Vuja-De

Do you sometimes sense what George Carlin termed vuja-de: the feeling that none of this has ever happened to you before?

Solid sales training, whether company-provided or self-serve, should prepare you for scenarios so that this never happens. (Evidently there’s a more precise French term…jamais vu.)

That doesn’t mean your training helps you overcome any objection while you cram your product or service down everyone’s throat. It means you know how your product or service applies to an industry so well, that nearly every question or comment offered up by a prospect has a familiar ring to it.

And that familiar ring results in credible, meaningful dialogue between you and the client.

“Ah,” you should be able to say to yourself, “I’ve heard this before.” You’re approaching true professionalism when nothing astounds you or results in you asking ridiculous, overly simple clarification questions.

It’s good to periodically reflect on the most common scenarios you run across with your existing clients and prospects and form sound thoughts and comments of your own for how to interact accordingly with prospects to build credibility and rapport.