Episode #238: Create Reference Points For Clients

There is no doubt that the pandemic has made it very fraught to find new clients in Japan. The new variants of the virus are much more contagious and have already overwhelmed the hospital infrastructure in Osaka, in just weeks of the numbers taking off. Vaccines are slow to roll out and so extension after extension of lockdowns and basic fear on both sides, makes popping around for chat with the client unlikely. We forget how much we give up in terms of reading and expressing nuanced ideas through not having access to body language. Yes, we can see each other on screen, but it just isn’t the same.

In this situation, which looks to be scheduled to last until early 2022, we have to work on new skills. We know about storytelling, word pictures and refined word selection for better communication. Knowing about it and doing it though, are ridiculously different. I know, because we teach this stuff. I can explain the formulas and the methodologies and the class participants get it, but doing it is often a struggle. Obviously practice with strong coaching is the cure.

We will be beginning our conversation with a client online and this could be a new client or more likely, a new person down at the client’s company, as every April the wheel of fortune is spun and the HR department nominates who goes where. The explanation of who we are and what we do and why you should deal with me (and by extension my firm) is a critical juncture. Jumping straight into the product catalogue tour is dumb. This made little sense when we were sitting knee to knee, but makes absolutely no sense when we are screens apart.

Instead, we need to get their permission to ask cogent questions, which will ultimately unveil needs. There is a simple formula for doing this, so there is no excuse why every salesperson should not be doing this. Firstly we need to explain who we are and what we do. This is a great opportunity to build your firm’s credibility with the client. We shouldn’t forget to weave our history into the narrative and make it personal. This is not a history lesson on the company but a base on which to build trust and we have to make sure we are represented in this part of the storytelling.

For example, “We are global soft skills training experts and Dale Carnegie launched the company in New York in 1912. The fact that ninety percent of the Fortune 500 companies use us, shows that the most discerning firms recognise the value we bring. We have stood the harsh test of time globally and in Japan too, since we established operations here in 1963. We are way beyond all of that ‘it is American so it won’t work in Japan’ stuff, as we have localised the content and 80% of our delivery in in Japanese. I have been with the firm for the last eleven years and have seen the impact our training has across all industries”.

In this forty second burst we have packed the content to the gunnels with credibility statements and emotive words. This initial reference point tells the buyer we are a safe option. “Nobody got fired for choosing Dale Carnegie Training” type of idea.

Next, we tell a story about a client. They had a certain issue, preferably one we think might be shared by this client and we explain the solution applied and the result achieved in a very micro and brief manner. We emphasise the pain this problem was causing for a particular decisionmaker inside the company, someone in a similar position or role to our interlocutor. We briefly explain what we did and then we dwell on the perceived value of the solution formed from the client’s point of view. We should bring back pieces of their dialogue with us, to fully express their happiness that the problem was fixed, so that the buyer we are in front of on screen, will have confidence in our suggestions. This is a reference point for the client that we can help them.

Finally, we say, “Maybe we could do the same for you. I am not sure, but in order to find out, may I ask a few questions”. And then we say nothing. Wait until they speak – don’t add, or clarify, just sit there in total silence until they give an answer. Once we have their permission, then we can dig in and see if we have a solution for their problem. This is a reference point that says the buyer is now willing to share a lot of confidential information with us. If we don’t get a match between what we do and what they need, then no slamming of the square peg into the round hole – we get off that call and we hold another potential business discussion with another buyer.

The pandemic has made the whole art and science of selling more complex, but there are some fundamental basics we have to get right or nothing will go our way. Business is hard to find at the moment, but never find bad business – the money won’t be worth the trouble and you only tarnish your personal and professional brands. There are plenty of clients who have problems we can help them with, so we need to be concentrating our efforts right there.