REAL POWER IS IN ---- DIRECTING YOUR PROSPECT'S FEELINGS...

There's a well known phenomenon among sales managers that strong sales reps will sometimes falter in their performance because they know too much.

This doesn't happen with old-timers, with guys who've been selling for years.

It happens typically with the newer sales reps (age not relevant), who have just figured out sales, and have started getting good results.

You see the new sales rep will ask a ton of questions, if he's smart. He'll ask questions of his prospects. He'll ask questions of his management, of his company, of everyone. He's a sponge, soaking up information.

At some point though he starts to think he's mastered the knowledge he needs to do his job.

And so he begins to ask fewer questions.

He starts telling people what he knows, because of course now, he knows most (maybe even all) of the answers.

And this is where he gets dangerous. Dangerous to his own success because he can't listen as much.

I won't be so cliche as to say he stops listening (though may be a few do).

Rather, the fact that he knows all the answers, makes him prone to talk more, to want to tell the prospect with confidence the right solution that he just knows is best for them. And by the simple fact that he is doing more of the talking, he by definition will be doing less of the listening.

Too bad.

Because the real control, the real power, the real position of influence is had by the man who strategically uses questions to direct the thoughts and feelings of the prospect right where they need to go so the deal can be closed with much more ease and comfort.

Persuasion is sooo much more effective when people persuade themselves. And people persuade themselves when they are allowed to think. When they are directed to think about their wants, their desires, their problems, their pains.

When they think about themselves, images, sounds, thoughts,feelings occurs that are hundreds of times more powerful than anything you can ever describe in your own words.

So no matter what you do, don't stop asking questions. Don't ever let yourself be the one who is doing "most" of the talking. You should always strive to be the one talking less than 1/3 of the time.

Get your prospect talking, thinking, imagining, feeling, 2/3of the time, and you'll have a much better chance of closing thedeal.

Let the client make the decision of buying rather than you selling....