You have heard it before in some variation. People buy from people they like and trust. Social science studies show an increase in reaching agreements when the people involved like each other.
But how do you “get someone to like you?” If you are anything like me, I start worrying about how I don’t have a cheesy smile constantly painted on my face. Let’s start by making them smile. Today’s post will link you to other great blog posts on how to be funny. I’m in love with funnybizz.co, a site dedicated to making business funnier and more effective. Many of these blog posts are from their site.
Tip #1: Send a funny meme or GIF. I get a lot of work accomplished by sending pictures of good looking guys saying, “hey girl, did I tell you how beautiful you look when you help Tasha with her problems.” Works every time.
http://www.saleshacker.com/prospecting/funny-follow-up/
Like this one. I’m still waiting for you to subscribe, and tell all of your friends to subscribe to my blog.
Tip #2: Be willing to laugh at how ridiculous our jobs are. There is humor in the truth.
https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2014/02/funny-sales-quotes.html
Tip #3: If you are training others, use short, funny videos. I typically use movies from the late 90s when I worked at Blockbuster video and watched every movie produced. But if my audience isn’t at least 30, I’m screwed, because with 2 small kids, the only recent clips I could include are from Frozen or The Lego Movie.
This video is one I played when training reps not to take it so personally if someone says they can’t talk. After, I of course explained how to handle it.
Tip #4: Be authentic and humble. Then make fun of yourself, not others. I typically admit my mistakes to my boss with an image of Dawson (from Dawson’s creek) crying and I’m able to find forgiveness very quickly. The only problem is that some of my staff now use this technique on me as well!
Tip #5: Exaggerate a little and have fun! I love to liken selling to dating and exaggerating how my rep’s approach would go over if it was a date. It is relatable, completely ridiculous, and drives home the point quite nicely.
Laughter is truly the best medicine. One of your first goals should be to get your customer to smile or laugh as quickly as possible. If you are just starting out, find one simple funny thing you can do or say consistently to warm you up. When I was selling out in the field, I would tell my potential customers, “my name is Tasha Saran. Saran, like the wrap.” Giggles every time and a high show rate for appointments. Maybe I should change my name back… That sounds much better than, “Tasha Smith. Smith, like everyone else in the world.”