Want to get the business? Find out your customer's "back-story" and watch your strategy develop and your wallet fatten.

 

 

Back-stories are very revealing. For example, a client called and wanted a keynote sales training session for his organization. Upon further investigation, I uncovered that he had hired a variety of other sales consultants to speak where the content was never tactical enough. The salespeople would get some theory, leave the sales meeting totally overwhelmed, and not change any habits. The reason being that the speakers weren't providing enough specific details for their industry. This was a perfect match! I simply focused on how tactical my presentations are and why, he was convinced, and we started a successful relationship. He was delighted to receive what he'd always wanted at a meeting.

 

Just last week, while in LA, I mentioned to a client that I was planning on writing this newsletter about back-stories. He said, "Boy, I've got a good one for you." As it turns out, my client is from the "Nathan's Hot Dog" family. Of course that bit of news immediately got my attention. Everyone, hot dog lovers to vegan's know about Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs. I encouraged him to "do tell!"

 

I found out that his great uncle wanted to make a better "dog". It was 1916, and he took a look at the crowds at Coney Island and declared "This is the place!" Started the business, and the rest is history. (In fact, if you are interested in learning more, go to: www.transforms.com for the rest of the story.) My client's family is all entrepreneurial and that contributes to his business acumen.  Now, while I'm working with him and his sales organization, I have a clearer understanding of how to affect their success.

 

What about YOUR customer's back-stories? Here are some strategies you can employ to maximize your sales through better "back-story-ing".

 

1. Ask a simple question such as: "Tell me about your background." (So simple.) Then, be quiet and see what the customer says. Avoid interrupting during the monologue. They'll be "gold in them thair' hills", I promised. As long as you avoid interrupting or telling YOUR back-story!

 

2. Pay your customer a sincere compliment then ask a question. An example may look like this." Belinda, I noticed that you are running a safety contest in your department. How interesting. Tell me how these types of initiatives began." Then, be quiet and see what she says.

 

3. Kick off her/his story with a prompt. An example may sound like this: "Bob, when I was conducting some research to prepare for our meeting, I couldn't help but see that you attended The Naval Academy. That's fascinating. Tell me more about that."

 

4. Last, you can use a commonality and a prompt. For example: "Bob, I understand that you graduated from  The Naval Academy in 1987. That's a coincidence, because my brother was there around that time, as well. What was your main focus?"

 

So there you have a few techniques to use in order to gain access to the back-story without being too intrusive with your customer. Try these four techniques and see how it goes. You might find that gaining the back-story access may just be your ticket to building a better relationship, understanding your customer, AND closing more deals!