Adam Bensman teaches a one-liner to stop customers from derailing sales calls: acknowledge what they said, then redirect with "Anyway, back to." He includes variations for time pressure and polite exits, with examples to practice.
You lost control of the conversation. The homeowner has begun to monologue you. It's the older person who just loves bending someone's ear, who's willing to listen. Or the homeowner who starts drilling you with questions all over the place. Or the person who just gets you buried in story time that has nothing to do with why you're in the home. And you're stuck in this predicament of like, how do I hurry these people along in a way that's not pushy because I know I don't want to lose the sale. Or maybe you're like me and you are a natural people pleaser and you're like, hey, how do I feel? Find that fine line between appeasing them and being respectful and giving them a little bit of Runway without being really aggressive and only focused on business. Because after all, we do need to build rapport. We need to connect with our homeowners. And it can be a really delicate line. It's a little tightrope act and one misstep and you lose the deal. And I don't want that to happen to you. So in this short punchy video, I'm going to give you a one liner that you can start using on the very next sale that you run to take back control of the sale for those runaway customers. You know the type. Before we get into it, I just want to say welcome or welcome back. Thank you so much for investing your valuable time with me here today. I'm hoping that this one little trick, this one liner is going to help you control the dialogue, win more sales and have even better customer experiences. Because after all, that's what it's all about. So we can help you smash your income goal and give every customer an amazing experience. And that is my mission. Alright, the one liner. I'm going to break this down really fast. First, when a homeowner starts running on a tangent, I'm going to give you an example and then I'm going to sketch this out so you can see it right before your eyes when a homeowner goes off on a tangent. Hey, you know what? I'm so glad you stopped by. And then you build rapport. Hey, what'd you do this week? How things going? You know, last week my family was in town. My Aunt Peggy actually flew in from South Carolina. Her three grandkids, Margaret, Michael and Janet, and we all went out to the lake, we were out on the boat and then before you know it, you're like, oh no, how long is this going to go like, come on, this is small talk. I'm just wanting to hear like, oh, good, great. We had a great weekend. How about you? Good, great. Let's get down to business. And when these stories come, we need to find that tactful way to insert ourselves and kind of interrupt and reel back that conversation so you can stay in control. So as Peggy is telling me this, we all know Peggy, right? About her aunt that came in and being out of the boat. I'm going to say that sounds like absolute, like an absolute blast. What an amazing experience. Anyway, back to boom. And then we're back into it. So the sounds like. Anyway, formula. So I want to break this down for you. Sounds like a really great time. Sounds like you really enjoyed time with your family. Sounds like you guys had a blast out on the boat. Sounds like a jam packed, fun filled weekend. So there's my intro. Sounds like. And then I want to acknowledge what they said, bring meaning to it. Say, hey, I've been listening, I hear you. Then we want to follow up with just kind of interrupting yourself anyway, and boom, now we're back on track. Anyway, as we were talking about with X, Y and Z. Anyway, we were talking about your roof and what's going to happen next. Anyway, we were talking about the insurance company. Which carrier do you have again? Very simple framework to use. You'll notice at first this might be a little uncomfortable. You're going to feel like you're being invasive. But what I found is that when you use this formula and you acknowledge and you can just interject when there's a, when there's a pause or a gap, because sometimes we have the runaway customers who might go on for 5, 10 minutes. You're checking your watch, you're like, man, when is this going to stop? When you find something that you can respond to, that's when you interject. Sounds like that fishing trip was amazing. Sounds like you're really excited to go on this trip to Disney World with the kids. Anyway, and then resuming to where you left off. So anyway, and then pick up where you left off. Now, one final tip for you. If you're using this and it still feels too forward, which, by the way, I would recommend that you try this and lean into your discomfort. Because most homeowners, they just catch the hint. They're like, oh, he's being nice. He might be on a tight schedule, he might have a tight timeline, or we need to get back on track almost every single time. People hear you and understand, but you're doing it by letting them know you're listening and you're compassionate and that's why it's so important to say sounds like, and then acknowledge some specifics of what they shared with you. And then anyway, back on track. Here's the tip. If you are someone who's like, you know what? This homeowner just keeps running off with it. I've done this four times. Because, by the way, you might do this four times in the same appointment. I want to give you one more tool and that sounds like an amazing time. Hey, listen, I'm sure you and I could chat the entire evening about boating on Lake Mendo. You know, unfortunately, I don't want to keep you all day. So instead of I have another appointment, I don't want to keep you all day. Anyway, back on track. So that's one little twist you can throw on it to again, disarm and not make it about them. I don't want to keep you all day. And very rarely are they ever going to say anything. Say, hey. They catch the hint. They see through it. This is a polite way of saying, let's stay on track every once in a while. And I just want to prepare you for this. You're going to get that. Homeowner says, I got all night. And you're going to say, and I wish I did too. Very simple. And I wish I did too. Unfortunately, I've got an appointment coming up in an hour or whatever it is, and there's your out. So there you have it. The one liner to take back control for the runaway monologuing customer who's telling you stories and taking you on a journey with all these questions. That sounds like anyway, formula. There you have it. And I hope you can apply this on the very next sale you make. Now listen, just because our time here is about to wrap up doesn't mean your in. My time has to. So if you want to continue your journey with me, click right here and download a free copy of my pitch Like a Pro roofing sales training video library right here and you can bin through all the videos I've ever done organized by category or hang with me right here on YouTube and jump into this video. They think you're really going to love it. We'll see you soon.
