The organized involvement interview
Saturday, July 18th, 2009Begin with a brief statement along these lines:
“To get the most out of the time you can give me this morning, I’ve planned my demonstration to answer the questions I’m most often asked about this machine in a natural sequence. If I don’t cover something that interests you, the chances are I’ll get to it in a moment.
“I’ve found that if I give a quick overview of the complete process first, and then come back to the detailed questions later, a lot of my customer’s valuable time is saved. Okay? — now, Mr. Marzano, if you’ll be good enough to feed another blank in here like I’m doing —“
Involve them all the way. Show them how it’s done, then have them do it. Do it with great tact and courtesy because they aren’t familiar with your machine, so they may be a little awkward and unsure of themselves. Ever notice how you have to concentrate when you first get in to drive a make of automobile that’s new to you? All the little things you do automatically in your own car take thought, and maybe you don’t do them smoothly at first. But if you’re a passenger in that same strange car, you just flop into the seat and think about something else while the driver is doing what has to be done to get moving. Let your prospects drive instead of making them be just passengers during your demonstration.