Upon returning from Austin a few weeks ago, and to my dismay, I realized that the ticket was missing. I remembered the parking lot, and had a vague idea of my row number, but without my ticket, I didnít know where to find my car. It was late at night, and I expected my shuttle driver to roll her eyes, audibly sigh, and like my mother, lecture me about not keeping up with my ticket.

Instead, she said, ìI love when my customers lose their cars!î ìWhat?î I said, as I cleaned the virtual wax out of my ear. ìWhat do you mean?î She proceeded to tell me that she enjoys the challenge of finding lost cars and that the activity is her favorite part of her job! Boy, did I like this woman!

Of course, we quickly found the car, using her clever and experienced detective methods. It wasnít daunting for her, because she saw the activity as a challenge. A game.

I know you have sales challenges, because we all do. So what are yours? Letís take one of the greatest sales challenges most of us have: getting customers to say ìyesî.

Here are my top 7 approaches to the challenges of eliciting a ìyesî from customers:

1.    Make it easy for customers to conduct business with you. If you do what you say youíll do, follow up when you say you will, and be responsive to your customerís, you are making it easy for your customer to say ìyesî.
2.    Listen to your customersí hidden meanings to uncover the real issues and concerns. What do they really mean in a call? Are you processing the content; including the voice, tone, inflection and all the non-verbal messages, or are you just hearing words? Thereís a difference in how youíll respond if you are truly listening to the customerís real meanings.
3.    Ask more targeted ìtell me aboutî questions. And while the customer is answering you, avoid interrupting. This beats the ìinterrogationî model of qualifying, anytime.
4.    Prepare thoroughly for your calls. Do you have everything you need either in your sales notebook, briefcase, or on your cube wall that relates to this customerís situation. Whatís your goal in the sales call? Have it all ready before the interaction.
5.    What do you offer that is different and better than your competitors? Set this up in each and every customer call. If you want to step up to the customer challenge of his/her saying ìyesî, than you set up the criteria. Of course, we all know you have the best value and you probably donít have the lowest price. Talk to your customers about this. Never apologize for having a higher priced product/service. Add the quality component and youíll see that customers will find the funds needed to buy from you.
6.    Help your customers generate more business at their company. Network with them, provide them with leads, set up breakfasts, coffee chats, conference calls, and outings. Get creative to help your customers grow their businesses. Youíll be amazed at the loyalty youíll cement.
7.    Most importantly, take the challenge of showing genuine interest in your customers. My shuttle driver did just that. Do you think I was delighted that her greatest challenge was finding lost cars?

So now you have new ideas of dealing with the challenge of customers saying ìyesî. And, yes, Iíll be back to the parking lot at the airport and hope that I have the same shuttle driver again and again. Because you know what, next time, Iíll get the same excellent service without the lost ticket challenge!

(c) Renee Walkup, SalesPEAK, 678 587-9911 www.salespeak.com