The Intuitive Salesman Series
Know Thy Customer
It doesn't matter if you are selling houses, some kind of service or shower curtain rings, it's
all the same; it's a thing.
In the beginning you have to know who will buy your thing. Not necessarily the name of the
person but rather, their profile. You can waste a lot of time focusing on your thing, but don't
ever forget, it is people who will buy your thing; not companies, organizations, buildings or
societies. People. People who tick a certain way. People with thoughts, feelings and
emotions. People with friends, families and associates. Know who thy customer is and
they will buy your thing.
Discover how your customer wants to be sold to.
If you sell insurance, socks or carnival rides, you've at least sold a few and, if you did it
even partially right, you've made a good impression on at least one of your buyers. In fact,
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt; you probably made a good enough impression on
previous buyers that, if you wanted to, you could call them up to chit-chat.
So I'm telling you - call them. But before you do, prepare your best sales pitch, sales
package, solicitation letter or email. Tell your customer that you want to find out what they
think of it. Is this how they would want to be sold to? They are the exact profile of your
prospective customers. And, they already know you and what you sell so believe me,
they'll give you their honest opinion.
Here is the text from an email I sent to a previous client who had hired me twice before.
Betty (not her real name),
In my next marketing campaign, I will be contacting (Betty's title) managers. I'd like your
opinion on the letter/email I plan to send out (attached). When you have a moment,
please look this over and give me your thoughts.
Is it too long? Does it contain too much information? Any suggestions for rearranging
or deleting paragraphs. What do you think would really grab (Betty's title) managers so
they would want to book me? How would they prefer to be contacted? Should I leave in
or take out the testimonial from that past engagement? Your honest, brutal opinion
would be very helpful. Thanks.
Also, if you have any hints or secrets on how to obtain the contact info for other (Betty's
title) managers; do tell.
Betty replied the same day with this.
Jerome:
It looks great. Don't change a thing. I think your topics are of huge interest to the
agency divisions right now.
Below is a list of the (Betty's title) managers in my state.
Thanks Jerome. See you in July.
Betty gave me the names and contact information of seven (Betty's title) managers in her
state. One of them was her boss.
It was also great that she thought my solicitation was good. It reassured me that I do know
my industry and my clients (profile) very well. By the way, the testimonial in my sales letter
was from her - when she hired me three years ago!
Some might say, "If you know your clients so well, why did you need her advice on the
sales letter?" Well, the purpose was two-fold.
1. It never hurts to make sure you're still on the right track with what you think your
customer is all about.
2. It was another way to get in front of Betty to let her know about some of my new
programs and to remind her that she likes me.
This sales technique resulted with yet another booking with Betty (not finalized quite yet)
and over a half dozen other very qualified leads.
Just in case it hadn't dawned on you, this sales technique - Know Thy Customer - is not
new. It's called market research and companies spend millions of dollars doing it. I spent
zero dollars doing it - you can also spend zero dollars doing the same thing.
Jerome Mayne is a keynote speaker and author. He has worked with dozens of companies and associations
around the country helping their people make the right decisions, when the right decisions aren’t easy. He is a
member of the National Speakers Association as well as the Real Estate Educators Association. He’s the author
of the book, Life Saving Lessons – The Diary of a White Collar Criminal and co-author of Mortgage Fraud and
Predatory Lending – what every agent should know (Kaplan Publishing).
© Copyright, Jerome Mayne 2008
Know Thy Customer
It doesn't matter if you are selling houses, some kind of service or shower curtain rings, it's
all the same; it's a thing.
In the beginning you have to know who will buy your thing. Not necessarily the name of the
person but rather, their profile. You can waste a lot of time focusing on your thing, but don't
ever forget, it is people who will buy your thing; not companies, organizations, buildings or
societies. People. People who tick a certain way. People with thoughts, feelings and
emotions. People with friends, families and associates. Know who thy customer is and
they will buy your thing.
Discover how your customer wants to be sold to.
If you sell insurance, socks or carnival rides, you've at least sold a few and, if you did it
even partially right, you've made a good impression on at least one of your buyers. In fact,
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt; you probably made a good enough impression on
previous buyers that, if you wanted to, you could call them up to chit-chat.
So I'm telling you - call them. But before you do, prepare your best sales pitch, sales
package, solicitation letter or email. Tell your customer that you want to find out what they
think of it. Is this how they would want to be sold to? They are the exact profile of your
prospective customers. And, they already know you and what you sell so believe me,
they'll give you their honest opinion.
Here is the text from an email I sent to a previous client who had hired me twice before.
Betty (not her real name),
In my next marketing campaign, I will be contacting (Betty's title) managers. I'd like your
opinion on the letter/email I plan to send out (attached). When you have a moment,
please look this over and give me your thoughts.
Is it too long? Does it contain too much information? Any suggestions for rearranging
or deleting paragraphs. What do you think would really grab (Betty's title) managers so
they would want to book me? How would they prefer to be contacted? Should I leave in
or take out the testimonial from that past engagement? Your honest, brutal opinion
would be very helpful. Thanks.
Also, if you have any hints or secrets on how to obtain the contact info for other (Betty's
title) managers; do tell.
Betty replied the same day with this.
Jerome:
It looks great. Don't change a thing. I think your topics are of huge interest to the
agency divisions right now.
Below is a list of the (Betty's title) managers in my state.
Thanks Jerome. See you in July.
Betty gave me the names and contact information of seven (Betty's title) managers in her
state. One of them was her boss.
It was also great that she thought my solicitation was good. It reassured me that I do know
my industry and my clients (profile) very well. By the way, the testimonial in my sales letter
was from her - when she hired me three years ago!
Some might say, "If you know your clients so well, why did you need her advice on the
sales letter?" Well, the purpose was two-fold.
1. It never hurts to make sure you're still on the right track with what you think your
customer is all about.
2. It was another way to get in front of Betty to let her know about some of my new
programs and to remind her that she likes me.
This sales technique resulted with yet another booking with Betty (not finalized quite yet)
and over a half dozen other very qualified leads.
Just in case it hadn't dawned on you, this sales technique - Know Thy Customer - is not
new. It's called market research and companies spend millions of dollars doing it. I spent
zero dollars doing it - you can also spend zero dollars doing the same thing.
Jerome Mayne is a keynote speaker and author. He has worked with dozens of companies and associations
around the country helping their people make the right decisions, when the right decisions aren’t easy. He is a
member of the National Speakers Association as well as the Real Estate Educators Association. He’s the author
of the book, Life Saving Lessons – The Diary of a White Collar Criminal and co-author of Mortgage Fraud and
Predatory Lending – what every agent should know (Kaplan Publishing).
© Copyright, Jerome Mayne 2008
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| Jerome Mayne |
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All of Fraudcon and Jerome Mayne Services:
Jerome Mayne is a Public Speaker for Fraud Conferences and Fraud Conventions, including
Mortgage Fraud Conferences and Mortgage Fraud Conventions. In addition to being a Fraud,
Mortgage Fraud and White Collar Crime and White Collar Mortgage Fraud Public Speaking
Expert, he also consults for Public Speakers who speak in the areas of Fraud, Mortgage Fraud,
White Collar Crime and White Collar Mortgage Fraud Public Speaking.
A customized public speaking engagement can include fraud statistics, federal fraud statistics,
mortgage fraud statistics and the effects of fraud on a company.
Has been an Expert and a Keynote Fraud Public Speaker at Fraud, Mortgage Fraud, White Collar
Crime and White Collar Mortgage Fraud Public Speaking events, including conferences and
conventions. For specific engagements, see client list.
Primary Areas of Expertise:
Mortgage Fraud Public Speaker
White Collar Crime Public Speaker
Fraud Public Speaker Trainer
Fraud Public Speaker Consultant
Fraud Convention Public Speaker
Fraud Conference Public Speaker
Fraud Expert Public Speaker
Mortgage Fraud Expert Public Speaker
Mortgage Fraud Consultant Public Speaker
Jerome has developed a talk on ethics that evokes thought and discussion. He explores the
definition of ethics as described on www.dictionary.com, the differences between general business
ethics and the set of principals of right conduct, or ethics, as set forth by an employer or a trade
association. His talk on ethics was designed for presentation to the MBA program at Hamline
University in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Jerome Mayne is a Public Speaker for Fraud Conferences and Fraud Conventions, including
Mortgage Fraud Conferences and Mortgage Fraud Conventions. In addition to being a Fraud,
Mortgage Fraud and White Collar Crime and White Collar Mortgage Fraud Public Speaking
Expert, he also consults for Public Speakers who speak in the areas of Fraud, Mortgage Fraud,
White Collar Crime and White Collar Mortgage Fraud Public Speaking.
A customized public speaking engagement can include fraud statistics, federal fraud statistics,
mortgage fraud statistics and the effects of fraud on a company.
Has been an Expert and a Keynote Fraud Public Speaker at Fraud, Mortgage Fraud, White Collar
Crime and White Collar Mortgage Fraud Public Speaking events, including conferences and
conventions. For specific engagements, see client list.
Primary Areas of Expertise:
Mortgage Fraud Public Speaker
White Collar Crime Public Speaker
Fraud Public Speaker Trainer
Fraud Public Speaker Consultant
Fraud Convention Public Speaker
Fraud Conference Public Speaker
Fraud Expert Public Speaker
Mortgage Fraud Expert Public Speaker
Mortgage Fraud Consultant Public Speaker
Jerome has developed a talk on ethics that evokes thought and discussion. He explores the
definition of ethics as described on www.dictionary.com, the differences between general business
ethics and the set of principals of right conduct, or ethics, as set forth by an employer or a trade
association. His talk on ethics was designed for presentation to the MBA program at Hamline
University in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Contact:
612-919-3007
E-mail
612-919-3007