I remember hearing a story about a lady who had 4 kittens for sale. She wanted to sell them for $100 each but knew it would be very difficult because the newspaper was filled with dozens and dozens of kittens for sale. So here is what she did:
She put this exact short ad in the newspaper; “4 ugly kittens for sale, $100 each. Call xxx-xxx-xxx”
Now here is what happened. She got 80 phone calls in the next couple of days and reportedly said she could have easily sold them for 2 to 3 times more.
Why did it work so well? Simply because she triggered a massive emotional response by using the word "ugly" and because people felt bad for the cats, they became so emotionally attached to them.
By now you are probably thinking “How can I apply this in boat sales?"
Obviously, you are not going to write an ad asking to call you because you have the ugliest boat at the marina.
Let me share with you the easiest way to uncover your prospect's emotional desires.
There are 2 kinds of people in life. Those who enter a room and say "Here I am" and those who enter a room and say "Here you are".
The majority of salespersons can be referred to as the "Here I am" type. But the key to greatness is to remove the main focus from yourself, your product or company, and fall in love with your clients.
A few get it and usually often become market leaders. It reminds me of this great quote from Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks: "We are not in the coffee business serving people. We are in the people business serving coffee."
Once you do this, your clients will be 10 times more likely to share their emotional desires, which will lead to sales.
In his best-selling book "Never Split the Difference & Negotiate as if your life depended on it", author & FBI International Chief Hostage Negotiator, Chris Voss, talks about the critical importance of active listening during any negotiation. He said that when they have a big hostage negotiation crisis, it is common to have a team of up to 5 hostage negotiators listening to the phone conversation live and providing instant feedback to the head negotiator. One guy talking to the terrorist, one guy listening to the words, one guy for the moments of silence, one guy for the voice intonation, one guy for the voice speed etc.
Active listening and proper questioning is the easiest way to uncover your prospect's emotional desires. This is exactly what I will reveal and teach during our upcoming February 8th e-Seminar. I am going to share with you, and for the first time, the framework we use to create the shortest path to the sale and influence the right prospects to buy boats.
You will discover the 3 simple rules to follow that will trigger an immediate increase in sales:
1) The proven 2,500-year-old Socrates persuasion framework that guarantees the easiest and deepest connection with clients.
2) The absolute necessary questions to uncover the clients' needs and desires and build the shortest path to the sale.
3) The exact blueprint and script that will help you explode your closing ratio.
So don't miss this upcoming boat sales e-Seminar on February 8th. It will be packed with lots of tips and techniques and I will also add some bonus material for all the attendees. Participation is limited to the first 100 to register.
Note: Participation in this seminar will earn 3 CPYB recertification credits.
Vincent Finetti the founder and Sales Strategist at Yacht Sales Academy. He is also CEO of 2 boating companies called Prestige Vision Inc. & Boat Show Avenue. After working with over 250 shipyards worldwide in the last 8 years, he decided to start helping boat brokers, dealers, and manufacturers by sharing the best sales & marketing techniques adapted to today's boating market. He is the author of two online training courses: '30 Secrets to Boat Sales' and "Boat Sales Accelerator". Since the launch of Yacht Sales Academy last year, he has helped over 250 brokers with online courses and more than 1300 boat sales professionals via the Yacht Sales Academy blog.