Is It Safe- Creating A Safe Environment For Your Clients
An important selling technique is knowing how to create a safe environment for your clients.
Safety can come in many forms and serve multiple purposes in the selling process. Safety in the context I’m talking about is knowing how create a safe environment to put your clients at ease so they’re more open to hearing your message and doing business with you. One of the biggest mistakes sales people make is they’re unclear in their communication, therefore the client feels unsure of what to do next. This can lead to a break down in rapport and may cost you the sale.
Here’s an example from my own experience in building a safe environment:
Awhile back I sat down with a woman to find out more about her product. She talked for 15 minutes about the product and then said, “So do you want to sign up to be a customer?”
I didn’t really know what to say. I wasn’t sure what signing up to be a customer meant as she didn’t cover it in her presentation. So, I politely declined and we ended the meeting. I walked away feeling confused and frankly a little disappointed in her selling skills. It wasn’t that I didn’t want her product, it was the uncertainty about what I was supposed to do next. Since she didn’t create an environment where I felt “safe” to ask questions and clarify, I ended up buying the product from someone else.
When I sat down with another representative from the company, she told me up front what we’d cover in our session.
She encouraged me to ask questions. And she let me know at the end of the meeting, she’d explain the different levels of being a customer. She’d also cover how to get set up as a customer and how to place my first order. It was quite simple and she created a safe environment. I knew what to expect during our time together. It was clear how to take the next step to becoming a customer. I was able to ask questions and she was a valuable resource in the process. Same company, same product, the difference was the way the sales person approached the meeting.
You've probably heard in a presentation training course of how you should “Tell your client what you’re going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them,” right? This is an excellent way to create a safe environment with a client. Let clients know what to expect.
Your Savvy Sales Tip this week:
Create a safe environment in sales by letting your client know what to expect at the start of the meeting.
In my NLP studies, we had a presupposition known as: Preframing Is Worth A Ton of Reframing. It’s better to spend a few minutes at the start to let people know when to expect (preframing). You don’t want to leave people feeling blindsided and then have to back peddle to try to build back the rapport (reframing).
Here’s an example of how my client implemented this technique into her business.
At the beginning of every client meeting she lets her client know that if at any point they find themselves struggling to stay within the set parameters of the package they’ve selected, she has an a la carte option where they can add on products for a small fee. This is an excellent example of preframing. She called me recently to say how this simple technique has made a huge impact in her business. Her clients are happy because they’re no longer feeling pressured to limit their choices and they’re buying more. It’s a win/win. She’s now experiencing smoother meetings and her overall revenue per clients has increased.
The perfect selling environment is when your client is at ease and feels a sense of security about what to expect.
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