The Importance of Controlling the Conversation With Your Prospect
Having a conversation isn't hard for you. You're a great listener! In fact, you might be too good of a listener because people always seem to keep talking, leaving you to just sit back and listen. That might be alright amongst your friends and family, but it's not okay in your particular work environment. You've just started an online business and things are going really well. However, when you talk to someone about your business, the conversation somehow always ends up back on them, even when you're trying to sell your product. Sooner or later, you're going to have to learn that controlling the conversation is one of the many keys to running a successful business. Any conversation you have about your business should be completely run by you, just like you run your business.
First of all, controlling the conversation is important because people love to talk about themselves. Not only do people love to talk about themselves, they love to talk about their husbands or wives, their kids, their pets, their job, and everything else related to them. Even if your prospect isn't a selfish person, the conversation may stray from his need for your product, to how he has to go to his child's soccer game in the evening. You have to make sure you keep the conversation about his need for your product. Otherwise, people will talk about themselves until they don't want to talk anymore, and you may not have even gotten a word in about your product. Additionally, controlling the conversation saves time you could be spending with other clients.
Second of all, controlling the conversation is important because your prospect may not know the best questions to ask you. Some people just aren't very intuitive, and don't like to ask questions. You might ask your prospect about her needs, she'll explain them, and then when you ask her if she has any questions, she'll say no. That is why you need to learn to anticipate questions. Think about what kind of things the prospect should have asked you and then you can just start explaining away.
Lastly, controlling the conversation is important because your main goal is to get your product out there. While it's important to have a good rapport with your potential client, it is also important to make sure this conversation stays on the topic of your choosing: your product.