The Time Honored Art of The Sales Conversation or How to Reel Em In

Doing Professor Craig Wortmann’s class at Coursera has been eye opening for me.  It’s well worth the $95 I paid.  I hope you don’t mind me blogging.  I am hitting the highlights.  Craig is an expert in sales.

Great sales people know how to work a room.  They aren’t smarmy or calculating.  When you are working a room, it’s transactional, but at the same time, it’s not transactional. If you think of it as transactional, people will see right through you.  You have to be genuine.  Great sales people are interested in other people.  They are curious.  They ask questions.  Putting on that hat before you walk into a room will get you ready to sell.

When you go, be nice.  Use words that are gracious.  Smile.  Make sure you aren’t disheveled.  Be sharp.  Speak just like your mother taught you saying “Please”, “May I” and “Thank you”.  Those words go a long way to create a positive aura.  Don’t be complex. Keep it simple and direct.

I love meeting new people myself.  You scratch the surface of someone and an interesting story emerges.  One thing about going to a business event, everyone is there for the same thing and it’s not the scotch.  That takes the pressure off.  There is a technique called the Reverse Gear Set-Up conversation.  It goes something like this:

When you meet someone, ask them an open ended question?  Suppose you are at a convention, you might say, “There are so many interesting people I have met here and I am happy to make your acquaintance.  How did you decide to come to this convention?”

They will answer, and invariably ask “What do you do?”.

This is a critical juncture in the conversation.  This is the point where you say a short sentence that tells them exactly what you do. It’s your one line pitch.  Technically, it’s called a sales trailer.  It’s like a movie trailer.  Just the highlights.  The best parts.  It makes the person want to ask for more if they are interested.  You must work on your one line sentence as carefully as you work on other parts of your business.  It’s carefully crafted.  No technobabble.  The line should pique their interest enough to ask a follow up question.

For example, if someone asked me what I did I’d say, “At West Loop Ventures we invest in business to business fin tech startups that will revolutionize the backbone of finance.”  Then you shut up.  Interestingly, that can fit in 140 characters on Twitter.

Usually, the person will respond with something like, “And how do you do that?”  Or, they might ask, “What does that mean?”

Now, you have earned the right to go further.  They asked you a question.  So, you clarify it for them.  “Thank you for asking. We think the entire backbone of finance is going to be revolutionized in the next five to ten years.  We find and fund startups at seed stage.  We have a $30M dollar fund with a large cadre of outside investors.”

Next, you qualify.  You don’t want to waste their time.  Additionally, if you puke all over them right now with every feature/benefit of your business, they are liable to get ticked off.  You want to make a friend that could potentially help you down the line, not piss ’em off.  I might ask them an indirect question to qualify them. The next question you ask might come from the previous conversation you have had.  Or, they might respond to your statement with a question or statement.  Listen closely, and see if there is a way to respond by asking a qualifying question.

The next phase is following up.  If it’s a potential client, hand them a business card and ask them if it’s okay if you set up an appointment to meet.  “May I call/email you?”  “May I give you my card?”  Let them know you will be calling their assistant, or sending them an email.  If it’s not a potential client, don’t walk away.  Ask them another question about their business.  It’s a follow up qualifying question just to make sure.

Then, it’s time to exit.  If you are going to approach them for business, say, “I really enjoyed meeting you and look forward to seeing you soon.”  If not, Let them know you really appreciated meeting them and learning about what they do.  Let them know there are a lot of people that you want to meet at the conference and you are sure they do too.  If you meet someone that they can do business with, you will be sure to send them your way.

Chicago Booth Entrepreneurship Professor Waverly Deutsch says, “People will not work to understand your message.  You must work to be understood.”