In Part One, we addressed a couple examples of proper and effective responses a new (and/or young in age) salesperson might provide a concerned prospect regarding the issue of youth and inexperience.
But, as I explained to the young man, while the response is simple, there is a bigger challenge he must overcome. And, that is the very fear itself of it being an issue for the prospect. And, a major part of this fear is his own issue with it.
What I didn’t divulge in the previous article was that this was the third time I’d heard from him with the same basic challenge; that he’d again been questioned about being so young.
Here’s part of what I wrote him in response:
“Notice how this continues to come up. As I suggested in our last correspondence, you might be signaling your own discomfort with your being new and inexperienced, and/or a fear of their discomfort with it, and vibrating that fear. When you do this, they will pick up on it. Paraphrasing the ancient verse, that which you fear the most has a good chance of coming true.
“Best is to just leave it alone. Of course, prepare your response in the event the objection comes up. And then simply put it aside. If someone brings it up, you answer the same basic way we discussed previously; that while you’re relatively new with this position you are blessed to have a very experienced mentor who has taken you under his wing, thus your customers and clients get access to two minds instead of just one. Or, however you decide to frame your answer. You can also bring up the fresh perspective you bring to the picture and whatever else you feel presents a positive frame.
“If you know your answer in advance and feel comfortable with it, and, more importantly, as you become more comfortable with yourself and less concerned with your youth and inexperience, then that question will all but disappear completely.”
In other words, “If (or when) it doesn’t bother you, it won’t bother them.”
Awesome readers and friends; your thoughts?
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Great point Bob. When you receive any kind of resistance – in this case resistance to your age as a young sales rep – it is best to affirm the comment and “overcome” it by building upon it with a powerful and well-thought response.
Kayvan Mott
Bob,
You are right – that young salesperson’s fear of age bias is probably a contributing factor in its frequent occurrence. He should also accept the reality that some prospects do have an age bias.
The best way to deal with a bias is to face it head on. A simple question such as “Will my age prevent you from doing business with me… or not?” will tell him whether he is wasting time and resources on the wrong prospect.
Most of the pain will go away when he is the one who does the disqualification. It also will have him spending his time and resources on better prospects.
Jacques