(By Loyd Ford) I’m just like all the other dog owners in the world, except I may be worse. At my house, we have a dog named Spiderman. In case you are wondering who to blame, I named him. He is a rescue. As far as my wife and I can tell, he rescued us.
But here is the real secret of dogs; they are the best salespeople on Earth. And this has nothing to do with begging. It is about great listening skills, great communication, and a focus on the prospect.
How can you sell like my dog?
- If you stop petting a dog on the head, he (or she) walks over to someone else wagging their tail and looking for a new “prospect.” Spiderman takes almost nothing personally. When we say the only thing you can control is your attitude and your effort, Spiderman takes that to absolute heart. He is unburdened by rejection.
- My dog is constantly watching our faces, our body language, and our unique behaviors. He knows us often better than we know ourselves. When it comes to spending time learning everything about his prospects, he is the best. He misses nothing.
- He uses as few words as possible (that would be none for him), but he communicates better than most humans ever will). When we learn to communicate as efficiently as our dog, the world will simply offer itself up to us. What a skill to have as a seller; it’s almost as good as number four below.
- He is always listening – even when he is “asleep.” If Spiderman places a premium on active listening and overachieves his goals hourly, daily, weekly, and for life, we would be richly rewarded for sharpening our active listening skills.
- The dog is always closing. You’d be hard-pressed to find a moment’s relief from this. He simply never takes his foot off the accelerator.
- My dog always makes you feel good. I can’t say if this is on purpose or an accident, but here’s the question that makes that irrelevant: Does it matter? It’s the behavior of creating consistent good feelings in others that should be emulated by any seller.
Bonus: He never stops prospecting. Don’t underestimate him. No matter what is happening, trust me. He’s busy.
- Earning your trust
- Making you feel good
- Watching your behavior
- Listening to your voice
- Paying close attention to what is important to you
Oh, and he’s always looking for what you need to say yes to him.
My advice to you this week? Be like Spiderman! Never give up. Know that people need to connect with others and be an active listener. Use these ideas to advance your selling career, starting with revenue this month and this quarter.
Do these things and become good at them and you won’t need a cape. You won’t need webbed feet. You won’t need superpowers. You’ll already have them!
Loyd Ford is president and chief strategic officer at Rainmaker Pathway Consulting Works (RPC). They help local radio with ratings and revenue. Reach him anytime at 864.448.4169 or [email protected]. Read Loyd’s Radio Ink archives here.
