Engage the Customer

To make the customer listen to you, you need to grab the attention of the customer. The moment you walk in through the customer’s door, you should be telling a story. Your story needs to be authentic. It needs to be interesting. It needs to have a purpose. It needs to have a call to action.

The customer has a lot of things on his mind and a lot of things vying for their attention. Your conversation is engaging when the coffee on the customer’s table gets cold, or when the customer ignores the buzz of his telephone or the ping from her computer because they are so interested in what you have to say.

When people are attentive, they lean towards you. Watch for these signals. Use anecdotes and humor to put the customer at ease. Make the conversation about making friends. You are not in competition with the customer and you do not want bragging rights of how you argued with the customer.

Make sure that the tone of the conversation is light and focuses on how you solve the customer’s problems. Define how using your product would be worth their time and money. Make sure you have done your homework and have an offer ready for them. Ask questions, get answers. And dare to ask for the sale.