Selling at the kitchen table is a big deal. Every opportunity a contractor gets to be inside the consumer’s home is a HUGE opportunity. Most consumers get three quotes, so you get your chance at the kitchen table…but so does your competition.
What causes them to say YES, and what causes them to say NO to you and your offer? The secret to success is discovering the answer to this question.
It would be great if people had sticky notes on their forehead that told you how to communicate with them. Imagine how easy it would be to close sales…peel that sticky note right off your prospect’s forehead, and there would be instructions on how to sell to them. Sales would go through the roof!
But since people don’t wear a sticky note on their forehead, your success in closing sales has everything to do with how well you understand the individual in front of you. A one-size-fits-all selling solution is not going to work. Delivering the right message to the right person is the key to success.
People can be tricky; what worked with one person doesn’t always work with the next. What makes one person happy is a turn-off to another. Sometimes you get a husband and wife at the kitchen table; one engages with you while the other is quieter; you walk away confused because you didn’t close the sale. Sometimes, you wonder why a similar presentation triggers a YES in one person, but the same presentation with another gets a hard NO. What happened?
The simple explanation is that people have personalities.
And personalities have preferences. However, those preferences are invisible to the untrained eye and the untrained ear. Yet, they are so important to be aware of because those preferences (values) drive your prospect’s behavior and buying decision.
Some people are methodical and precise; other people feel their way through situations. Some people need to know your credentials to do business with you. Others need to know you offer the best product or service. Some people require a lot of data, while others wish you would get to the point – and the sooner, the better!
Additionally, each personality type has a fear that’s built into their code. It’s important to know what that is, not to mention that each personality type has a stress code. Bad behavior is usually a sign that someone is experiencing a level of stress. Understanding their stress is like having supernatural talent because reducing a person’s stress can be magical.
You can see how important it is to learn how to understand others! Learning how to “speak the language” of another is a necessary skill for every business owner, sales manager, and salesperson.
How do you get better at communicating with others?
Hippocrates, often regarded as the father of medicine, recognized four distinct personality types as far back as 400 B.C. He referred to these types as the Four Temperaments. Each one was so different from the other that he treated them differently medically. Fascinating.
It stands to reason that your ability to understand another can dramatically impact your business, both positively and negatively. On the positive, you can create super-strong sales forces that deliver the right message to the right person, which could increase your sales by as much as 300%.
Consider this:
The first step is recognizing that every person has a four-part personality code with a specific sequence. We call this their BANKCODE. Think of it like the four-digit code to your ATM. The money only comes out when you put those four digits in the machine in exactly the right order.
In a sales situation, your prospect will say YES to your product or service when you speak their language in the right sequence. We call this hitting their “triggers,” which are values that they align with and make it easy for them to say YES to you. The sequence is important because you don’t want to hit one of their ‘tripwires’ (things they dislike). Tripwires are what cause them to say NO to you or your offer.
It becomes plain to see that people require different things from you. Increasing your skill level in communication is hands down one of the most important skills because it will impact every aspect of your business.
How do you become a more skillful communicator?
There are just two things you need to know; the first is the personality code of your prospect, employee, or vendor, and the second is learning how to modify your communication in a way that lands with them.
Understanding people is the key to closing more sales; it’s also the key to hiring the right people, resolving conflict, and building stronger teams. Once you understand people, you are in a position of better communication because you understand what makes them tick and what ticks them off.
The good news is that today you can predict buying behavior.
How do you take a lead and turn it into a sale? It comes down to how well you understand people.
People are telling you who they are in a hundred different ways. As a BANKCODE trainer and coach, I help you see the signs so you can close more sales in less time.
Want to learn more about BANKCODE? Join this webinar!
Michelle LaFrance is a Certified and Licensed BANKCODE Trainer.
Service Roundtable is dedicated to growing your bottom line and helping your business maximize its full potential. These groups of contractors work together to assist you with marketing, sales, business, and so much more. Twice a month, seminars around the United States and Canada are held to network and further assist your business. Visit Service Roundtable.com to see if there are Success Days in your area.
