OMG! She said YES!

OK. I only have a minute or two, so I'll type fast. At Conference I learned a new method for taking care of clients at the end of a show.

My normal approach after a presentation is to set up at a table with a stack of order forms and a calculator. As people are ready, they bring me their door prize slip and I take their order, offer advice, upsell when possible, see if they wanted to host a show of their own, and then ask if they are interested in learning more about the opportunity. The most common result of that conversation is, yes-thanks-maybe-no-no. Most often, I ended with two no's. And a smile. I felt great that I had asked.

What I learned at conference was a new approach. Completely the opposite of the way I had been doing it. Here's the method.

1. Hi. Thanks for coming. What did you like best about the show?
2. Can you think of anyone who might be interested in doing what I do?
3. How about you?
4. OK, are you considering hosting your own show?
5. Super, what can I get for you today/tonight?

What's great about this method is that you get to the juicy bits first. Imagine if the client is already thinking about joining and you start by taking her order. You would approach her order completely differently if you knew that, wouldn't you?

Last night was my first show of the month. It was a starter show. My host was already sold. Our first customer, Clare, came up to me after the show; I took a breath and started to practice my new training. Here's how it went:

Hi. Thanks so much for coming and supporting Tamsin at her Grand Opening. We really appreciate it. Did you enjoy it?

Yes, it was great.

Can you think of anyone who might be interested in doing what I do? In being a candle lady?

[2-second pause.] Yes, me.

I was so surprised that I almost forgot what to say next. We discussed lots of things after. Tamsin will do Clare's starter show later this month. What a hoot!

Anyway, I just thought I'd let you know. Oh, and I also want every single Consultant to read the Phone Phobia article in Reflections. After you read it... re-read it. Even if you're not afraid of the phone, that article is fantastic! In fact, I think I'll go read it again now.

Happy Wendy!