61. Why is the first minute so important?
What you do or say in that first minute of your sales presentation is more important than any other step in the sale.
A = Attention. You first must get the prospects attention with a strong statement or headline.
I = Interest. Once you have their attention you must convert it to interest. This is where you use a powerful testimonial or some relevant facts that will impact their business.
D = Details or Desire. In a sales presentation or sales letter this is where you give the details of what you are selling with the goal of arousing a desire in the prospects mind strong enough to make them want to have what you are selling.
A = Action. Here is the point that you ask them to buy.
Another way to look at this first minute is the 3 - 3 - 30 system.
You have 3 seconds to get their attention, 3 seconds to establish relevancy and 30 seconds to tell your story.
Turn and point to any person within range of your vision right now. That individual is dominated for the time being with a particular ATTITUDE. This attitude is controlling their entire personality. It is coloring their mental and emotional life. They see you through this attitude. Anything you say to them must be sifted through the screen of this fixed ATTITUDE before you can get a spark of interest in what you are talking about.
I don't think I exaggerate when I say that ninety percent of the sales you lose are mishandled in the first crucial moment. When you or I face the prospect ready to speak our first sentence we find ourselves squarely up against an attitude as closed as a barn door. What we do or say in that first sentence is more important than any other step in the sale . . . because we can't possibly sell a person who continues to retain the attitude they had before we came in.
What can we do on every call which will swing the prospects attitude so they will listen with interest to what we have to say? It's this original attitude which licks more conscientious, hard-working sales people than all of the objections in the book.
You must have an opener which breaks through that attitude and provoke the prospect to say, "Sure, I'll listen to what you have to say with an open mind. Come on in and tell your story."
What is your most successful opener? What line have you used to open your prospects mind and have them lean forward and ask for more?
Let me give you a clue. A personal example.
For seven years my company name and web site address was OrosSalesTraining.com. Business was good and I never gave it much thought. Then I began thinking about what the results were from sales people who attended my program. I started thinking about how I could find a name that represented what customers could expect.
I came up with MoreGrossProfit.com. I did a mailing AND MY BUSINESS DOUBLED OVERNIGHT! I have been offered a huge amount of money for the web site address MoreGrossProfit.com. Not a penny for OrosSalesTraining.com. hmmm!
Here is my opener... I am going to lay it on the line and tell you word for word... Let me know why you think it works and what your best opening story is.
I am not here to sell you anything, but to help you get what you want - you see, Ben, the last thing you NEED is sales training!
What you WANT is to increase your sales and exceed your plan.
You want your company to be even more successful and more profitable than it already is.
You are interested in ways to increase your gross profit so you can pay all your increasing overhead expenses, pay for the raise everyone is expecting, buy the new truck or computer, pay for the new warehouse or office building, and provide a profit to the principle owners or stock holders.
You certainly want to add new business to replace the unfortunate events that cause you to lose a customer to a competitor.
You want your sales team to be excited and motivated so they approach their territory with the positive expectations of a winner.
You want your sales team to know and use the most effective tactics and be able to play the game better than the competition.
My program will help make all those things happen. I don't sell sales training. I don't even like the words "sales training". I sell results.
Would you like to see a program that can make all those things happen?
It takes less than one minute to say!
Comments:
The best opening line that I have used is “if you listen to me for five minutes I will give you $100”. Works every time but I went broke in a hurry. Seriously though, my approach is not as dependent on the first call as the follow up calls. Even if the first call is a disaster I can begin to establish credibility and familiarity so that the potential customer becomes comfortable and begins to drop their defenses.
Crocker Smith
I think the opening works because it sets the tone as, you’re there for them. You’re not there for your own personal gain but you want for the betterment of the buyer. I think my best opening story would have to be when after telling the potential buyer who I was, he asked, “what can I do for you.” To which I responded “I’m here to find out what I can do for you.” It seemed to catch him off guard and we spoke for awhile. I think if I hadn’t changed his attitude, it would have been one of those “no thanks” and you’re out the door.
Matthew Thacker
How many times have we heard the expression “Don’t judge a book by its cover?”
Now, how many times have we ignored it?
It’s important to make your “book cover” (aka sales approach) interesting and appealing enough to get your customer to engage in your sales call. First impressions are ever important in business and in life. It’s easier to uphold a good first impression than it is to overcome a bad first impression.
Marquesa Ortega
Boy, you hit the nail on the head with this one. In that first minute, you are being sized up. Do you come across professionally? Do you know what you are talking about? Is your product or service something they are already using and is what you offer better? And so on…in that first minute you want to get their attention and keep it long enough to reel them in for your sales pitch.
You won’t always get their business on the first try and that is ok, but if you make a good first impression you will have more opportunities to get their business.
Kathie Luttrell
I am in the business of helping people. When you walk into a client I think what you say is different depending on the client. Never, never seem salesy. (sp) Know something about their company that will catch them off guard. This really makes you seem like you are not just there to sell something, but you are getting to know them and their company.
Danah Parmley
You only get one chance at a first impression. If you blow it in the first three seconds you can forget about the 3-3-30.
It is possible to recover from a bad first impression but it is difficult. A snazzy headline or opener is a great way to get the prospect to “lean forward and ask questions.” I am selling myself to the company as you are selling more gross profit.
Morgan Frazier
My job is to make yours easier!
Lisa Lloyd
"My opener is "I am not a salesperson. I do not care about price, delivery or product. My only job is help and show you more ways to make more money".
It sounds absurd but it works.
Roland DeGregorio
"You must have an opener which breaks through their attitude and provoke the prospect to say, "Sure, I'll listen to what you have to say with an open mind. Come on in and tell your story."