So Simple Yet Overlooked

It’s one of the easiest yet most overlooked steps in sales and leaving it out could be costing you thousands of dollars in commission each year.

On today's show discover:

• ... the best way to keep your customer in an agreeable state of mind;
• ... how to maintain and strengthen rapport even when your customer disagrees;
• ... how to avoid contradicting yourself and successfully overcome more objections.

Objections are a normal part of the sales process and when they’re handled well they’re an opportunity to strengthen rapport and build value. However if you handle them poorly everything can go south FAST!

The most important part of the rebuttal process is the agree step and there are three main reasons why:

1. Agreeing with your customer helps reassure them that you’re on their side and working toward a mutually beneficial outcome.
2. It acknowledges that their viewpoint matters and tells them you respect what they think, feel and value.
3. It let’s them know you heard what they had to say and can relate.

When you practice the “agree” step it can make your customer more “agreeable”

Now, years ago we used to call this step AGREE but more recently I’ve heard it referred to as Acknowledge or even Align. The psychology is the same but the reason many have moved away from using the word “Agree” is some were agreeing too well.

For example: If you’re customer says It’s too expensive and you say “Yes, it is too expensive” you’ve agreed too well. You don’t want to validate their concern but you do want to acknowledge what they said. Something simple like “I understand”, or “I hear what you’re saying” works perfectly.

Now, it’s important that your agreement seems sincere. If you’re just saying “I understand” over and over again it won’t seem like you really do understand. So be sure to vary the phrases you use.

Be Careful Not to Contradict Yourself

Now once you’ve master a sincere “agree or acknowledgment” it’s important that you don’t contradict yourself. I mean can you imagine saying something like “I understand but I’m not sure what you mean” you’d never do that right?

Well believe it or not that happens all the time because of the word “But”  But contradicts what you just said. It’s like saying “I understand but I really don’t.” The best rule of thumb is to simply “but out” or leave the “but” out. You may be saying BUT It’s such a small word is it really that important? Well you decide, here are three examples.

Example 1

A customer says: “It sounds good but I need to think it over”

And you hear a salesperson say: “but when we first started talking you told me how difficult things had become for you since the car accident.....”

Totally sounds like the beginning of an argument, doesn’t it?. The customer’s probably thinking how he’s going to respond rather than really listening to what the salesperson is saying.

Example 2

So let’s rewind and try that again... same customer...different salesperson

“It sounds good but I need to think it over”

Now our new salesperson says  “I understand, but when we first started talking you told me how difficult things had become for you since the car accident.....”  Do you hear how the “but” seems to say....even though I said I understand I really don’t? It’s subtle and it contradicts the initial acknowledgment.

Example 3

Ok one last time...

It sounds good but I need to think it over

“I understand, when we first started talking you told me how difficult things had become for you since the car accident.....”

Much better....you acknowledge the customer “I understand” and by leaving the But out....you don’t contradict yourself and the customer is more likely to really listen to what you have to say.

How to Agree

So what are some good ways to “agree” with your customer. Here are a few that seem to work well. (remember when “agree-ing” less is more)

• I understand
• I see
• I hear you
• I know how you feel
• I get what you’re saying
• That makes sense

The key is to acknowledge what you’re customer is saying without agreeing to well and don’t forget to leave out the buts.

When you approach objections first with the agree step you’ll find customers are more agreeable, more likely to listen to your rebuttal and more likely to buy

Today’s one two punch Agree to Make More Sales