About Overselling
In the movie, Jerry Maguire, TomCruise reaches an epiphany which he must share with Renee’ Zellweger. After his LONG spiel Renee’ interrupts him saying, “Shut up. Just shut up….You had me at hello. You had me at hello.”
Do you know when to shut up? How often do you oversell? Can you read the signs that your client or prospect already ‘gets it’? In other words, she’s ready to buy, ready to accept, or ready to change; BUT you keep talking which may jeopardize the whole deal?
Our goal is to form long-term relationship built upon credibility, trust, and service. Overselling detracts from this goal.
Why do you oversell?
- Lack of confidence of your product or yourself
- Lack of observation of the nonverbal signals of your listener
- Lack of business savvy
How do you overcome overselling? Listen. Speak with purpose.
Successful selling must be conducted carefully by assessing your customer. In order to be successful (learn when to be quiet and observe):
- Pay close attention to facial cues. This means that if the listener frowns when you initiate selling towards him, stop selling immediately and simply present the basics. This also means that if the listener stops looking at you, you’re about to lose him. Get to the point.
- Do not blather ad infinitum with superlatives. Make your motto: “Less is more”. Winston Churchill once said, “If you want me to speak all day, I’ll begin right now. If you want me to speak for 20 minutes, it will take me a week to prepare.”
- Keep the end in mind. Know what you’d like to sell ahead of time. Better yet, know what would be best for your prospect BEFORE you begin. This vision will help you stay on track.
- Believe in yourself. You have the knowledge and the credentials. You are successful leaders. You use current technology. Keep this in mind, even when you experience a ‘Murphy’s Law’ kind of day, you’ll be able to sell with just the right amount of finesse.
