[How I screwed up a sale] “My manager had booked a meeting for me with Jeff because he had inquired about training but wasn’t quite sold. He told me that he wanted to lose some weight, specifically around his stomach. In response, I described my credentials and also noted that his posture could use some work – a point that I harped on, adding that I was well-trained in fixing posture as well. Jeff didn’t hire me and I don’t blame him. Instead of listening to what he needed and responding to that, I was too eager to talk about myself – why I was awesome, in my own eyes. In retrospect I did this because I lacked confidence. Fortunately, one of my mentors explained that I was working too hard to try and impress clients, and suggested instead that I focus on educating clients about what specifically I could help them with. So let’s talk about a client I’ll call Veronica, who was referred to me by another client, Suzanne. When Suzanne first told me about Veronica, I probed her for more information. Particularly I wanted to know any reservations that Veronica might have before meeting with me and any potential limitations. When Suzanne came into the gym I met her at the door with a smile and offered her a bottle of water. We went into my office to talk even though I already knew what she was going to say. Veronica had shoulder pain and loved to play tennis. She wanted to lose a bit of weight. She lived 25 minutes from the gym and didn’t want to make the drive after work multiple times a week. She had a trainer before who didn’t follow up so she had fallen off the training wagon. Before we met, I’d pulled two articles on shoulder pain for her from my file. Veronica and I talked about Suzanne and another client I’d trained who also loved to play tennis. I also educated her about how I have weekend checkups with program design clients, which is convenient for clients who live a bit far away, and we talked about the importance of a weekly email check in on Sunday night to make sure that she had all materials that she needs for a strong week. With a bit of proactive thinking, I was able to communicate my value to Veronica in a way that was specifically meaningful to her. In less than 30 minutes all of her reservations were addressed, and she hired me.”
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 11:00:00 +0000
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