You Talk Too Much

IYKYK or if you know, you know (in case you don’t know) is all the rage right now and when I wrote the title for this article immediately the words if you know then you know popped into my head.

Do you know?

If you were born after the late seventies, you probably don’t know, but if you were born in the early seventies like me, you may have grown up listening to the group, who in my opinion, put rap music on the map, RUN-D.M.C.

Although it was their second album, the song “You Talk Too Much,” catapulted RUN D.M.C. to the mainstream.

I can immediately hear the unique beat in my head, and I can hear them rap the words:

“You talk too much.”

“You never shut up.”

“I said you talk too much.”

“Homeboy, you never shut up.”

Now you might be asking yourself, why am I writing about lyrics for an early 80’s rap song. I promise I am getting there.

I was recently tasked by one of my dealers to do a special in-person sales meeting about the presentation step of the sale. Immediately I started thinking about when I was remodeling my house and it was time to start working on my backyard. When I bought my house it had a small patio, a nice lawn in the back of the house, and a side-yard that was just a mess. Now I am not a fan of grass or yard maintenance, so my plan was to get the entire back yard covered in pavers and get the side-yard half covered in pavers and the other half with synthetic lawn for my dog.

Now, that I had a plan (a desired outcome), I reached out to a couple of companies to come out to my house and provide me with an estimate.

The first sales representative came out to see me at my house. He began the process by asking a few questions about what I was looking to do in my backyard, the things I liked, and other discovery questions. Then he started to paint a mental picture of what the end result would look like. “The outdoor kitchen will be right here, giving you easy access to not only the house for bringing food in and out, but it will also make it easy to serve your guests over there in the dining area. That sure will be nice and convenient, won’t it?” Another great one, “The in-ground fire-pit will be right over here, making it easy to get out of your hot tub and then warm up by the fire while chatting with friends. Sounds relaxing, doesn’t it?”

This guy was killing it. I was all in on everything he was saying. All I needed to know was where to sign. However, then he began discussing materials. Obviously, the color of the pavers, the type of pavers needs to be discussed and chosen, but this guy just was getting way to granular. How the differ pavers are installed, where the were made, history of each company that makes the pavers, and so many other things that I can’t even remember because frankly, I was falling asleep. By the time, the salesperson got to presenting me with an investment proposal and asking not for the sale, but “what do you think?” referring to the proposal, I had gone from, “I want all of this,” to “I need to think about it.”

All of the excitement and enthusiasm the salesperson created in me was eroded away by their need to continuing talking. Especially, when nothing the salesperson was talking about was actually interesting to me.

I am sure some of you will say, “Well those things need to be discussed,” and you are correct, however, the determining of these factors could be handled in a way that was more congruent to the way I want to buy. Had the salesperson said something like, “I believe that I have a good understanding of what you are looking for, would you prefer I put together the best package for you, or would you prefer to review all of your options in detail?”

Had the salesperson asked a question similar to this, I would have said, “Let’s see what you put together.” I am a buyer who is just looking for a result, not how you get there. If you were selling me a car, I don’t care what is under the hood. It could be hamster running in a wheel that makes that car go, as long as it gets me to where I want to go and is reliable. So, if the salesperson selling me a car, were to ask me during the presentation, when they were at the front of the vehicle, “Would you like to see what’s under the hood, or would you prefer to move on?” I would immediately, tell them to just ‘move on.’ And the salesperson would not waste their time, nor mine. They will also keep me interested in their presentation, versus lose me to other thoughts.

I am sure you are all wondering what happened with my backyard. The second salesperson came to my house, asked questions, generated excitement, presented a solution within a proposal, and earned the sale. I understand this second salesperson’s process sounds simple, however, sales really are this simple. Long story short, too late I know, don’t talk yourself out of a deal. You never want your customer to hear the RUN-D.M.C. song in their head, YOU TALK TOO MUCH!

For another great work track to prevent you from talking too much and losing your customer, email me at joe@ditln.com with the subject line, YOU TALK TOO MUCH, and I will send you another sure fire way to prevent this from happening to you.