I remember the first time I lost a sale because I talked too much.
I was in my teens and selling sporting goods and went on, and on, and on about why this hockey skate was so much better than that hockey skate.
I talked about stopping bar, sharpness, fit, form, function, and even the laces (waxed laces were clearly the way to go here!)
So rather than buy anything, she stood there and listen as I fire-hosed her with hockey information, thanked me, and then left without buying anything.
There are 2 points to this story.
- It was a new mom who was already overwhelmed with the incredible investment of time and money that hockey was imposing on her family.
- I talked to much,
Everybody’s different.
Agreed?
Which means we’ve got our extroverts who like to talk, chat, get out there, and be social.
And we’ve got our introverts who like to sit back, watch, listen, and appreciate their alone time.
And we’ve got our creatives who like to think “big picture” and maybe in abstract terms.
And we’ve got our logical types who like things to go in order, make sense, and be well… logical!
(For the complete breakdown you can check this out: http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/the-16-mbti-types.htm
Fun Fact: I’m somewhere between an ENTP and an ENFP)
The problem is when we market/sell like our personality type rather than take into consideration where the other person falls on the spectrum.
Sounds simple.
But it’s HUGE.
And HUGELY profitable.
So the next time you’re talking to a current or potential customer or client think about whether you should talk more, or less.
And whether you should use more big picture ideas, or more facts and logic.
Getting it right means the difference between profits and losses.
