Agents meet new prospects every day when they unexpectedly walk into the office, call on the phone and/or email via their websites. (Of course, meeting new clients every day only happens when agents generate leads every day.) Whatever the occasion for these “meetings,” its up to agents, not prospects, to keep the conversation going among you in an easy going, comfortable, amiable way.
Some people dread meeting new prospects and/or people in general. They may be afraid of being boring, awkward, unimpressive or offensive. Or, they may be afraid of not having the social skills to keep a conversation going once the conversation does begin.
If any of these “options” sound familiar to you and/or you’d like to bolster your conversational skills, here are a few tips…
1. No “filtering.” No holding back from saying something until you’ve “checked with yourself “to make sure that what you’re wanting to say is interesting, engaging or smart. Practice saying what’s on your mind with friends so you can get used to it. Most people are so preoccupied with how they think they’re coming across to you that they haven’t the time or energy to judge you.
2. “Interesting…tell me more…” People love to know that you are listening to them and that you’re at all interested in what they have to say. So, yes…keep asking…it works 99% of the time!
3. Tell stories. People love to hear stories. The stories can be stories you heard on the radio, the TV, magazines, stories from wherever and whenever. Short, long, interesting, weird, funny, awkward, whatever.
To enhance your conversational skills, remember to integrate your oral/written interactions among prospects with the FORM technique.
F = Family…kids, where your family lives, for how long, how many kids…
O = Occupation…what do you do (it doesn’t matter whether the work is paid/unpaid), for how long, do you like it…
R = Recreation…sports, hobbies, traveling, for how long, how it makes you feel,
M = Media/Motivation/Money…anything “neutral” that starts with an “M”
The FORM technique enables you learn about the similarities and differences you have with prospects, things/passions you may have in common with your prospects, etc. You may find that instead of feeling anxious about keeping conversations going, your conversations among new prospects may turn into conversations you treasure.
