4.
~/~ SOHO Help Desk ~\~
http://www.demc.com
"Sell YOU With Small Talk"
Today's SOHO Help Desk is from a long time contributor
to DEMC E-Magazine. Paul Barton is a sales and marketing
consultant who has regularly shared his persuasive sales
techniques and strategies with us. He has put together
another great marketing tip you don't want to miss so
be sure to scroll down and take a look.
If you have any questions, feedback or insight for our
next issue just send your email to - mailto:helpdesk@demc2.com
=== Sales Marketing Tip ===
"Sell YOU With Small Talk"
By Paul Barton
Mr. Barton is author of How To Be GREAT In Conversation -
Small Talk Techniques To Sell YOU.
(http://sellfire.com/greatconversation.htm)
Want to build a business relationship, make a sale,
build a personal relationship, help sell yourself for
a job or help sell yourself to get ahead?
Your "small talk" is crucial.
Everyday conversation can make or break you in personal
relationships and in business. Sadly, most people
don't realize how important small talk is, nor do they
try to do it better.
But, with a little effort, anyone can develop great small
talk skills. And research shows it is well worthwhile to
do so.
Just how important is small talk?
A Stanford University School of Business study showed its
impact on business success. It tracked MBA's 10 years after
graduation, and found grade point averages had no bearing on
their success -- but conversation did.
Most successful were those who could make conversation with
anyone -- from strangers, to secretaries, to bosses to
customers.
Small talk impacts your success in "personal" relationships
because it can shape how others see you in terms of
intelligence and confidence. People tend to see good
conversationalists as more intelligent and confident.
Other research -- to find the characteristics of the ideal
person -- has shown confidence and intelligence were
the most important factors for about 60% of respondents.
Despite the importance of small talk, most people don't do
it well. Shyness is one reason. Others range from not
knowing how to start a conversation to not having
anything to say.
But all it takes to be good at small talk is "AAQUA."
That's our acronym for a simple strategy for great
small talk:
Anticipate, Arm, Question, Understand and Adapt.
ANTICIPATE
You will never have a conversation in a vacuum. It will
always have its own context and environment. Think
ahead about conversations you are likely to have, even
those casual encounters that may happen because of
where you will be on a given day.
ARM
ARM YOURSELF with "something to say." Do a little
research. Read newspapers. Find interesting things to talk
about on subjects that come up in everyday conversation:
careers, sports, the weather, money, kids, politics, etc.
QUESTION
This, the "Q" part of AAQUA, is critical. The other four
elements - Anticipate, Arm, Understand and Adapt - help
YOU. But a conversation takes two, and the "Q" element
helps BOTH you and the other party. Ask people a
question, and you get them "engaged."
UNDERSTAND
The "U" element of AAQUA requires you to, not only
listen to how others answer questions, but to "understand"
and adapt.
ADAPT
Let's assume you are a salesperson and, when you enter
the new prospect's office, you alertly notice a picture of
him standing in front of a sign saying "Michigan State
University." You say, "Oh, I see you went to Michigan
State." The prospect replies, "Yeah, I went there on a
football scholarship."
And you reply, "Oh, I went to Boston University, myself.
What was your major?"
Wrong follow-up question! The prospect "volunteered"
information important to him (football scholarship). You
should have "adapted," following up with something like,
"Oh, what position did you play?" This could lead to a
whole series of questions, increasingly "engaging" the
prospect.
When you successfully apply the AAQUA strategy, you
can use your small talk to create rapport and promote
trust and liking. This can cause others to think of you
in positive ways.
For example:
New personal acquaintances that you would like to
become new "personal" friends might form an
opinion something like this:
"This is an interesting, entertaining and witty person,
the kind of person I like to have around me."
Employers or potential employers:
"This is someone who seems to relate well and get
along with others . . . someone who might fit in here."
Customers or prospects:
"I feel good about this person. This is someone
I could be comfortable doing business with."
Clearly, small talk is crucial to you - in business,
professional and personal life. You owe it to YOU
to do it well.
Paul Barton is a sales and marketing consultant.
His book, How To Be GREAT In Conversation - Small
Talk Techniques To Sell YOU, has been used by people
In all walks of life to help sell themselves through
conversation skills.
(http://sellfire.com/greatconversation.htm)
http://sellfire.com
W. Paul Barton Associates
===
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