Do You Have That Likability Factor?

It's a proven fact that people buy emotionally and then justify their actions with logic afterwards.

One of the most important reasons why someone will buy from you is if they "like" you.  If they dislike you, you are dead in the water and can likely forget about converting them into a sale.

Common causes for being disliked by your prospect are as follows:

• Appearing too arrogant (normally as a result of wanting to appear successful)
• Being too pushy for the sale
• Talking at them (trying to sell too hard) more than you listening to them (you should try to find their wants and needs, their "why")
• Appearing too different from them in your personality makeup

Their biggest fear:

If prospects are going to like you, you need to show that you care.  Yes, you want their custom, and they know that, but you need to prove to them that they will not be let down by you if they take the plunge.  You must let them know that you will be there to help them.  Their biggest fear is to "make a mistake" by buying the product or service from you - the "told you so" factor.

You best chance to gain their confidence is to appear to be "like them".  If you seem to have the same temperament, similar beliefs and/or background, and a likable character, they will feel they can have similar results to yours if they buy from you.

The best way to to do all this is to communicate with them in a certain manner.  No one way fits all, as different people see the world differently to others, and so you need to learn to be flexible in the way you interact with different people.

It's not a case of being misleading or false.  If you truly believe in the product you are selling, that it really will benefit your prospect if they buy it, then it is just a case of learning how to relate with them so that they learn to trust you.  

With certain skills, you can learn to get past the first hurdle more often - i.e. making a good "First Impression".  This is vitally important, as there is always TENSION at the start of a sales interaction, and your sole goal is to beak down that tension as soon as you can.

Once the good impression has been made, you need to work towards gaining rapport, as this is the biggest way for them to begin to feel that they are "like you". This leads to an element of trust. Once you have their trust, coupled with the fact that they like you, you are now in a great position to move onto the second phase of the process... using your knowledge to prove to them that your product meets their needs.

Interact with as many of your prospects as possible - face to face is best as body language can be a tremendous asset. However, if most sales are done over the phone or internet, find a way to at least talk with them on the phone so that you can allow them to relate with you.

There are a number of sales systems out there that "funnel" the leads for you, where a team of people will speak with your prospects in the first instance to get a feel for whether or not they are decent leads.  This is NOT what want.  By having great communication skills, you want to speak with as many prospects as you can.

If you are good at getting rapport, the results will be awesome - you will lose less prospects and gain more clients!