My Most Embarrassing Business Blunder
When I told my friend Dan Seidman of http://www.salesautopsy.com/ about a time when I really screwed up with a potential client I had no idea that he’d feature it in his newsletter. So now 1000′s of people know the story of my most embarrassing Business Blunder!
So here it is for you to enjoy too. Please go easy on me!
MARTIAL ARTS MAYHEM- (From Dan Seidman’s Newsletter)
Mike’s Prospects Leave with Lightning Speed…
There I was, a year into my own martial arts school business at the young age of 19.
I was doing okay, but not much better than that. Obviously this early in my career I didn’t have any formal sales training. So my skills centered mostly on some books I’d read. And, I’d been fed some advice on “building rapport” or making small talk as a way to break the ice with prospective customers.
Into my school walks this woman with her son, to ask about lessons.
I would always first ask “why are you interested in martial arts?”
“My son,” she responded “is being bullied.”
She went on to describe how she’d had enough and he’d had enough. In fact, the last occurrence had about broken the camel’s back (and nearly his head).
The mom told me that, just last week, the bully actually slammed her kid’s head against the wall.
Wow, you couldn’t have a better prospect. Even if the kid couldn’t fight, he could learn to defend himself and probably neutralize bad situations in the future.
I asked a couple more questions. Then feeling I had a sale sitting in front of me and could do no wrong, figured I’d schmooze a bit more.
“So what school does your son go to?”
She mentioned a school, so I searched my memory bank of students that I knew who also went there and were close in age.
“Oh! We have a student named Dino who also attends that school. He’s been training here for a while!” I flashed a genuine smile, recognizing that a couple kids wearing my logo on their campus
could get me additional recognition and income.
“Dino? What’s his last name?”
As she bit off each word, “What’s… his… last… name…” I knew it was over. It’s not like there were 17 boys named Dino in any school anywhere.
Out of a throat drawn tight with fear, I squeaked out a last name.
“That’s the kid who slammed my son’s head against the wall!”
The woman’s eyes tightened in anger as her son’s opened wide with fear.
I guess, as she left the building, she figured I was the one who taught Dino the Bully that head slamming technique.
POSTMORTEM: From Dan Seidman of Sales Autopsy
Good news, bad news: Good news is that Mike recognizes the value of a strong opening question. “Why are you interested…”is a great open-ended query to help the buyer identify reasons they
need your help.
Bad news is that since Mike was pretty much a white belt in selling, he didn’t know the danger of a) when to shut up and
close the sale, and b) the foolishness of practicing on prospects.
Outstanding sales pros know when to stop selling and let the conversation end with a signature and a new customer. They also recognize that selling is a full-contact sport. You can’t practice on real prospects – it’s like pulling punches and kicks in a martial arts match. It’s not real life.
So you practice with your peers and you practice in training. Because when the time comes to fight for a sale, you’ll be smooth and quick and have the flexibility to handle any resistance you might encounter. Do not practice on your prospects – it’s an expensive way to be learning, when you should be earning.
If you don’t wanta mess up like this, why not grab some amazing sales and marketing wisdom from 8 Plus folks who really know their stuffand can help you? Check out My Shortcut to Sales, Persuasion and Marketing Power Program… http://askmiked.com/shortcut/
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