Changing the sales narrative

“Don’t fall into the trap of thinking like a customer. If you do, you’re done.” This warning has been pounded into the heads of salespeople — and it will follow them until their last day on the job.

Why is thinking like a customer dangerous? It’s the noxious notion that leads down the dark and dismal path to serious trouble — lost sales. If you dare to let yourself think like customers, you may be distracted from your mission and become overly understanding and sympathetic, even finding yourself walking in a customer’s shoes.

Yet, successful salespeople work hard at sharpening their understanding of what prospects and customers are thinking. It takes effort and skill to get inside potential customers’ heads and it starts with asking questions:

• What’s important to them?

• What are they looking for?

• How motivated are they?

• Are they focused or not sure of themselves?

• What are they trying to tell me?

• Do they expect too much? 

• Will they be fair?

• What are they not telling me?

• Are they worried about being taken for a ride? 

• How concerned are they with making a mistake or getting stuck with a decision they will come to regret?

Accurate answers to these questions help to get an exact picture of what’s going on —and that changes the sales narrative. Instead of focusing on how you’re going to get customers to do what you want, you move to letting them know you’re on their side and your mission is to help them achieve their goal or dream.

In fact, it takes doing the opposite of what salespeople have been told to avoid —thinking like customers. It applies to all sales, whether you’re selling burritos from a food truck, diamond rings, engineering systems, real estate, insurance, medical equipment, or anything else.

What is it that the customer is trying to say? Some people have trouble expressing themselves clearly, either unwittingly — or on purpose. People often want others to think well of them, so they answer questions in ways that will impress the salesperson. They may let it be known, for example, that they can afford a purchase that’s far beyond their financial means. On and on it goes.

We all use shortcuts for coming up with answers so we can get the job done as quickly as possible. In sales this leads to believing we know more about how customers think than we do. Without even realizing it, opinions become facts and certainty supersedes questioning, doubt, and curiosity, the essential tools for understanding customers’ thoughts and behavior. 

And at what cost? Lost sales.

Four common-sense rules for understanding customers

Here are four basic rules to help you gain a better understanding of how customers think and help generate more sales.

Rule #1. Never assume you know what a customer is thinking. 

This is the place to start. Believing we can know what someone is thinking is useful–it gives us the feeling of being in control, even though the deck is stacked against such a notion.

The neurologist Robert A. Burton, MD writes, “We make up stories about our spouses, our kids, our leaders, and our enemies. Inspiring narratives get us through dark nights and tough times, but we’ll always make better predictions guided by the impersonal analysis of big data than by the erroneous belief that we can read another’s mind.”

Rule #2. Avoid thinking about what you want to say or do next.

In other words, the human mind isn’t up to speed on multi-tasking. When we’re with a client and our mind is on our proposal or what we want to say next, we’re distracted and unable to concentrate on what a customer is saying. 

There is nothing more important than what a customer is saying. If we don’t get it at that moment, it’s gone. Try as hard as we can, we are unable to recall what we’ve missed.

Rule #3. Make keyword notes.

It’s a similar problem when concentrating on what a client is saying so you don’t miss anything, while taking notes disrupts listening. As it turns out, we’re not wired to do two things at the same time, while using a smartphone to record the meeting can be questionable.

So, how can you keep your attention on what you’re hearing and recall it at the same time? Keyword notetaking helps. Instead of trying to jot down even four or five words at a time, let alone sentences, just one or two keywords aid recall later.

Rule #4. Use “rewind reviews”

Missing essential information or getting it wrong undermines a marketer or salesperson’s credibility — and the chances of make the sale.

An effective way to avoid such unnecessary mishaps is the “rewind review.” You might say, “I want to be sure I understand what you’re telling me, so let me put in my own words. Correct me if I get it wrong.” This not only will help get it right, but it sends the message that you’re a serious listener.

The battle for the control of the minds of salespeople is relentless. “Don’t give-in. Don’t let yourself think like a customer,” they tell us. “It’s our agenda and what we need to accomplish that counts.” At the same time, we are told to put the customer first. But those are just words that don’t ring true with customers unless we think like them.         

John Graham of GrahamComm is a marketing and sales strategist-consultant and business writer. He is the creator of “Magnet Marketing,” and publishes a free monthly eBulletin, “No Nonsense Marketing & Sales Ideas.” Contact him at jgraham@grahamcomm.com or visit: johnrgraham.com

Studies show that green space and landscaping contribute to health, happiness, and intellect.

It’s natural to long for spring when it’s cold outside. But did you know there’s a good reason why you may pine for green? Living landscapes are an important part of the outdoor lifestyle that Americans enjoy, but the benefits go beyond the barbeque and backyard baseball. Green spaces are necessary for your health.

The advantages of grass and landscaping surpass the usual physical benefits that result from outdoor activity. Numerous studies have found that people who spend more time outside or are exposed to living landscapes are happier, healthier, and smarter.

Researchers have studied the impact of nature on human well-being for years, but recent studies have found a more direct correlation between human health, particularly related to stress, and the importance of people’s access to nature and managed landscapes.

Getting dirty is actually good for you. Soil is the new Prozac, according to Dr. Christopher Lowry, a neuroscientist at the University of Bristol in England. Mycobacterium vaccae in soil mirrors the effect on neurons that Prozac provides. The bacterium stimulates serotonin production, which explains why people who spend time gardening and have direct contact with soil feel more relaxed and happier.

Children who are raised on farms in a “dirtier” environment than an urban setting not only have a stronger immune system but are also better able to manage social stress, according to the National Academy of Sciences.

Living near living landscapes can improve your mental health. Researchers in England found that people moving to greener areas experienced an immediate improvement in mental health that was sustained for at least three years after they moved. The study also showed that people relocating to a more developed area suffered a drop in mental health.

Greening of vacant urban areas in Philadelphia reduced feelings of depression by 41.5 percent and reduced poor mental health by 62.8 percent for those living near the vacant lots, according to a study by a research team.

Green spaces can make you healthier, too. People who live within a half mile of green space (such parks, public gardens, and greenways) were found to have a lower incidence of 15 diseases by Dutch researchers — including depression, anxiety, heart disease, diabetes, asthma and migraines.

A 2015 study found that people living on streets with more trees had a boost in heart and metabolic health. Studies show that tasks conducted under the calming influence of nature are performed better and with greater accuracy, yielding a higher-quality result. Spending time in gardens, for instance, can improve memory performance and attention span by 20 percent.

Living landscapes make you smarter. Children gain attention and working memory benefits when they are exposed to greenery, says a study led by Payam Dadvand of the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona, Spain. In addition, exposure to natural settings may be widely effective in reducing attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms in children.

This applies to adults as well. Research has also shown that being around plants helps you concentrate better at home and at work. Charlie Hall, professor and Ellison Chair in international floriculture at Texas A&M University, believes that spending time in gardens can improve attention span and memory performance by as much as 20 percent.

A National Institutes of Health study found that adults demonstrate significant cognitive gains after going on a nature walk. In addition, a Stanford University study found that walking in nature, rather than a concrete-oriented, urban environment, resulted in decreased anxiety, rumination, and negative affect, and produced cognitive benefits, such as increased working-memory performance.

Living landscapes help you heal faster. Multiple studies have discovered that plants in hospital recovery rooms or views of aesthetically pleasing gardens help patients heal up to one day faster than those who are in more sterile or austere environments.

Physicians are now prescribing time outdoors for some patients, according to recent reports. Park Rx America is a nonprofit with a mission to encourage physicians to prescribe doses of nature.

All of these benefits reinforce the importance of maintaining our yards, parks, and other community green spaces. Trees, shrubs, grass, and flowering plants are integral to human health. Not only do they provide a place for kids and pets to play, they directly contribute to our mental and physical well-being.                         

Kris Kiser is president and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), a trade group for power equipment, small engine, and UTV, golf car, and personal transport vehicle manufacturers and suppliers. This viewpoint is drawn from a news release the organization issued. More information can be found at www.SaveLivingLandscapes.com