I was once giving a sales presentation for a new air conditioning system. At some point faith was brought into the conversation. I don’t remember how it occurred, but before any decision was made we were praying together.
At the end of the prayer, the client looked up from wet eyes and said, “Yes.”
I began to think about this call in the car. Did I do the right thing here? I just prayed with a client about their air conditioning system, and they bought from me.
Never talk religion – but if you do . . .
All sales trainers will tell you that religion should be off the table as a topic of conversation. And, I just violated one of the major rules of sales! I didn’t just talk religion, I practiced it with my clients! RELATED: free eBook Obliterate the 5 Sales Objections from Your Workweek.
And yet, the world didn’t fall apart. The results were actually great!
What did this mean?
- Is prayer a secret closing tool that should be used on every objection?
- Should I start implementing prayer as a standard part of my Sales Presentation before the client brings it up?
- And what about different faiths? Should I pray with them too? How do I do that?
I came to the conclusion that prayer works for me, and that I would use it daily. (Read on – especially if you are not a person of faith.)
3 Powerful Uses of Prayer in the Sales Process
You can use prayer daily to improve your results. Here’s how it works:
#1 Prayer boosts confidence
Confidence is key in any selling situation. A confident person will be more persuasive, and more attractive to a buyer. RELATED: 7 confidence boosters your team desperately needs
The act of praying is proven to have an amazing effect on boosting confidence. Athletes use prayer as a way to calm their nerves and bring it all together before they start the game.
Praying also creates a sense of hope in the hopeless, and helps the sick heal quicker. By the way, this is not my opinion. It is a fact.
If you are a person of non-faith, you may attribute this to the placebo effect. That’s fine by me, as long as we can agree that there is real power in the process of praying for something.
#2 Prayer creates focus
Saying a prayer is an effective way to create focus. Focus is important, because it is a critical component to achievement.
I incorporate daily prayer into my work. I find this keeps me focused on the priorities of my work.
While I won’t share my exact prayer with you, I will give you some of the key things I ask for daily:
- Wisdom to help others
- The ability to discern truth and navigate it gracefully
- Patience and Grace
- Do work that is meaningful
Praying for a clear focus keeps me centered on the task at hand.
#3 Praying creates clarity
There are times when I’m unsure of the best decision. I will pray in those times.
My prayers are not just a list of things I want. I don’t view God as my personal genie. I view Him as my Good and Wise Father.
Many of my prayers with God are meant to help me explore the things I don’t understand. I don’t expect God to send me an email with the answer I need. (Although, if that happens, I will tell you about it!)
I do anticipate the answer to come to me in the form of new information. It may even come in the form of existing information that I am noticing for the first time. The scientific community would say that the act of praying turned on the pattern recognition system in my brain.
Should you pray with your client to overcome sales objections?
I took this question to the internet to see what other techs and salespeople had to say about it. [Like us on FaceBook – Click Here.]
I got 3 major responses:
- Do a great presentation, and they won’t need to pray about anything.
- Absolutely! Yes! – If they want to pray, then pray with them.
- No Way! – If someone says they need to pray, back off!
So, which one is the right answer?
If I were you, I’d go with Do a Great Presentation. It is by far the best approach.
If you are a person of faith, then pray before your work day begins. That will help you do that great presentation.
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