RUNNING THE BUSINESS
The Magic of a Great Meet & Greet
Adjusting how you approach a customer can influence the entire selling process.
BY THOMAS MORIN
Daniel Laflor/peopleimages.com - stock.adobe.com
Have you ever heard the saying, “You had me at hello”? Maybe in a movie that you have seen, but it’s not something that you hear every day. In sales, it’s a saying we should hear more often, because so many salespeople completely miss the importance of taking steps to build a solid meet and greet with customers.
So much emphasis is put on the key components of the sales process like product demonstrations, handling objections and solid closes, all of which are legitimate. However, none of this will matter if you don’t start things off on the right foot with a customer, especially one you’ve met for the very first time.
I have observed hundreds of meet-and-greet encounters with a customer, where the customer clearly displayed nonverbal messages indicating discomfort that were completely missed by the salesperson. I am now convinced that it is the single most overlooked segment of the sales process. I bet that many reading this will completely deny that you could lose a deal so early in the customer visit.
Guess what? I estimate that as many as 60% of your deals have been lost in the first 15 to 20 minutes of meeting a customer, but most salespeople will never realize it.
There are two things many salespeople pay no attention to in those early moments that can turn out to be deal killers. The first is that hardly any salespeople realize how they appear when approaching a customer. Some salespeople walk at a hurried, “beat the clock” pace and look like they’re running a race. Do you realize what a customer thinks when you do that? They subconsciously feel that you’re already out of time and won’t be able to give them the time they need today.
If you slither up to them in a slow, creepy way, they feel like you have an ulterior motive and are already scheming how you could take advantage of them.
The second thing most salespeople disregard is how many things customers subconsciously decide about their salesperson in 7 to 10 seconds, even before they say a word. Here just a few of many examples:
- Can I trust this person?
- Their approximate age
- Are they safe or a risk?
- How intelligent they are
- If they’re organized
- If they’re neat or sloppy
- If they’re honest or sneaky
- Their trustworthiness
- Their level of confidence
- If they’re aggressive or laid-back
- If they are competent
- If they resemble anyone they know
- Will they be approachable?
All these things and more will remain in their subconscious thoughts until you do something to help them feel better about you.
Their discomfort is further enhanced if their last encounter with a salesperson was uncomfortable or contentious. If they worked with a salesperson who tried to sell them the wrong thing or tried to get them to buy something that was way over their budget, they will be afraid that you will try to do the same, at least until you do something to help them feel otherwise.
That is precisely why salespeople must slow things down in the first 10 to 15 minutes of the meet and greet. Customers are perceptive, and bad memories don’t fade easily. In fact, they won’t until you take a sequence of steps to reset their emotions about the last salesperson.
And then there is this key moment when most salespeople blow the whole deal — either by rushing the meet and greet or letting the customer rush you because they’re anxious about you. Some salespeople avoid any awkward or uncomfortable moments by rushing them out in the lot to get in an RV, thinking that excitement will erase any negative thoughts and fears. It won’t. You must move in a step-by-step, human-centered manner to help your customer relax before ever thinking about getting them in front of a product.
Why? Because helping them relieve their anxiety about you and achieving comfort, rapport and trust is a “pay now, pay later” proposition. If you choose to bypass this golden opportunity to slow things down, let them relax and slow their heartbeat enough to truly consider what you have to say and show them, that lack of comfort and trust will rear its ugly head when you try to close. It’s at that point when they will say they need to “go home and think about it,” no matter how much they like what you’ve shown them. Why? Because they were never given the chance to like and trust you enough to believe what you’ve said to them for the last 3 to 4 hours. Something won’t feel right to them, and they won’t be able to pull the trigger and hand you their credit card.
Remember all those days when things were going great all through the product selection and demonstration process, when the customer seemed so excited about what you were showing them, but then didn’t buy, and you were surprised by that? Well, this is why. So now is the time to change your level of commitment to the meet and greet, and here’s what you need to do to elevate it to the level of priority it deserves:
Redesign Your Approach
Have someone record you when first approaching a customer, paying special attention to your posture, facial expressions, the first thing you said and how you said it. I guarantee that you will make changes.
Match Verbal With Nonverbal Cues
Pay closer attention to what your customers say, but also to their body language that supports it. The anxious customer will say things to you, but their body language will often not match it. When that happens, pause and ask follow-up questions for clarification, giving your customers an opportunity to say what they really meant.
Flush Out Bad Experiences
If you sense discomfort or nervousness, ask them how you can best help them today in a way that they’re comfortable with, or what would be their preference for how you can work with them today.
This will help them relax and might motivate them to explain a previous bad experience with a salesperson that had a negative effect on them, which would be great information for you.
Calm Your Excitement
We all love an opportunity for a new customer who might buy something, but if they’re nervous or anxious, you need to stay calm and relaxed. Your customer will sense that, which will help them stay calmer.
Being too jacked up about this new commission opportunity, no matter how much you want to impress them, will only make them more nervous.
Announce Each Step
The anxious customer doesn’t like surprises because they question the intentions behind them. It’s best to let them know what you plan to do next and ask them if it’s OK with them. Saying something like, “What I’d like to do next is review your wants, needs and budget with my sales manager, so he can give us three or four RVs that best meet your needs, and I’ll be right back ... sound OK to you?”
Aways Confirm Comfort
Don’t plow forward if you sense that they are not comfortable at any point. There are no shortcuts. If you sense anxiety or discomfort, take a minute to confirm that they are OK and take steps to resolve that. Dragging discomfort to the next step creates an emotional distraction that will prevent them from thinking clearly.
Announce Notetaking
Salespeople should take notes to remember key information they can use now or for follow up going forward, but the key is to let the customer know what information you’re noting and why — to not forget anything important that they said. They will see this as a sign of respect and not think it’s anything underhanded.
Know Their True “Why”
This sounds simple, but it’s so often overlooked. In the meet-and-greet phase, it’s not enough to know their “what;” you need to know their “why” — but more importantly, you need to confirm that they know their “why.” You’ll need this to match products and features with exactly how they plan to use their RV, rather than because they’re competing with a neighbor down the street.
Say “I Don’t Know” (If You Don’t Know)
It’s OK to say that you don’t know the answer to a question, as long as you take steps to immediately get the answer from a sales manager, manufacturer representative or someone else, as doing so will help you be perceived as the customer’s problem-solver.
These steps are all easy to do but require a total commitment on your part to follow through. They’re important because the customer will believe they are important to you, and they will remember how good you made them feel when you ask for the credit card and try to close the deal.
The positive effects of a great meet and greet last throughout the entire selling process, up to and including when the paperwork is signed.
Thomas Morin is a sales coach and author in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, who teaches salespeople in all industries how to build the rapport and trust that customers must feel to be comfortable buying. Listen to Morin’s podcast “No Trust, No Sale” on Spotify, iTunes and Amazon. Contact Morin at bookauthorcoach@gmail.com.
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