not defensive when they come up.
Also, control the conversation. Give them the tour, but don’t let them run the factory.
Ask Probing Questions:
People want a solution to their problem, not a just tool to fix it.
“Before I get into the details of exactly what we can do and how we can help, I’d like to ask you a few questions. That way, I can craft a solution tailored to you. Is that okay?”
Figure out:
- What do they want?
- What are they doing about it right now…and is it working?
- Who says it is a problem? (Who is experiencing the pain? The caller or someone else?)
- What’s it costing them financially, in opportunities, and/or personally?
Qualification
Get to the decision maker. Get past the gatekeeper.
“Are you the person to speak to?”
Objections
When you have an objection, tell the client a story. They can argue with logic, but they can’t argue with your story.
Also say, “I totally understand and the last thing I want to do is waste any of your time. However, I just had a customer…”
Think of yourself as an adviser, or a sales consultant. Not a salesperson.
Take Their Temperature
- Give the prospect a slight nudge by offering choice A or Choice B. “Would you prefer a morning or afternoon for an appointment?”
- Take their temperature to see if they’ve already made a decision in their mind without putting pressure on them or asking outright.
- Determines if you have some work to do.
Assume The Sale
“Okay, now, what’s the easiest way to organize payment? Would it be by check or card?”
If you ever get a phone call and the first question is about “How much is this going to cost?” The customer will always misunderstand your value. They’ll always gauge your sales pitch based on price alone.
So always answer with “Good question and I’ll get to that but let me ask a few tailored questions to get an idea of how best to solve your problems.”
Perfect the Process
If you the sales process that’s what it is: a big assembly line. Break down the whole task into its components.
Pick up the phone when you get a lead. Call them. Don’t send a bunch of PDFs and a long-winded email. Get your phone script on cue.
Use the script! If your sales dip, you know the reason is because you haven’t been sticking to your script
One of the very first people founder goes off and hires is the sales person. The founder wants to get out of selling so they can focus on the work. Don’t even think about doing this!
