Boston, MA March 20, 2014 – Dorina Lanza, Managing Director of White Tiger Financial, LLC, believes that if you know how to identify and leverage your prospect’s needs, you can grow your business exponentially. The ablilty to identify these needs is called “social intelligence.”
“Human needs fall into a number of categories,” says Lanza. “If you know what they are, you know what to look for,” she continues. “If you know what to look for, you can find the prospect’s needs. If you can find their needs, [and you can articulate how you and your business can fill them] you will be able to relate to them better. If you can relate to them better, you will increase your sales. If you deliver on your promise to fulfill the client’s needs, you will increase your retention and your business will grow.”
In fact, Rich Schefren, CEO of Strategic Profits, echoes Lanza’s point: “When you do understand and use the principles of social intelligence, you get completely different results. You get your prospects to hang on your every word – because they know you understand their pain and their problems.”
Schefren continues, “You get them to willingly give you their time and attention because they BELIEVE you know them as well or better than they know themselves. You ignite those desires deep within them so they become drawn to you like a magnet. And willingly accept all your reasons for why they should buy your product. The credibility you’ll instantly and automatically display will be undeniable.”
“You’ll meet less resistance in closing the sale because you won’t have to convince them they need your product. Stir up their inner-most desires, show them you understand and can fulfill their deepest needs and they’ll convince themselves they absolutely must have your product or service. And they’ll do it with an overwhelming force they’ll be powerless to resist.”
Lanza tells us that Human needs can be separated into 9 categories:
- Security
- Acceptance
- Community
- Exchange
- Expression
- Expansion
- Power
- Adventure
- Freedom
She continues to say that “Generally, people have three primary needs and the others are secondary. Your job is to identify the three primary needs for each person with whom you are dealing. This will tell you what you have to know to optimize your dealings with them. You will be able to communicate with them more effectively.”
These needs can manifest themselves in a number of ways.
1. Security. They need to feel safe, feel protected. These people need predictability. This can manifest differently in different people. Security can mean many things:
- Having a “good job”
- Owning a house “free and clear”
- Having a “big bank account”
- Not having any debt
- Living in a “secure” community
- Having a car on which they can depend
- Carrying sufficient health, life, liability insurance
2. Acceptance. This is the need to be accepted by others – belonging. These are people that like:
- Joining clubs
- Doing things to make others feel good
- Building relationships with the neighbors, other kids’ parents, etc.
- They are always “nice”
- They are very tolerant
- They are always “helping”
- They work towards the inclusion of “others”
3. Community. These are people that like to be around other people. They love get togethers. They can maintain lots of relationships. Here is what you might see:
- Someone who hosts lots of parties
- Someone at the center of the office activity
- A person who belongs to many clubs
- Someone who coordinates some kind of campaign
- Someone who hosts groups at their home [family, social or business]
- Someone who will run for office
4. Exchange. These people need to trade information and knowledge with others. They like to communicate. For instance:
- They love to debate
- They love to stay in touch with everyone
- They love to work with people towards a common goal
- They want to make sure people are treated “fairly”
- Working on comittes is good
- The build and maintain an active network of contacts
- They love networking
- They can share deep relationships with people with whom they perceive they can communicate
5. Expression. Expressives need to be seen, heard, felt. They are often artistic. They have the need to express themselves through words, actions, dress, art and self-creations of all types. They manifest through:
- Writing
- Creating art
- Dance
- Design
- Teaching arts to children
- Speaking on the arts
- Writing about the arts
6. Expansion. This is the need to create. Somebody with the need for expansion might:
- Build a business
- Expand a business
- Expand an important collection
- Protect the environment
- Create new knowledge
- Be a visionary
- Create something nobody else has ever thought of
7. Power. This is all about authority and responsibility. These people may be:
- The Boss
- The political leader
- A speaker
- Responsible for people, projects, events, situations, projects
- Authorities on something
- Somebody people look upon as somebody to follow
8. Adventure. These people love to have an adrenaline rush, new experiences, travel, have drama in their life, to have a sense of anticipation about upcoming events. People who need adventure can be found:
- Starting a new company
- Being an entrepreneur
- Having a job that moves them around
- Being early adopters
- Setting some record
- Planning a new trip
9. Freedom. These people love independence and spontaneity. They need to have choices and to feel in control of making those choices. They need to be able to:
- Make their own choices
- Select the business they want
- Select the lifestyle they want
- Move around when they want
- Make their own decisions
- Be self-sufficient
- Look how they want
- Follow the rules that they want
- Be with whomever they want
So how do you find these needs? Lanza tells us that after building rapport with the person, we should use questioning – not interrogation but relationship building questioning to see what is important to your prospect. Then you can formulate your detailed questions because know how these needs manifest themselves. You can formulate them based on the characteristics of each need. Start with the general and then get more specific. And listen carefully.
“Note that people often only question others in a way that reflects their own needs,” Lanza tells us. “This will keep you from connecting with some two thirds of the population! Surely you don’t want that! Go through and identify your own needs but then set them aside. Find the needs of your people and communicate to them under those terms.”
Once you are able to get at what people’s real needs are, you will be able to connect with them more easily. You will be able to communicate with them in a way they can internalize. Once they see that their basic needs can be met through what you are offering them you will have a client for life.
For more information about the program you can contact Dorina Lanza at 1-561-290-2180 or via her web site at DorinaLanza.com