I have learned recently that most personal service sales people don’t know what to say when they meet a prospect whether socially or at a networking event. We have worked recently on a system to use when speaking with new people. I will discuss one of the attributes of the system here and others in future postings.
The first element of the system I want to discuss is the F.O.R.D. concept. Some of us, that would be me, have little difficulty talking with others. My problem is that I tend to talk too much. If you know me you know that is true.
FORD is a system for asking questions of a person that you just met. It stands for Family, Occupation, Recreation, Dreams. All you need is a couple of questions in each category to engage another person in a conversation for a very long time. You should commit these questions to memory and practice them in a safe setting. Practice makes permanent, not perfect.
Another tip I use in conversation follows: When someone uses an adjective or adverb in a sentence (these are modifiers) ask (politely) what they mean. For example when someone says that they want to purchase soon. You might ask, “what does soon mean to you”? Or when someone says “I want a large yard” You might ask, “what is a large yard to you.”?
In a class recently, I asked a number of Realtors from the western slope of Colorado, what was large parcel to them. The parcels ranged from 1 acre to 640 acres. For me, a large yard means anything that I can not cut with a weed eater, (on the short cord).
What are the conversation openers or extenders do you use? Let me know.
To your continued success,
Reg Gupton
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