Yesterday’s post was about how some social time at a convention helped me build rapport with some potential prospects.But what if you don’t have those kind of opportunities in your business? What if you’re in inside sales and speak to your prospects only over the phone? What if you run an online business and most of your prospect contact is done via email?No problem.In yesterday’s post I promised you a simple yet effective tool to help you overcome that initial, “I don’t trust you” reflex of your prospects.
Four Unanswered Questions
It’s called the MATT Statement…and it answers the four major unasked questions that I guarantee are on your prospect’s mind when you first darken their doorstep and ask for some of their time.If you provide adequate answers to those questions, your number of appointments will increase. Period. No question. Finito.So what are the four unasked questions that are on the mind of every one of your prospects when you first approach them?
- Who is this person and what do they want?
- What’s going to happen if I do listen to them? Are they going to hard sell me?
- What’s in it for me if I give them some time?
- How long is this going to take? I’m busy!
Sure there may be more questions, but those are the big four that will keep you from moving forward.Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes. If someone walks in your business, or knocks on your door at home wanting to sell you something, what goes through your head?“Who’s this guy and what does he want? He’s going to try to sell me something I don’t want, isn’t he? I probably don’t even need what he has. I don’t have time for this crap today.”Sound about right?Now when you’re the salesperson, you can choose to do what other salespeople do and hope that over the months, years, decades, and eons that follow the prospect will get to know you enough to listen to your message.
The MATT Statement
Or…you could be smart and break down that barrier now using a MATT Statement to answer all four of those unasked questions in one fell swoop without the prospect even asking them.MATT stands for…Motive, Agenda, Takeaway, and Timeline.Remember the four unasked questions?Motive: Who is this person and what do they want?Agenda: What’s going to happen if I do listen to them? Are they going to hard sell me?Takeaway: What’s in it for me if I give them some time?Timeline: How long is this going to take? I’m busy!Here’s an example that fits in to my business to business world:“The reason I stopped in today, Mr. Smith was to introduce myself and my company to you. (Motive) I would like to sit down with you, give you an idea of what we do, and ask some questions about your business as well. (Agenda) Then, if we can help you improve your (whatever), great…and if not, that’s fine, too. (Takeaway) It will probably only take 10 to 15 minutes. (Timeline) Is that alright with you?
Granted, this needs to be done in your own words. It needs to be planned and rehearsed enough prior to the call that you don’t sound like some robot reading a script trying to get people to change their long distance carriers – but you get the idea.These four unasked questions will prevent a lot of people from listening to you. If they do decide to listen to you, these four unasked questions will prevent them from hearing your message because these questions will be on their minds.So what are you going to accomplish by using the MATT Statement and answering those four unasked questions in advance?You are going to build credibility.You are going to build trust.You are going to take those thoughts out of their heads so they can listen to what you have to say.Could you do the same thing over the phone in an inside sales situation. Affirmative. Could you fashion an email that follows that format for online selling? Sure you could.Give it a shot. Write it out. Practice it. You will find that if you answe those four questions early in the relationship, your odds of being heard and moving forward will increase exponentially.