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"Now You've Got Your Ad Running, Now What?"

by ewenmack
8 replies
Now you've got your ad running and
people are talking to you, either by phone or
Skype, here's what you do...

one word,,,

LISTEN!

Let me back up here a bit so to clear any confusion.

We are not talking about selling out of the box products.

We are selling intangible solutions which can have many variations.

Now that's out of the way,
the sole purpose of listening is to...

have only one objective:understand. Only trying to understand what
the person is trying to convey.
Not to critique or object or convince.

This is one of the 7 Habits Of Successful People
by Steven Covey.

You find out lots of interesting things...

Like...

More opportunities to help and upsell,
warning signs of a bad client if signed up

And that's what a lot of questions are about here,

getting more money from offline clients
and how to deal with a bad client.

Work on your listening skills and
you get more money and kill off bad relationships before they start.

Best,
Ewen
  • Profile picture of the author PsycFa
    Excellent...awesome...LISTEN!!

    A lot of people do not listen...normally within the first 30secs with a client; I can easily feel on the type of packages I can sell to them; high - medium - low..call it instinct or whatever but just by listening; you can really find out where you stand or what they require of you exactly.

    Think on your feet and do necessary adjustment in your brain If you start listening properly; you will easily develop that skill - intuition to know things that your client is not telling you.
    Signature

    The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous. The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself.....

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    • Profile picture of the author Charles Huber
      Ewen,

      As usual you have a great piece of advice for people. I have a tendency to want to talk too much, all the while, I know the the Dale Carnegie approach to listening to people and asking them about themselves in terms of what they think and what they need JUST WORKS.

      I tell myself that continuously, but a little reminder from you goes a long way. Appreciate the post and all the good ideas and bits thrown out from you on almost a daily basis.


      CH
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      • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
        Charles, I see you are taking Red's advice and STALKING me!

        Ewen smiles.

        Talking too much can come from a nervous energy
        where we see the other guy as being some form of a threat.

        Symptoms of this can be bragging, big claims, agreeing to everything,
        needy.

        Once again it's keeping a check on one's emotions and have an understanding
        how they play out to affect the end result.

        Best,
        Ewen

        Originally Posted by Charles Huber View Post

        Ewen,

        As usual you have a great piece of advice for people. I have a tendency to want to talk too much, all the while, I know the the Dale Carnegie approach to listening to people and asking them about themselves in terms of what they think and what they need JUST WORKS.

        I tell myself that continuously, but a little reminder from you goes a long way. Appreciate the post and all the good ideas and bits thrown out from you on almost a daily basis.


        CH
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  • Profile picture of the author Rearden
    Don't forget to ask the tough questions up front, too.

    "What's your budget"
    "You're successful -- do you really need my widget?"
    "If I can do X, Y, and Z, does a one-time investment of $X dollars fit your budget TODAY."

    20 percent talking, 80 percent listening.
    Signature
    David Duford -- Providing On-Going, Personalized Mentorship And Training From A Real Final Expense Producer To Agents New To The Final Expense Life Insurance Business.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rearden
    My most memorable sales call was me calling in to inquire about voice-broadcasted leads.

    The guy on the other end asked me a sparse little about what I do.

    Then he confirmed that my territory was *luckily* open still.

    Then he asked me what I was spending per week in leads. (About $300-$500).

    There was some connection issues, as he immediately *blew me off* and told me to read about the program and call me back if I was interested.

    I was very slightly insulted, but actually more shocked he was dumping me -- it made me want his product that much more!

    I even asked him why I should pay $25 for a lead that I can get with another company for $13.

    He said, "I don't know -- I don't know anything about the other company -- you could be getting a bunch of garbage from them, while with ours you'll be closing 50%. If you can't put together enough money for 10 leads (about $300), then you're just not cut out for the program."

    Then he told me of all the emails and calls he had to catch, and got me off the phone.

    What did I do? I bought the next day.

    However, the guy still is a douche bag. But he did take my money.

    And the leads were pretty good.
    Signature
    David Duford -- Providing On-Going, Personalized Mentorship And Training From A Real Final Expense Producer To Agents New To The Final Expense Life Insurance Business.
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    • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
      Here's a classic example of not listening,
      well more than one actually...

      Been getting cold calls lately from web design companies
      and 2 calling from India.

      I listen and then make a comment to see if they are really listening to what I say,
      not to trip them up, but the reality of my situation.

      They ALL, did not grasp that I'm not qualified and
      didn't get off the phone and made the next call.

      The product has next to zero searchers for it on Google.

      I tell them that and tell them that I've used Googl'es Keyword Tool.

      Then this clown countered by saying, "but everybody searches for products on Google
      and I can prove it".

      Next thing I know his supervisor is on the line.

      Then he didn't "get" what I said about next to nothing searches for the product.
      I had to repeat it again to him...geez.

      Then it finally clicked, and he repeated what I had told him twice before!

      You could hear his brain ticking over.

      Not listening really insults the other person.

      The story doesn't end there..

      A woman from same company calling from India offered
      me "valuable information", and I can get it if I hand over my email address.

      Told her it would be pointless because I have no need for one
      due to the lack of searchers online for my product.

      So again, I'm having to repeat myself.

      Still not working...geez!

      Look I give people a good hearing when they call.

      But with her outfit it was time to let rip.

      Told them they have no clue, don't listen and having to continually repeat myself because they don't listen...don't call me again.

      Look I hate making feel bad, but sometimes people need to be shocked to
      cause a pattern interrupt.

      Gave her one.

      Anyway, listening shows respect for the other person.

      Best,
      Ewen
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  • Profile picture of the author shane_k
    One way to really get across how important listening is, is to get people to think of a time when they were on the other end of a sales call, or a sales presentation, and the sales person actually took the time to listen to them. And actually took the time to try and understand where they were coming from.

    I remember this one woman. I was in this clothing store and usually when I shop for clothes I buy like 1 pair of jeans and 1 shirt at a time.

    But this woman was good. She didn't flirt like some other woman which does bug me when they try that. But she just asked really good questions about what I did, when I would be using the clothes, what colors did I feel looked good, how I felt when wearing the clothes, and she made suggestions and listened to me alot.

    And like they say we love to talk about ourselves so i found myself telling her alot of stuff. anyway, I ended up buying 5 pairs of jeans, and 3 t-shirts, about $450.

    I will always remember her as a great sales person. I did not feel pressured at all. Actually I felt pretty good afterward and I felt understood for some reason. lol

    So yea, taking the time to listen can open up alot of avenues and possibilities that you would never have seen if you just focused on your own sales pitch.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Faber
    Listening - It's one of the most common characteristics of successful sales professionals.
    Signature
    For Killer Marketing Tips that Will Grow Your Business Follow Me on Twitter Now
    After all, you're probably following a few hundred people already that aren't doing squat for you.....
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