Do you know who your prospects are? Typically, we want to know if our prospects are capable of buying – and that's pretty much it.
Are they capable of investing in what we have to sell? Are they healthy enough to qualify for insurance products? Then we go about selling them what we feel they need – what we think would help them reach their goals.
The only problem with this simple concept is that it causes us to lose sales because we don't go deeply enough into what the prospect's needs really are. What about their motivations? Motivations are what make us do what we do and affect the decisions we make. They also drive the intensity and steadfastness of our resolve. Our motivations are affected by our behavioral preferences.
When we first meet someone, they should feel comfortable with us right away. People who are just like us in their behavioral characteristics will like us right away. If we are not behaviorally compatible, there may be a connection problem. The good news is that we can bridge these gaps by first understanding the problem. Then we must focus on executing the solution.
Let's take a look at an example. I am a personality that wants to see details. The analytical part of me wants to see illustrations and statistics before I make any type of decisions, especially financial decisions.
When I buy car, after I have a general idea of the quality I want to purchase, then it's all in numbers for me. If all a salesman tells me is about the look and feel of this car, I will find another salesman. I want numbers to justify my purchase. Fourteen percent of the American population is just like that, meaning 86 percent is not.
When I try to sell a policy, my natural tendency is to illustrate and expect the prospect to be impressed. The only problem is that 86% of the people I sell to are not persuaded by an illustration alone. Eighteen percent of the population just want to know the outcome without a lot of detail. They just want to know the bottom line. They will say, "I like it, what does it cost?" They aren't necessarily hagglers. I am.