 Body Language: Picture Perfect PostureThe Comfort Zone: Physical Proximity and Sales 
Read the Sign: Are You Boring Your Prospects?Unlock Your Secret Weapon: 3 Ways to Win Customers With Your SmileAre You Turning Off Potential Buyers?Body Language for the Prospect's TerritoryThe Perfect Retail Environment: 4 Steps for Turning Visitors into BuyersGestures: 3 Costly Sales MistakesThe Secret to Attentive Communication!The Power of Touching Others!Don't Read This if You're in Sales!Increase Your Sales...These QuestionsYour Feet Say a Lot!Gestures Reinforce Your MessageYour Eyes Show Emotion!Negotiate In Your Favor!How Your Body LanguageCan Convey TrustKeys to a Great First Impression!The Secret Language of Business is Nonverbal CommunicationPast and Future Based QuestioningEffectively Communicating Your Point of View
 Eliot with Kevin Hogan in Las Vegas earlier this year Gestures in Business: Cultural Differences? A Great Impression - It's all inyour hand (shake)!How to Spot a Liar!Persuade Others by Simply Using Your Head!
"Eliot provided some real insight into how non-verbal communication can influence the persuasion process." "Learning that gestures can send a non-conscious communication either matching the verbal message or disagreeing was extremely beneficial for all my future speaking engagements." "Powerful, to the point, content rich this guy delivers the goods!" "Sincere useful information that will become an asset to any business experience. Eliot is a body-language whisperer." "Eliot Hoppe has an entertaining way of bringing home to power of non-verbal communication and its pre-eminent importance in persuasive business." "Eliot's command of body language is only surpassed by his ability to communicate the nuances of a language that most people take for granted. Great content and advice that I will put to work this very day." "Eliot, that was an excellent presentation. Great information on body language. I will use the information immediately. Thank you." "Eliot is the MASTER of "Eliot Hoppe is an energetic and exciting speaker. He couples humor with valuable information to deliver a truly fabulous presentation." "Eliot was fantastic in presenting to us today about body language. His message came across clearly with just the right amount of humor. I look forward to having him present in my training groups in the future." "Eliot taught me very quickly about the importance of body language and how quickly what my non verbal communication is perceived by the people I come in contact with." "Eliot is informative, humorous, engaging – his style is approachable and extremely useful...applies to work and personal life – immediately applicable! Inspiring Speaker!"
"Eliot, Terrific presentation! Thank you for making me realize how to give and accept a proper handshake. Looking eagerly forward to more from you!" "A very fun, warm and sincere fellow. The aspects of body language that he reveals are instantly useable and effective. Easy to trust and likeable." "I felt the information he relayed was very powerful and immediately useable. He has a very relaxed style and is very funny. He was enjoyable to listen to." "Eliot's gentle, welcoming manner reveals his knowledge in non-verbal communication. He not only delivered great information he was very entertaining and everyone in the room enjoyed the experience!" "I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation as in just a matter of minutes I learned a lot about body language that I can definitely use in everyday living. Good job." "Eliot is a fantastic presenter who offers both great actionable content and the ability to break it down so that people at all levels of your organization can relate." "I loved the information on how to counteract someone who is trying to pull a 'power play' while shaking hands. Thanks – great info!" "My experience of Eliot's public speaking was profound and absolutely enjoyable. He demonstrates solid and definite clarity with information that is worthwhile and beneficial for me. An adept and admirable professional." |
Past and Future Based QuestioningSo the meeting went well and you are on your way to the next sales call. Tomorrow, you are going to prepare the quote. The appointment to present is only three days away. As you prepare your presentation, you sit down and carefully review your notes from yesterday. One simple observation is that the majority of the information that you have gathered is in the present tense. Even the answers that you have recorded from the sales call are in the present tense. Is this the case with you? If so, you are in the majority group of sales people who do. Our observations while conducting our Effective Questioning workshop is that eight out of ten questions asked during the sales call are done so in the present tense, when participants are video taped or are asked to document their questions on paper. Why? Because typically, the reason you are meeting with a customer is due to a current situation, pain point or need requiring immediate attention. That issue is now. Naturally, this will frame the questions to be asked in the present tense. Also, in general conversation between two people, most individuals tend to feel comfortable and safe conversing in the present tense and will not venture into the past or the future. So why should you pay attention to asking past and future based questions while on your sales call? Simply put, past based questions give you answers as to how the customer and company make decisions based on their previous buying habits, drivers, trends and core issues that they have dealt with in the past. People inherently make decisions based on the past. It also gives you a great sense how the current decisions will be influenced; forward or fear based thinking. Future based questions allow you to understand the customer's (company) direction, strategy and motives for change. Future based questions will also allow you to truly "customize" and "fit in" your solution based on those long term goals. Once you have done this, you have established business partner status, not just the simple vendor or supplier. Below are a couple of great questions to get you started which will address the past and future. Remember, you want your customer to answer in parables (short stories). How you ask the question is often more important than the question itself. Don't forget to paraphrase or use a prefix sentence at the beginning of your actual question. By framing your question, it will appear to be normal dialogue and not interrogative in nature, as is the case if you should begin every question with who, what, where, when why and how. Past Based: That's interesting! Based on what you just said, what was the most important thing to you when you chose your supplier 2 years ago? I can feel your passion to get others to make positive cultural change within the organization. When you were part of the decision making committee 4 years ago, what issue were you personally trying to resolve/ improve/ discover…? Future Based: Changes are inevitable with any organization. As you move forward 3 years into the future and look back to today, what will be your most memorable moment? Our contract would be signed for four years and understandably, changes within that period occur with any organization, even (name of company). In the best interest of providing the highest level of service to you, thinking ahead, what three key changes should we anticipate or prepare for at this time? Effective Questioning is a skill. Take the time each day to document a couple of additional great and effective questions. Brainstorming with other sales professionals is a great way to build a book of questions. Remember, your customer will only remember you by the quality of questions that you asked. It's those high quality answers you get, that will determine the success of your final presentation and sale. Until next time, Great selling! Eliot |
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"I learned more about non-verbal communication in dealing with business than ever before. The information is extremely valuable. I will be able to use this information today to strengthen my business and personal relationships. Eliot is an extremely experienced communicator and we can all benefit from his information." "I liked him instantly! Very smooth & comfortable to listen to. Great ability to connect with the audience. Was able to get the audience involved effortlessly. Both funny and educational. Great demonstrations of what he was teaching. Look forward to hearing more from him!" "Fantastic seminar!! Eliot is an excellent and sincere speaker on the value of personal interaction. His demonstration of proper touch and handshake has been invaluable. Take advantage of the opportunity to attend an Eliot seminar on body language, you won't be disappointed." "Eliot has helped me bridge my unconscious behavior with my actions to establish my true feelings. Thank you for the invaluable information." "Eliot demonstrated real life subtleties of body language. This information will have a sure-fire effect on anybody who communicates for a living. Better communication means more $ for you and your customers. THANK YOU for the insights." "Your presentation was absolutely wonderful! You were able to create a lot of interest in a subject that I've never had interest in. I'm curious to see your next one." "I loved Eliot because I found his information on dominance in body language to be particularly valuable. I will definitely put this new knowledge to good use in my business and personal life." "I thought I knew everything about body language, but you taught me more in the time you spoke than in many of the years I've studied the art of body language. You are an incredible, impressive and authentic speaker."
"Wow!!! Eliot taught me something that is absolutely part of every sales meeting I've ever been on or ever go to... Truly outstanding!" "One of the greatest body language trainers I have encountered. Simply brilliant!" "Wow, I was very impressed with Eliot's presentation and level of knowledge. He showed me things that I can use now. Great speaker." "From hand shake to mind shake, Eliot delivers smooth, easy to learn and valuable information." "Eliot's demonstration of the various unconscious signals a simple handshake is conveying really hit home. Great value!" "The insights I learned from Eliot about the power plays of something as simple as a handshake was very insightful and I will never look at a handshake the same again and I am sure his technique that he taught me will give me an advantage in all situations – business or social. Thank you Eliot." "Eliot was informative and entertaining. I was engaged every step of the way. A hand shake will never be a hand shake again!" "Eliot's powerfully pragmatic demonstration of non-verbal communication will add directly to my bottom line in 2008. The edge I was looking for in my negotiation tool kit." "Eliot had fascinating, new information on non-verbal communication that even I didn't know (and I know quite a bit about body language). Based on solid knowledge of NLP and proxemics, his principles are useful for any serious business audience. Highly recommended." "It was interesting to learn and understand body language both spoken and unspoken. Shaking hands with another person will never be the same. It was a very pleasant experience to hear you speak." "Eliot was an engaging and knowledgeable speaker. I learned a few things that I can apply immediately to my own work." "Eliot is one of the most knowledgeable as well as likeable presenters I have had the pleasure of seeing. His information on the handshake/power play can instantly help you gain confidence when meeting new people." "Eliot is an amazing speaker. He can really empower sales teams. I am confident that he can help me to achieve more." "Eliot has a great handle on sales. His focus is on the really important stuff. The interpersonal relationships people have with their prospects. Really enjoyed his presentation to us." "After decades of sales trainings and success in sales, I still didn't really know what goes on in a sale until I heard Eliot speak. At last, a true sales Master! And for once I not only stayed awake for the whole talk, but I couldn’t wait to hear more. Thank you Eliot for waking me up to a whole new sales world and even more success!" |
