Episode 127 – Selling Conversations

Show Notes

Being the owner of a Custom Apparel company means that every person you meet is your next potential customer. You don’t want to be consumed with turning every conversation into a sales pitch, but you should be likable and know when you should try to make the move for a sale.

Step 1 – just be a good conversationalist

List of things that make a good conversationalist:

Be friendly
– Talk to people, be nice, be a pleasant person, inviting, warm.

Not talking about YOU all the time
– You have great stories, but let someone share their stories too.

Actually listen to people
– Hear their stories and comment / give feedback. they will notice.

Find commonality and expand on that
– If you hear them bring up they love sports, books, writing, playing Call of Duty… talk about that with them. The more enthusiastic they are about it, the longer the convo can go.

Stay away from controversy
– Politics, religion, current events (unless they bring it up and you agree) e.g. don’t insult a losing sports team if you don’t know they are fans. Don’t boast about loving or hating the Mayor unless they bring that up first.

Smile and be open
– Don’t cross arms and look down. Smile, look at them, nod head.

talk in terms of their interest
– If you don’t appear to have anything in common yet, let them talk about their interests. e.g. they mention boating… you know nothing about boats…. ask them about it. “Oh yea, ya know I’ve always wanted to own a boat. What do you like about it? what should I know before I buy one? etc.

Be positive
– No one wants to talk to negative nancy… find happy and positive things to discuss. Find silver linings.

You will build better relationships, therefore you will build better business relationships.

You may notice in conversation this person is a potential sale for you, in one way or another. You will want to take the conversation to a probing / information gathering conversation.

Questions you want to get answered for people who are prospects

Who are they? What do they do, what do they like, a glimpse of their personality.
Are they a potential customer or connector?  Are they in your niche? do they make decisions that could lead to a sale? can they intro you to someone?
What’s their contact info? Business card, social media, phone number, email
What will you remember them by?  If you meet a lot of people, you can lose the details. think of specific things about them you can bring up later.
What do you have in common?  Both like baseball, both cook, both collect Dungeons and Dragons swag.
How will you be in touch again?  Establish some method. ill email you, ill send you those pics from Facebook, ill see you at the next event.

Overall being a better conversationalist will make you a better business person in the long run.

TIP!
Conversation Starters:

What’s your connection to the event?
What’s keeping you busy when you’re not at events like this or at work?
How did you come to be in your line of work?
How did you hear about this event?