I have no idea if this show is even on the air anymore in any kind of format but, if it isn’t, for those of you who are old enough to remember … doesn’t “Let’s Make A Deal” remind you a lot about selling and I am not talking about the game show title? Social Sales can change this dynamic.
Each contestant was forced to choose between what was behind door #1 or door #2 or door #3and the kicker was … you had no idea of what was behind any of these doors. One might have a luxury European Vacation and the other might have a case of deodorant. Not knowing, and having to make a choice, was make or break time.
Selling is a lot like that. Often we enter into a prospect’s office with absolutely no idea of what to expect. How can you possibly prepare for that? Who even wants to do that? You had better be a good dancer.
Back in the old days, and when you think of it, those days weren’t really that long ago, about the only sources of information that we had available to really prepare for a call were newspapers, magazines, and the encyclopedia. It is not even that long ago where the average SMB business had little to no presence on the web at all. So, it was up to us to gather as much information as we could and do it the old fashioned way …
- We called friends and colleagues to find out what they might know about our prospect
- We researched industry sources and perhaps public records
- We drove by the business and determined whatever we could gather from a visible inspection: size, overall appearance, reserved parking spaces, brands and models of cars in those spaces, and any other data that may be of value.
Once inside the door, we would …
- Evaluate the interior of the business much the way that we had already done the exterior
- Do the same for our contact’s office while paying particular attention to diplomas, awards, photos (family or otherwise), books, sports memorabilia, etc.