“The purpose of your opening statement is to get the listener to listen to the rest of your pitch.”

Tony Cole

How often have you heard or read a similar statement from a sales trainer or sales manager?  It’s both a commonly held belief and a commonly used practice in sales.  I have a different view on the purpose for your opening statement.

You see, when you do or say things your prospects either expect from you because they know you’re a sales person… or they associate with sales people you set off a trigger.  That trigger initiates a conditioned reflex in the prospect.  And typically, that means your prospect automatically responds defensively to you.

In general, people have been conditioned through past experiences to distrust sales people.  Many people think anyone selling anything is simply out for themselves.  They often believe sales people deliberately take advantage of other people.  And unfortunately, there are a few sales people who do take advantage of other people reinforcing this negative view of sales people.

Never Voluntarily Trigger a Conditioned Response

You never want to trigger a conditioned response unless you know that response works to your favor.  For example; MacDonalds knows asking, “Would you like fries with that?” triggers a positive response more often than not so asking the question is a safe bet… and an example of when a trigger works to your advantage.  However, calling a stranger and asking if they have a moment is an unsafe bet because you trigger a negative response.  Why set yourself up for failure before you even have a slim chance for success?

The Mini-Pitch

The first words out of your mouth are nothing more than a mini-pitch.  It’s obvious to the prospect not only from the words you use but also from the way you say those words.  That mini-pitch triggers a negative defensive response.  Prospects don’t want to agree to this pitch even if they like what you’re saying because they definitely don’t want to agree to your big pitch.

Honestly, have you been on the receiving end of a sales pitch?  Sales pitches are boring, agonizing, even insulting.  Contrary to what sales managers and sales trainers want you to believe sales pitches are for losers who can’t sell.  The longer your pitch drags on the lower your odds of actually selling something because your prospects defenses are escalating with every word and gesture.

Connections

The real purpose of your opening words is to gain permission to interrupt the other person.  As I talked about in the last post you have to initiate contact without triggering a conditioned reflex.  You do that by behaving like an ordinary person.

If you fail to do that you end up trying to arm wrestle an alligator.  You enter a game where you really can’t win.  Even if you think you’re winning you aren’t because the prospect isn’t trusting you.

Conversation

Once you gain permission to interrupt the other person by asking for their help the next thing you want to do is confirm there’s a reason to even have a conversation.  If they aren’t already interested and looking for what your stuff does it’s not likely you’re going to have a productive conversation.  Don’t waste their time or yours by trying to have a conversation with someone who has no interest in what you can do for them.

You don’t want your prospect to listen to your pitch.  You want to engage the prospect in a conversation.  Pitches are telling and telling ain’t selling.  The more you talk the quicker you talk yourself out of a sale.

When you engage a prospect in a conversation where they’re doing most of the talking… that’s when you’re really selling.  And the cool thing is the prospect is doing all the work.  They’re telling you exactly what they want, how they want it, and when they want it.

Being ordinary and doing what’s expected in sales means you’re going to do a lot of work for very little reward.  Stop doing what’s expected and learn how to really engage your potential buyers.  That’s when sales gets really easy… and you get tremendous rewards for little effort.

If you’d like to learn more about how to sell without triggering conditioned reflexes you might enjoy reading about the Top Producers Increase Sales Club Coaching Program.