The Psychology of Selling: Increase Your Sales Faster and Easier Than You Ever Thought Possible pdfdrive com

Well Begun Is Half-Done
A good opening, with a strong question aimed at the result or benefit of your
product, can get you almost to the close of the sale. A strong opening breaks the
prospect’s preoccupation, makes him fully alert, and gets you his complete
attention. He is immediately willing to listen to you.
Marketing guru Dan Kennedy has a powerful technique for testing your
opening sentence when you visit a prospect for the first time. He says that your
opening words should trigger the response “Really? How do you do that?”
For example, “We can provide you with glass that doesn’t shatter.”
“Really? How do you do that?” Your statement should immediately grab his
undivided attention.

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Your Time Is Limited
You only have about thirty seconds at the beginning of your meeting to get the
prospect’s complete attention. In the first thirty seconds, the prospect decides
whether or not he is going to listen to you. If you wander or make general
conversation, the prospect will grow impatient. Within thirty seconds, he will
have turned off and tuned out. It is then hard to get him back.
Experts generally agree that the first fifteen to twenty-five words out of your
mouth set the tone for the rest of the conversation. You should select these
words carefully and rehearse them regularly. They should not be left to chance.
The first fifteen to twenty-five words out of your mouth set the tone for the rest of the
conversation.
Many salespeople meet with a prospect for the first time and say to themselves, I
can hardly wait to hear what I have to say; I wonder what’s going to fall out of
my mouth next! This is not for you.

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Plan It Word for Word
Your opening question or statement should be planned word-for-word,
rehearsed in front of a mirror over and over, and memorized. You then must go
out and say it to a real live prospect. See what kind of response you get. If your
prospect does not respond with interest and complete attention, it is back to the
drawing board. You have to rework your opening question or statement until it
gets the kind of reaction you want:
“Really, what is it?”