A Bit off The Avenue

Years ago, my Father and Mother had a falling out and my Father moved out for a bit. I don't remember how long, but it was like a week or 2.

I actually ran his store for him on some of the days he was gone. Dad is Dad and Mom is Mom, and they both knew why I did what I did.

When he came back to the house, his first night we were having dinner and it was pretty obvious he was uncomfortable.

It was baseball season, and his team was the Mets, mine the Yankees, and I brought up the teams win/loss for the season. He talked ball and was more comfortable.

My goal was to make him comfortable... it worked.

When we lost our son a few years back, a friend called me every night to take that incident off my mind.

Do the same with your clients, get them off the price of your services, and get them thinking about how the service will help them. Start with an insignificant comment that you know about them, make them comfortable with you, and then close the sale.

If you make your prospect feel you as a person, and not a business just asking for their credit card, you'll close more sales.

Humanity interaction is money, cold "just buy from me because I'm less expensive, better or whatever you are promoting", gets trumped by human interaction.

I feel sometimes we can do more for others, and I am so deeply sorry for your loss, Greg. I think you made a good point, going beyond the sales and into the human element. My prayers are always with you, my friend.

Its always better to be able to offer real value and then make that personal connection than to make a hard sell.