To schmooze, according to one dictionary definition, is to: Talk
casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or to make a
social connection.
In the world of selling or business, you could translate that
definition this way.
Schmooze: Critical First Step In Making Sales
To schmooze is a critical first step in making a sale or getting
a referral.
Why is schmoozing critical?
Because it's a proven fact people prefer to buy from and do
business with people they know, like and trust.
And schmoozing (conversation and small talk) is the main way to
accomplish this.
Conversation Paves The Way
That's because conversation and small talk pave the way to
creating rapport and building a relationship.
Rapport and relationships are often built by establishing "common ground" with the customer -- about something that has
absolutely nothing to do with the product or service you're
trying to sell.
A good case in point was the experience of a coaching client of
mine, a home improvements salesman.
Schmoozing Salesman Succeeds
He made a sales call on a homeowner to sell roofing and siding.
It turned out the homeowner had previous sales calls from other
companies seeking to sell him roofing and siding.
Since the salesman did not know the homeowner, he decided to
break the ice with a compliment to the homeowner about his
landscaping,...a subject the salesman, himself, was interested
in.
The customer was delighted,...both by the compliment and the
fact the salesman was into landscaping, too.
They proceeded to talk about landscaping for the next 30 minutes,
never mentioning the roofing and siding -- the purpose of the
sales call.
Dealing With A Friend, Not A Salesman
When the salesman introduced that subject, the homeowner was no
longer dealing with just a salesman.
No, the customer was now dealing with a human being he had
something in common with.
He was dealing with someone he knew, someone he liked, someone
with whom he had rapport.
The result:
The homeowner gladly signed the order on the spot -- an order
costing $7,000 more than he had originally planned to spend.
Schmoozing worked for this salesman.
Practicing What I Preach
It has also worked for me -- many times.
One of the most memorable came when I was attempting to sell my
marketing consulting services to a manager from a major
corporation.
I had not known him, so I asked him to lunch,...just a
get-acquainted lunch because I had no particular project or
service in mind since I knew nothing about his needs.
At lunch, we chatted for about an hour and quickly established a
common ground - because he was a marketer, too, and, I found, he
was a golfer, like I am.
The result - He did not have a current need for my services, so no
sale resulted, ...at least not then. However, a month later I
got a call from him and he told me a colleague of his out of
state might be able to use my services.
The result - Over the next year, I did $50,000 worth of business
with his colleague, and later, did several thousand dollars worth
of business with him, too.
All because I took the trouble to schmooze.
Sometimes in the business world, you're not necessarily trying
to make a sale, but, rather, gain the cooperation of someone.
One of the best examples of the power of schmoozing in this area
comes from a story in a national business publication about an
attempt to locate and close down illegal moonshine stills in
Kentucky.
The Federal government had sent in a series of agents, but could
get no information from the locals to help them locate the
stills.
The Persuasive Peddler
At length, they decided to send in an agent in disguise as a fish
peddler, asking him to make friends with the locals by schmoozing
with them at every opportunity.
In short order, the agent had gathered information from the
locals leading to the closing of more than 100 stills.
The moral of this story?
Your ability to make conversation -- to schmooze -- to build
rapport and relationships with people -- is one of your most
powerful selling tools.
So, when you're selling, think of it this way:
Schmooze or lose.
Copyright (c) 2009 Paul Barton
Paul Barton is a marketing consultant and conversation coach,
and author of several books, including: How To Be GREAT!!!
In Conversation, How To Build Rapport And Relationships and
How To Make People WANT!!! To Buy From You.
