Chatty Cathy – The Surefire Way To Kill Your Sales

I recently made a visit to the mall to buy some new clothes. My first stop of the day was Eddie Bauer. As I walked in, I was greeted by a saleswoman who welcomed me to the store, and then immediately went into her prescripted sales language. I was immediately turned off by this, as most people are, and began to walk away from her. As I did, she followed me around the store, determined to finish her prescripted sales pitch. I was so turned off by the fact that she wasn't listening to a word I was saying, that I left the store, telling her that I would be back later.

Upon returning, this same saleswoman welcomed me back, and immediately went right back into her prescripted sales pitch. After about 30 seconds of this, I helped her out by finishing her pitch for her, telling her all about the polos that were on sale, as well as the dress pants. It was then that she realized that this was the second time that I had heard her pitch, and that it wasn't doing any good. She quickly turned, went to the door, and attacked the next "victim".

This was a great example of everything that is wrong with the word "salesperson". Oftentimes, my clients that are salespeople get gun shy, as they believe that many people see salespeople as "Chatty Cathys". You know, lots of talking and no listening. And sometimes, this is the case.

As salespeople, our job is to match our customers' needs with a solution - basically, to solve their problems. A good salesperson does this by asking great questions, and then listening intently. Understanding the needs of the customer is paramount. Once the need is understood, then, and only then, should a solution be proposed, and a sale made.

So, the next time you are busy trying to make a sale, take some time to pay attention to what you are doing. Are you asking lots of questions? Are you listening 80% of the time, and talking 20%? Or, are you reinforcing the negative salesperson stereotype by being "Chatty Cathy" and not listening to a thing your prospective customer is saying? If you are, you may have cost yourself the sale!

Happy Selling!