by Kurt Mortensen
http://prewealth.com/mistakestoavoid
© 2006
There are countless numbers of sales that have
been made even when it may not have seemed like a good match at
the outset. Why? Let’s go back to closing psychology again.
We talked about how every buying action is an effort to make some
improvement or enhancement to an existing situation. The core
issue is an emotional need. The actual product itself is just
a means to an end; it is not in and of itself the solution. The
emotional satisfaction that the product provides, however, is.
It is foolish to ever make a judgment call about a prospect’s
intentions before you’ve had a chance to ask her/him all
the open-ended questions and to uncover her/his hot buttons (i.e.,
what’s really driving the prospect). The potential buyer
wants such-and-such product, but why does s/he want it? That information
is really what you need to know. The truth is, you can often offer
your prospect a product or service that provides the exact same
thing—or better—s/he is seeking, even if it’s not
exactly what s/he happened to mention to you on the phone.
The next common obstacle that persuaders run
into when trying to close a sale is: insincerity. We spoke earlier
of the infamous hard close approach. Even if you don’t resort
to such drastic tactics, nothing irritates a prospect more than
when you’re obviously looking out for a hefty commission.
This tendency once again underscores the importance of asking
your prospects lots of questions. It is very important that your
prospects feel like you are sincerely interested in helping them.
How can you best make this clear?
Another obstacle we sometimes run into is when
your and your prospect’s personalities conflict. If you’re
on different wavelengths, it’s more difficult to build and
maintain rapport. There are two key remedies for this type of
conflicting situation. The first is to keep in mind the importance
of balancing an emotion-dominated approach versus a logic-dominated
approach. There will be the occasional person who doesn’t
want to answer all your questions—“just cut to the chase
and give her/him the facts.” It is best not to resist these
personalities because they already tend to be a bit on edge in
the first place. When you encounter this type of prospect, just
go with the flow, even if it means making an exception to the
“stay in control of the conversation by being the one asking
all the questions” rule.
Clearly, such prospects want to be in control
more than they want to be guided by you, and if you rub them the
wrong way, the sale is gone anyway. Instead, adapt to the situation
to keep the odds in your favor. Remember, people buy from those
they like; they do not buy from people they don’t like. A
second remedy you can use if you just can’t seem to “click”
with your prospect is to use a tag-team sales approach. Essentially,
this tactic is when you pass off the baton. Don’t let your
ego get in the way of securing the sale if someone else will have
an easier time closing your prospect up for you. You’ll be
glad you swallowed your pride and passed the baton when your paycheck
comes. Besides, what goes around comes around, and that very same
colleague will need your help sometime down the road for the exact
same reason.
Another major obstacle to closing the deal is
making promises you can’t keep. You’ve probably experienced
the tremendous frustration that comes when something has been
dramatically built up and then turns out to be a bunch of garbage.
Imperfections are annoying, but it’s much worse when your
salesperson has trumped up a product and gotten you all excited
about it being something it’s not. Building up false hopes
and expectations is never worth getting a sale. You’re rewarded
in the moment, but that sales strategy will crash later on when
you have an angry client banging on your door with buyer’s
remorse.
Or, even if you never hear from them again, not
only do you lose that person’s trust and future business,
but then s/he will talk to others and you’ll have a damaged
reputation that’s impossible to fix. For these reasons, never
claim that a product can do something that it can’t. Also
be very careful that you don’t over-promise or oversell.
There is an adage in sales that states, “Under-promise, over-deliver.”
If you think about what that maxim is saying, you can see how
it is going to create very, very happy customers. That’s
because they’re not only getting exactly what they were hoping
for, but they’re getting even above and beyond their expectations.
Inherent in that saying is also a statement that warns of its
opposite: “Over-promise, under-deliver.” This type of
selling strategy is why salespeople often get a bad reputation.
All too often, over-promising is the normal course of things.
As I’ve already stated, such a selling strategy may reap
sales in the short term, but it will burn you in the end.
This next obstacle to a successful close is fairly
obvious, and yet, in spite of this, it is still common enough
that it’s worth discussing. Sometimes persuaders are so bent
on making their point that they actually argue with their prospects.
Instead of hearing their prospects out, they are too consumed
with their own need to be “right.” Obviously, this tactic
is a bad idea and will likely defeat the whole point of working
with your prospects in the first place. You will not persuade
them by demonstrating that they are wrong, misinformed or uneducated.
Doing so will just make them angry, embarrassed and defensive.
It doesn’t matter how “right” you are—if you
upset your prospect, you’re wrong! It has been said, “A
man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.”
People buy from people they like; they don’t
buy from people they don’t like. It doesn’t have to
be arguing, either, that turns your prospects away; it could be
anything that arouses negativity. Another common example of negativity
arousal includes knocking the competition. Few things cause you
to lose credibility as much as this tactic does. The thing that
speaks more loudly than what you’re actually saying is the
strong biases you have. When you exhibit bias toward your competition,
your prospects then have to weigh everything coming out of your
mouth with even greater caution. A safer bet, if you have to discuss
the competition at all, is to present a balanced view of both
sides. Mentioning some of the competition’s strong points
along with the areas in which you feel your company is stronger
will not lose your sale but will more likely increase your mileage
in terms of believability. It’s just easier for your prospect
not to feel suspicious of you if you can answer her/him fairly
and directly.
Another obstacle to closing sales is not building
up the dream. Remember earlier how we discussed that the product
itself is not the ultimate reward as much as what it does for
the prospect? The product is just a means to an end. That is,
there is something the prospect is “dreaming of” that
s/he believes this product will help her/him achieve. This dream
is their hot button; this is really what you must uncover. A big
mistake salespeople make is not building up the dream enough.
Uncovering it is the first step, but the process doesn’t
stop there. You really have to walk your prospect through the
steps of how your product will move them from point A to point
B (i.e., from present situation to “dream fulfilled”).
The more vividly you can help your prospects visualize their success,
the more they will want to invest in the solution you are offering
them. Be sure you are speaking to their emotional needs. Highlight
how the product answers the fundamental “Why?” and “WIIFM?”
(What’s in it for me?) motivators. If you can achieve this
aim, you’re going to have yourself a sale!
The final major obstacle in closing sales is
simply giving up too soon. You’d be amazed at how many sales
are lost just because the rep was afraid to ask one more time.
As a general rule of thumb, I advise utilizing several “trial
closes” throughout the sales presentation—at least five
attempts are recommended. By trial closes, I’m referring
to starting your closing strategy earlier in your presentation.
In this way, throughout the process, you are “collecting
yeses” so that by the end of your exchange, it is the prospect
who is itching to close the sale. Trial closes are less overt,
yet with them you are in essence asking for the sale. Trial closes
are effective because people do not feel put on the defensive
by them. They can let their guard down and really be open to acknowledging
all the ways in which your product is going to help them. Collecting
yeses is when you ask questions of your prospects that simultaneously
answer their own questions and yield “yes” answers.
Consider the following example…
“Now you mentioned earlier that it’s
really important to you that you have more time with your family.
Do you see how this product is going to save you a lot of time?”
(Oh, yes, I do.) “Do you think this added spare time will
contribute to your goal of having more time together as a family?”
(Yes, it certainly will.) By putting their questions and concerns
first, and walking them through the answers to those questions,
you will help your prospects come to the obvious conclusion that
your product is exactly what they’re looking for. You won’t
have to talk them into it because they’ll already have convinced
themselves. If in the unusual circumstance that your prospect
still isn’t convinced, then don’t be afraid to present
yet another closing question, perhaps this time one that is not
a “trial close,” but one that is more direct: “Mrs.
Smith, both of us can see clearly how this is going to help you
leave your present situation and get to where you want to go.
Are you ready to get started?” In an upcoming section of
this chapter, I will outline several sample closes so you can
see the many different options you have for all the different
prospects you will likely encounter in your persuasive efforts.
No matter what technique you use, though, don’t be afraid
to ask for the sale and to be persistent!
