How do you build rapport with clients? How do you be someone who’s a pleasure to do business with? How do you employ active listening? How do you get, stay, and act in front of clients? Glenn Poulos covered these concepts in his latest book, “Never Sit in the Lobby,” and we discuss them in this episode of Negotiations Ninja.
Outline of This Episode
- [1:48] Learn more about Glenn Poulos
- [3:11] How to get, stay, and act in front of clients…
- [5:31] Never sit in the lobby
- [13:26] How to build rapport with clients
How to get, stay, and act in front of clients…
Salespeople can’t confuse selling with marketing. You can’t get stuck being “busy” doing email and LinkedIn campaigns. True selling is done in direct contact with prospects. To “Get, act, and stay in front of customers and be a pleasure to do business with always,” you have to follow Glenn’s rules to reinforce good behaviors. He shares five rules in this episode of Negotiations Ninja. What’s the first one?
Rule #1:Never sit in the lobby
You should be standing when your customer walks into the lobby to greet you. Why? You shouldn’t be caught scrolling your phone and not paying attention. Secondly, it’s never good to have to rise up to meet your customer. Glenn is always primed and at attention.
Rule #2: Never fax the fax
Salespeople used to give presentations, write out quotes, and mail them to their customers. It would take a week to get to them. When faxes were introduced, something that took weeks suddenly took minutes. That’s when Glenn created this rule: The moment a customer asks you for anything, hand deliver it whenever possible. Manage your territory in a way so that you can visit your customers.
Rule #3: Always show up with something in your hand and something in your mind
Show up with the quote in hand and talk about the deal. When you show up to drop off a quote, they’ll likely have forgotten you said you were coming and that they were “busy.” Show him/her the quote and see their reaction. Watch their reaction(s) and ask follow-up questions.
When Glenn drops something off, he’ll give them a set timeline to test it out. He’ll say that he’s in the area the next week at a specific time and ask to pick it up then. It’s an easy way to get a scheduled meeting.
Rule #4: Always ask for a mini tour
Ask for a mini tour. Why? It allows you to see if your product has been set up or used. Is it collecting dust? Or do you see a competitor’s product being used? Make sure the equipment is being used properly. If it isn’t being used, it means you have some follow-up to do to determine why it’s not being used.
Rule #5: Never forget a face
When you go to visit a customer, spend some time looking at their account. Who have you met there in the past? Place the face of that person with the name, so when you’re on your mini tour, you can greet them by name. They’ll remember who you are and that you’re a pleasure to do business with. The worst thing you can do is forget their name.
Get in front of your customer
With any opportunity Glenn has to interact with a customer, he tries to schedule it so that it’s face-to-face. Visiting customers is becoming unheard of. People are so focused on the digital world that they’re missing out on face-to-face interaction.
Connect with Glenn Poulos
- Glenn’s Book: Never Sit in the Lobby
- Glenn’s Website
- Connect on LinkedIn
- Follow on Twitter
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