Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage.
-Confucius
There is a reason why many corporations desire previous military experience. Most military and civilian police officers are trained in the methods of interrogation. There are great similarities between the interrogation process and the means by which a prospective customer is handled.
It may sound strange, but the prospect (customer) shouldn’t be allowed to talk much until late in the process. Then again, you shouldn’t be concerned with volunteering information about your product or service until the end of the process either.
So how do you begin? Certainly not by saying how great your service is or how different you are from the competition. That’s a given. So here are some techniques you can apply to the world of competitive marketing.
The widely-used Reid technique lays out nine steps guiding interrogation. Many of these steps overlap, and there is no such thing as a “typical” interrogation. For our purposes, the Reid technique provides a useful blueprint of how to develop means and methods to successfully integrate a customer into your business.
THE POSITIVE CONFRONTATION
Reflect the prospect’s words back by restating what he/she has said so they can see that you are hearing and understanding them. This is a good way to calm an aggressive personality and “buys you time.”
Make your point confidently and be direct. Do not stumble over your words and maintain direct eye contact. This way you communicate respect.
Remain calm no matter how anxious you are to make a sale or land a new client.
Explain why this transaction is important to the prospect and what you will or will not do to make it happen. Present options like, “if you continue to do this, this is what may or may not happen.” Be proactive, but not aggressive.
They’ve been through this before (probably many times) and may try to manipulate you and divert your attention away from the original conversation. You are in charge. To show that, you may have to repeat yourself to bring the focus back to the subject at hand. This may cause tension, but keep your focus.
State possible consequences of them not using your services or product, but NEVER threaten with a specific result. If the end result does not change, you will lose credibility. Use the word ‘may’ instead of ‘will’ when discussing consequences (“the IRS may fine you if you don’t manage your payroll properly.”)
THEME DEVELOPMENT
Theme development is about looking through the eyes of the prospect to figure out why he came to you, why he’d like to do business with you and what type of excuse might give him the out to leave. Does the prospect use any particular mode of reasoning more often than others? For example, does he seem willing to blame his previous accountant? You must lay out a theme, a story, that the prospect can latch on to in order to justify his being there, and you then observe the prospect to see if he likes the theme. Is he paying closer attention than before? Nodding his head? If so, continue to develop that theme; if not, he’ll pick a new theme and start over. Theme development is in the background throughout the sales process. When developing themes, speak in a soft, soothing, yet firm voice to appear non-threatening and to lull the prospect into a false sense of security.
HANDLING DENIAL
Letting the prospect deny his need to make the deal on-site will increase his confidence, so interrupt all denials, sometimes telling the prospect it’ll be his turn to talk in a moment, but right now, he needs to listen. From the start of the process of acceptance, watch for denials and stop the prospect before he can voice them. In addition to keeping the prospect’s confidence low, stopping denials also helps quiet the prospect so he doesn’t have a chance to ask too many questions. If there are no denials during theme development, take this as a positive indicator of susceptibility. If initial attempts at denial slow down or stop during theme development, you know you have found a good theme and that the prospect is getting closer to being integrated. To coin a phrase, “resistance is futile.”
OVERCOMING OBJECTIONS
Once you have fully developed a theme that the prospect can relate to, the prospect may offer logic-based objections as opposed to simple denials. ”I could never turn my back on my accountant, but my business is growing and I need help to make it profitable.” These objections give us information to use to turn the prospect into a customer. You might say something like, “See, that’s good, you’re telling me you would never deliberately turn your back on someone. But circumstances are sometimes out of your control. You understand continuing on this path will hurt your business.” If you do your job right, an objection ends up looking more like an admission by the customer of needing significant change.
THE PROSPECT LOSES RESOLVE
If the prospect’s body language indicates surrender, seize the opportunity to start leading the prospect into submission. He’ll start transitioning from theme development to alternatives that force the prospect to choose a reason why he should consummate the deal. At this stage, make every effort to establish eye contact with the prospect to increase the prospect’s stress level and desire to “get this over with.”
ALTERNATIVES
You must offer at least two contrasting motives for some aspect of the sale, sometimes beginning with a minor aspect so it’s less threatening to the prospect. One alternative is socially acceptable (“everybody has one”), and the other is morally repugnant (“you can’t let your employees down”). The integrator builds up the contrast between the two alternatives until the prospect gives an indicator of choosing one, like a nod of the head or increased signs of surrender. Then, things speed up.
BRINGING THE PROSPECT INTO THE CONVERSATION
Once the prospect chooses an alternative, the consummation has begun. Encourage the prospect to talk about the decision and arrange for at least two people to witness the consummation. One may be your assistant, sitting close by and another may be brought in for the purpose of forcing the prospect to confess to a new detective — Car dealers routinely do this (“let me get my manager”). Having to confess acquiescence to a new person increases the prospect’s stress level and his desire to just sign a contract and get out of there. Bringing a new person into the process also forces the prospect to reassert his socially acceptable reason for his decision, reinforcing the idea that it’s a done deal.
In closing, getting information is about creating a new reality for the prospect with no hope of escape or freedom. You control every aspect of their world. When it’s time to ask questions, you want them disoriented, anxious, wondering who you are and what you can do for them. You have to make them understand their entire future, their hopes, their dreams, every breath they will even take from then on – it all depends on one thing: Doing business with you.
A good salesman paints a picture of the world outside for a prospect. Whatever he’s holding onto, you take it away. His organization is crumbling. Friends can’t help. His preconceived notions are useless. Through all of this you have to maintain complete concentration on the job at hand. No thinking about your son or daughter, the wife or what’s for dinner. Remain focused, confident, self-assured. Your objective is to gain information to consummate the deal. You forget that and not only will you fail in your mission, you may wind up a prospect in someone else’s hands.
Good luck.
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