In a fight, when the opponent is attacking you, basically you have three choices - to evade, block or counter. Evading gives you a chance to monitor the situation and you stay unharmed. If you chose to block, there is always some contact, but the attack breaks or starts over again with another attack. With counter attack, you chose to take advantage of the situation and try to strike where you seen an opening.

In sales, you have the same options when your customer is trying to object your sales pitch or starts questioning you before agreeing to buy. You can try to evade the situation and lead the conversation to another direction. The second option is to answer the (sales) objection and show that you are an expert in the field. The third option is to challenge your customers thinking and by using your knowledge, outwit your customer.

Like in a fight, in sales you can’t always use the same tactic. You need use all of these approaches in a single sales conversation. The big question is when to use which?

Evading (try to find the rhythm)

In a fight, the first thing I try to do is to find the rhythm of my opponent. This means, that I try to find out how fast he is with his attacks. How well does he moves and what kind of sequences is he trying to use when trying to attack me. Evading and keeping the distance is the best way to feel comfortable and avoid risks. With full contact fighting, it is better to avoid the contact, before you feel comfortable. In the beginning of the fight, the surprise attack is the most dangerous. You don’t know what to expect, therefore it is better not to take any risks. But still, it is wise to get the opponent be the first one to attack. From there, you can start to find his rhythm and adjust your speed to his. The one who controls the speed, is the one who will succeed in his attacks.

When starting a new sales conversation, the first impression is very important. You can lose the sales in the first few seconds, if you don’t play your part well. The prospect often waits for the sales person to start the conversation, but don’t push it too far. Try to see how she wants to play it. Start with being polite and ask simple questions. When you introduce yourself, try to get her to talk more about herself. Some people are easy to lead into conversation and some more difficult.

Open questions are good to start with, but if she gives you short answers, you are have not found her rhythm yet (meaning that you have not connected in the conversation) or you are asking too difficult questions. If it feels like interrogation, then the flow is lost in the beginning. Your body language, words and other expressions should invite your prospect to a warm and intriguing conversation.

Evading also means that you lose the tension. In a fight, it gives you time to relax, but at the same time you have no chance of attacking back. In sales, the conversation feels nice, but gets you nowhere. When you have found the rhythm, you need to start getting points. More about this in my upcoming posts.