Below are the emails. My training comments are at the bottom of this post.
--- Email from USANA Associate to Chris Lopez ---
The customer my chiropractor referred me to a few weeks ago just sent me a little curve ball. I have added a copy of the email I just sent her as a file...feedback please? Too long? Too much information? Now that I'm thinking about it (after the fact) should I have chopped it up and attempted to establish more of a dialog before suggesting she"do this/do that?" Thanks!
--- Email from Potential USANA Customer ---
Hello USANA Associate
I am returning the ProflavanolC100 to you.
My husband is against my taking dietary supplements without consulting a doctor or dietician.
I will leave the unopened pack for you with [person] at [Chiropractor's] office.
Many thanks and kindest regards,
Potential USANA Customer
--- Email reply by USANA Associate ---
Hi Potential USANA Customer -
I totally understand and appreciate your husband's position. I'll check with [person] or [person] about picking up the Proflavanol next time I am in the office.
Just curious though - how do YOU feel about using supplements (vitamins and minerals) to improve your body's ability to handle stress and repair itself, rather than depending on over-the-counter medications or prescription drugs to manage symptoms?
Do you want to try the Proflavanol (and/or other supplements)? Then I encourage you to take the Product Information booklet, the larger one that shows you exactly what is in each product and lists the medical abstracts, to your doctor the next time you see him, and ask for his opinion.
(Personally, I would also ask him about the Essentials USANA's multi-vitamin/antioxidant/chelated mineral supplement, which is the core and backbone of all cellular nutrition. All USANA products, including the ProflavanolC100, are formulated to work together, synergistically, with the Essentials.)
Nutritional supplements, and their benefits, have been very well studied for over 50 years. Vitamin C of course, is probably the most well known, made famous by Dr. Linus Pauling, and in fact, USANA has been partnering with the Linus Pauling Institute for several years to research and study the benefits of nutritional supplementation on human health.
Please let your doctor know that USANA products are manufactured to pharmaceutical grade standards. The ProflavanolC100 product itself has been recommended by healthcare practitioners - medical doctors, naturopathic doctors, chiropractors, sports nutritionists to name a few - for over 20 years now.
Unlike non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Advil, Tylenol, ibuprofen etc), vitamin C and grapeseed extract have no toxicity limitations or side effects other than potential sensitivity to the higher levels of vitamin C. Also unlike NSAIDs (which do help reduce inflammation, but have potentially serious side-effects and do not actively promote cellular healing), vitamin C and grapeseed extract both play an important role in helping your body heal at the cellular level.
Your doctor may tell you that whatever anti-inflammatory medications he has prescribed for you are sufficient; he may tell you that the levels of vitamin C and grapeseed extract are excessive or a waste of money.
This is the response I used to get from my doctors whenever I showed them the list of supplements I take! But they have never said "no" and at 62, I am very happy to be totally drug-free and reasonably mobile, despite some fairly significant disc damage that I sustained early in my life. From my perspective, taking USANA supplements has been the best health insurance I have ever invested in.
So...regardless of your doctor's response, what YOU want to know is this: does he see any conflict between the ingredients in the ProflavanolC100 and your other medications? Does he have any (valid) objection to your trying this product for two or three months to help speed recovery?
I hope you find this helpful, and please feel free to revisit with me at any time.
With kind regards,
USANA Associate
--- End Emails ---
--- Start Chris Lopez's commentary ---
USANA Objection Training #1: Identify the Objection or Problem
First off this is a very tricky USANA Objection:
"My husband is against my taking dietary supplements without consulting a doctor or dietician."
Is it the husband or the doctor that is objecting to taking the supplements? Now, I've never seen the spousal objection layered on top of the "talk with my doctor first" objection. This is a tricky and hard one. Unfortunately, you can't tell from her email, which is the true objection. Or if it's something she just said to cover up the real objection (ie potential price issues.)
Doing all of this over email, just puts another layer of difficulty on there. This is why Jason Wells and I are always preaching to get the person's phone number. Nothing beats an actual conversation. Asking questions before giving the answer is critical. That is difficult over email.
USANA Objection Training #2: Overcoming the Objection
Once you know the objection, you must overcome the objection. The USANA Sales and Communication course covers that in detail, so I won't rehash all of that here.
You wrote way too much in the email back to the potential USANA customer:
- Look at the length of her email compared to yours.
- Trying to explain too much in one email.
- Jumping from product to product and giving the person options on what to take! (Confusion central here!)
Your tone is bit strong in the email too:
- "So...regardless of your doctor's response,"
- "Does he have any (valid) objection...."
That will probably get her back up against the wall.
You ended the email weakly:
"I hope you find this helpful, and please feel free to revisit with me at any time."It's open ended general statement that is NOT going to get a response. How do I know? I used to do those all the time! Never really got good responses from people. When I asked direct questions, I got responses.
USANA Objection Training #3: Handling Objections Over Email
As I said earlier, handling objections over email is difficult. Here's what I would have done:
- Kept it short and to the point.
- Written one paragraph at most with information or facts (Doing the best you can at answering the objection you think she has.)
- Asked one or two direct, specific questions.
USANA Objection Training #4: Don't "Fall in Love" with Your Prospects
No one bats a 100% in USANA or MLM. Every Associate (including the Fortune 25 members) strike out (get a "no") more than they hit a home run (get a "yes.") That's just the way any sales process and business works. If the person doesn't respond or does and it goes no where, don't sweat it.
All you can do is learn from it, move on and keep spreading Dr. Wentz's vision. This is both true for sponsoring Associates, getting Preferred Customers and generating USANA leads.
USANA Objection Training #5: Improve Your Self!
Now, I could have written out word for word my reply. But that would rob you from learning and improving. With everything talked about in his post, go back and rewrite a reply. Now, don't send it to her, but rather send it to me. I'll give you feedback.
Doing this exercise is one of the best ways to improve.
Update: Since posting this blog entry, the USANA Associate and Road to Gold member took my advice and wrote two responses:
--- Begin response by USANA Associate ---
OK - Rule #1 for me - if I write something in response to a customer's email like this one, I absolutely MUST wait a few hours and review my response before sending it. I wrote and sent the email under discussion without stopping to think OR review.
Looking at it again, my first response NOW is NOT to even try and guess or respond to the concern. Instead I would write something like this, and hope to establish a dialog:
I really like your "Rule #1" about waiting a few hours before you send off your email. Very good idea. I do this often.
Rule #2: Run it by another USANA Associate! Since you're in the Road to Gold Focus Groups, take advantage of Jason and I. We love getting qustions!
Email #1 is the best one. You're establishing dialogue, taking the product back (takes any pressure off of her) and it's short and sweet!
In email #2 you say,"It is always important to check with your doctor first about taking supplements." Don't help the person create their own objection or obstacle!
Update: Since posting this blog entry, the USANA Associate and Road to Gold member took my advice and wrote two responses:
--- Begin response by USANA Associate ---
OK - Rule #1 for me - if I write something in response to a customer's email like this one, I absolutely MUST wait a few hours and review my response before sending it. I wrote and sent the email under discussion without stopping to think OR review.
Looking at it again, my first response NOW is NOT to even try and guess or respond to the concern. Instead I would write something like this, and hope to establish a dialog:
Email #1:
Hi Potential USANA Customer
Thank you so much for getting back to me - I totally appreciate your husband's concerns. But I am a little confused (or curious...) Is your husband concerned about you taking supplements together with prescription meds? Or does he have some concerns about supplements in general?
Would it help if you and I talk more about this? I'll check with [person] or [person] about picking up the Proflavanol next time I am in the office.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Email #2:
Hi Potential USANA Customer
It is always important to check with your doctor first about taking supplements, especially if you are taking a prescription, and I really should have asked you about that when we first talked.
Would it be worth you and I having a conversation about the concerns your husband has expressed?
Hope you are enjoying this absolutely gorgeous weekend weather!
With best wishes,--- End response by USANA Associate ---
I really like your "Rule #1" about waiting a few hours before you send off your email. Very good idea. I do this often.
Rule #2: Run it by another USANA Associate! Since you're in the Road to Gold Focus Groups, take advantage of Jason and I. We love getting qustions!
Email #1 is the best one. You're establishing dialogue, taking the product back (takes any pressure off of her) and it's short and sweet!
In email #2 you say,"It is always important to check with your doctor first about taking supplements." Don't help the person create their own objection or obstacle!
About the Author
No comments:
Post a Comment