Some things are very difficult to explain as salespeople but we have a duty of care to ensure customers “get it”. The best way to do this is to create a bank of metaphors or analogies that will separate you from your competition.
For example, this week I was reading about the Gulf States blockading the tiny state of Qatar and demanding they close down the feisty broadcaster – Al Jazeera. I didn’t really “get it” until the article went on to explain that it’s like China ordering Britain to abolish the BBC. Then it clicked.
So think about how you can use the phrase “it’s like” when explaining complex things.
For example, when I explained how a unit trust worked with clients or, heaven forbid, when I explained how an endowment worked, I brought out a new packet of Kellogg’s Variety Pack of Cereals to show them that their premium bought into a wide variety of shares in the unit trusts not just one. Clients always “got it”
Or when I talked about pensions, I used the analogy of saving for your two-week holiday so you had lots of spending money to lavish.
Or when I explained the need for life assurance to clients and losing the income of a breadwinner I would talk about a cash generating machine in the basement which diligently spewed out £1,500 each month. Surely, you’d want to insure against that breaking down.
They “got it” then.
What’s your favourite cereal from the Variety Pack? Mines gotta be frosties, they’re great!
Sorry about the pun. Groan.
