How To Sell To Difficult People by Amy Walker

Posted on June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 by Kimberly Wiefling

(First Published at http://amywalkerconsulting.com/blog/ on February 4, 2014)

Ahhh, the Hecklers, the Know-It-Alls, and the Doubters. They are not our favorite people to sell to. I definitely prefer hearing, “This is exactly what I’ve been searching for!” But in every event you are going to have a tricky person to sell to. I know speakers and trainers who just let them go and work with the excited ones. You can do that. I also know that I have had some that were stinkers during the sales process and ended up being my most loyal and long running clients. I’ve also closed stinkers who turned into stinker clients. The key is to know which ones you need to let go and which ones really need you.

Why are they stinkers?

Most human beings are good and it is in our nature to protect ourselves. When you come across crusty people, they are usually nursing some type of hurt. Hecklers have often been through rejection or ridicule and had to laugh their way out of it; Know-It-Alls often can’t handle being weak and imperfect; and Doubters have often been taken advantage of in the process. The first step to handling a tough sale is to try to understand them and think of them as a good person.

The Heckler: Makes Jokes, derails the presentation, asks completely irrelevant questions etc.

Remember that hecklers like to see you sweat. They like pushing buttons. The easiest way to handle a heckler is to get them on your side. Laugh with them. Joke with them. Understand that they want to be seen and heard, and treat them with kindness. When they like you, they will also sometimes be the most outspoken proponents of your products.

The Know-it-All: Everything is great in their life, they don’t need help, every time you get close to finding their pain or problem they will block you

Know-it-alls have a hard time showing weakness. They are usually strong and are used to doing things on their own. They do not want to feel incompetent or wrong. If you keep pushing to figure out their problems, they will put up wall after wall after wall. When I come across these situations, I pull back and invite them to tell me what they see that isn’t working. If they come up with nothing, I ask them what they want that they don’t have and then I ask permission to help them come up with solutions to get there.

Doubters: Second guess you and your product. Want proof. Treat you like you are trying to pull one over.

NEVER sell this person into a product or service, you have to let them choose into it. If you talk them into it, they will inevitable blame you for why their life has gone all wrong! Ask them if they have had a negative experience before. Listen to them and ask questions like, “What do you need from me so that this is a different experience?” Keep asking them, “What else do you need to know before you can decide if this is right for you?” Give them any type of reassurance they ask for. If they want references, let them call your clients. If they want facts, show them where to find it. Your job in this situation is to inform where ever they need it and continue to invite them to get more answers until they have no more questions. Then you ask for the sale.

When to RUN!

Anyone that has worked with a pain in the butt client knows they make your life miserable. Some of my favorite clients and people have fit into these 3 categories in the beginning. But if they can’t pass my test, I will not work with them. My test is simple. Can they take accountability for themselves, or do they blame others? If they blame others, they will blame me. If they can take accountability I know we will be able to work together as soon as they are ready and I will move forward. If not, I bust out of that sales call as soon as possible!

Happy Selling!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Amy Walker is an International Executive Business Coach and CEO/Founder of Amy Walker Consulting. As a Featured Professional Speaker she has shared the stage with some of the top names in the industry including Willie Jolley and Delatorro L. McNeal II. Amy is a Master of Sales and has written sales scripts for billion dollar companies and organizations. She has been regularly featured on television, radio, and print. Amy is passionate about Women in Business, Making Businesses Thrive, and Balancing Business and Family. She is the happily married mother of 5 boys.
Website: www.amywalkerconsulting.com
Facebook: Amy Walker Consulting – https://www.facebook.com/AmyWalkerConsulting
Twitter: @amywalkercoach – https://twitter.com/AmyWalkerCoach
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Are You Ready? by Amy Walker

Posted on May 24, 2015May 11, 2015 by Kimberly Wiefling

(First Published at http://amywalkerconsulting.com/blog/ on April 27, 2015)

Want to know what almost stopped me from starting my company?

I am not a fan of the solo-preneur business model. Gasp!!! Did I just say that? To thousands of small business owners? Many of whom are solo-preneurs?

Absolutely! There is one major flaw in the solo-preneur model and it’s YOU! Your time and availability limits your income potential. Your knowledge and skill set limits your income potential. Your mental and emotional capacity limits your income potential. Your scarcity thinking limits your income potential. YOU limit your income potential. Not because you are a flawed human being, but because you are a human being. You are not perfect. You get overwhelmed. You run out of time. And you have strengths in certain areas of your business while you are deficient in others.

I’m not being mean, I’m being honest. I know it because the same is true in my business, and in the hundreds of other business owners I coach.

To get past the solo-preneur hump, you have to hire! Hiring scares a lot of people. And I understand why. It is time consuming and expensive. No one you hire will do it just like you do it. No one will care as much about your business as you do. And when they mess up, it effects your business. It can be scary. In fact so scary, that I almost sabotaged my company before it even started.

2.5 years ago, I was an independent contractor working for an amazing training and personal development company. I had a great job. I had great paychecks and I loved the people I worked with. BUT, I was getting ready to have my 5^th son and I knew it was time for me to have more time freedom and to stop hiding behind someone else’s brand. But I did not, under any circumstances want to run a team of people. I wanted to do it all myself. In fact, I remember consulting with a friend, who is also a genius in business, and asking, “Can I do this and really be successful if I never hire more than 3 people?” His answer was “Sure, why not!”

He lied. We’ve talked about it since and he lied on purpose. Thank Heavens he did or I might never have started my company. He knew I was limiting myself and my companies potential.

I really believe that to get beyond 6 figures you have to hire help. In fact for some businesses, you will have to hire help to even get to 6 figures.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to help you see if you need help now, and where you need it!

Is my time maxed out? If your time is maxed out, you don’t have room to increase your income.
Could I handle the workload if I doubled my income this month? If the answer is no, you will not be able to hit those types of numbers. Even if you got there, you would not be able to maintain those clients.
What areas of my business are not getting done because I either don’t know how to do it, or don’t have time to do it? Notice I did not ask what is not getting done because you are scared of it or avoiding it. If that is your reason, I say get over it and just do it! But if you really don’t know how or don’t have time, you need help in those areas.
If you could free up 10 hours a week for more income producing activities, how much more income could you bring in? If that number is more than you would pay someone to take 10 hours off of your plate, it makes sense to hire.

I’ve definitely had challenges in working with my team. But the challenges are small compared to the rewards. If I was trying to do everything myself, I think I would have maxed out at $50,000-75,000 a year. I have 5 kids. My time is limited, and if I had stayed a solo-preneur, I guarantee my vision for the company would have remained limited. My team is what inspired me to see my company on a bigger scale. My team is what helped me to hit 6 figures my first year. My team is what drove my sales to an over 400% increase our second year in business. My team is what makes it so I never give up, even on the hard days. And my team is who supports me and makes me feel like I am never alone in this journey.

Are you ready to retire the many hats you wear in business and start hiring?

How To Sell To Indecisive People by Amy Walker

Posted on May 11, 2015May 11, 2015 by Kimberly Wiefling

(First Published at http://amywalkerconsulting.com/blog/ on September 16, 2014)

They want it, they need it, but they just can’t commit! It’s tricky. I get it. We don’t want to lose the sale by giving up too soon. But we don’t want to be strung along missing out on other sales while we do everything in our power to get this person to sign.

The first key to selling to indecisive people is to recognize what type of indecisive person they are.

1. People pleaser: People pleasers want to make everyone happy with them and have a very hard time saying no. Because they are taking you into consideration, they have a hard time getting clear on what they want. You can sell to a people pleaser by manipulation, but DON’T! You will have more cancellations, and dissatisfied clients if you take this route. And both of those are expensive. Instead use verbiage like, “It seems like you are having a hard time deciding. If you take me out of the picture, what would you most want to do? Because even though I would love to have you as a client, I wouldn’t want you to decide to work with me unless it is absolutely what you want.”

2. Co-dependent: Co-dependent people struggle to make decisions on their own. They want someone else’s input. Sometimes that other person really does need to be involved in the decision and sometimes they have no business being involved in the decision. The key to selling to this type of person is to find out who the other person they need to talk to is. The second step is to ask, “Does this person play a role in (your business, your household management, your daily hair styling etc.)?” If they do play a role and should be involved in the decision, simply ask, “Can we get them on the phone or schedule a time when the three of us can meet?” If they are not involved ask the question, “What do you think they will say, and why is it important to you to talk to them first?” Honestly, I could write an entire article on how to close this one, but for the sake of keeping this article from becoming a novel we’ll leave it at that. This will give you some crucial information to get the conversation started.

3. Over Analyzer: This person needs a lot of details! They will want to read everything you have printed, they will want to interview your clients, they will want to scope out your website, and they may want to pull a back ground check on you. To sell to this type of person DO NOT ask them to make a decision before they know what they need to know. You will break rapport. Asking this type of person to act without information is like asking them to jump off a cliff when they don’t know what is at the bottom. Instead, ask the questions, “What do you feel like you need to know in order to feel good about this purchase?” “What other questions can I answer for you?” And “What type of information would you like on this?” They may need to read through information on their own, but whenever possible try to get all of their questions answered during your meeting. Make sure you set a follow up call with a very firm date and time. Set the follow up call for a day or two later. Don’t let them go a week, because during that time they will come up with another question, not have an answer and decide that it isn’t going to work for them.

4. Feeler: Feelers need to feel good about the purchase and no amount of logic or information will replace them having an internal confirmation about what is right to do. These people will need to pray about it, sleep on it, consult their crystals, do muscle testing, or any other host of things that are completely unrelated to your conversation. Believe it or not, I am a feeler. I do get a lot of information and ask questions so I can see the big picture, but when it comes down to it, if I don’t get a good vibe, I will not work with someone. But that is not the kiss of death! Feelers need an internal confirmation, but they can also get that pretty quickly. You just need to ask them questions that will get them looking inside right now. Use phrases like, “I understand and I want you to feel good about this decision too. Can I ask you a question? As we have gone through the information about (my product, service etc) what is your heart telling you? Are you feeling comfortable with me? Do you want a few minutes alone to check in and see if you feel like this is right?”

5. Green Lighters: This group wants the perfect time. They want the stars to align. They want all of the lights to be green before they start out. This is the most challenging group for me to work with. I will have people who really want to coach with me and just need to wait for the right time, and a year later they are saying the same thing and again the next year, same conversation. It’s crazy! Your goal with these people is to help them understand that if they choose not to move forward, they will not receive the benefits they are looking for. I do everything I can to close these people on the spot because I have found they are the least likely to close at a later date. I will ask them questions like, “Why does this feel like the wrong time?” What would need to happen for this to feel like the right time?” If they say something like, “The fall would be better.” Don’t accept that answer! They are just trying to put off making the decision. If they have something concrete like, “I’m having a baby in 3 weeks and it’s not a good time.” You will want to accept that answer, it’s legit!

All of us are indecisive at one point or another. Don’t get frustrated with your clients, just patiently resolve their concerns. They are human and so are you! If you want to attract people who are more ready to make decisions, get clearer in your own decisions. Don’t ask people to do what you are not doing. What brand of indecision shows up for you?