Even if you’re brand new to selling, you will have likely hear this one from clients. Nearly all of them say it. Some may use differenet forms such as wanting to shop around or look for a better bargain but it means the same thing. It’s nothing more than a little sign of fear on the part of the buyer.

Their fear is twofold. One fear is that they’re making a bad decision. The other is that they will part with too much of their money for what they’re gaining in benefits. Either way, they’re telling you that they do want your product. Your job is to calm those emotional fears and help them to rationalize the decision. (more…)

Relating a story of someone else who was in a similar situation as the future client is always effective because the client will identify with that person. Tell the future client about someone who procrastinated and wished he/she hadn’t or conversely, someone who didn’t procrastinate and received tremendous benefit from making an immediate buying decision.

Phraseology: “You know, about a month ago, I had a client facing a decision similar to the one you’re considering today. He went ahead with our comprehensive medical plan and had a need to use it just last week. The situation was unfortunate; however, his burden would have been doubled had he not gone ahead with the insurance.”

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When your potential clients say something just costs too much, it’s often just a stall. However, it’s a good sign because it means they’re feeling motivated to own your product or service. (They didn’t say, “it’s not right for us” or “we don’t want it.”) They now need your help to justify or rationalize going ahead.

Your first move is to use the Reduction to the Ridiculous close (in the June issue) to get them thinking about the smallest amount of money that’s holding them back. If the fact that the amount is kind of ridiculous doesn’t overcome their concern, your next step is to us the Oblique Comparison Close. It is simply a strategy where you compare that small daily or hourly amount to something they might consider doing or giving up that costs the same amount in order to gain the benefits of your product.

The phraseology might sound something like this, “John and Mary, you seem to really want this new living room suite. With the investment being only $2.25 per day more than you had originally hoped, what do you think you could do to come up with that extra amount? Think about how you spend your money on a daily basis. What might you be willing to give up in order to have these beautiful pieces in your living room?”

Chances are good that if you’re talking with a couple, one of them will pick on another’s bad coffee habit or waste of gasoline running oddball errands instead of grouping them together. Or, they may just decide to cut back on their consumption of soda or sweets. It doesn’t matter how they do it, what matters is that they are the ones talking themselves into owning the furniture at this point. Your work is done…all except the paperwork.

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This strategy involves converting total or monthly amounts of money into daily amounts that make the investment seem more ‘do-able.’ Depending on how open your clients are, you might want to hand them a calculator and have them do the math themselves. This doesn’t mean you don’t do it. Simply have them do it along with you.

Step #1: Use the It Costs Too Much Close to get a fixed amount.

“John, today most things do. Can you tell me about how much ‘too much’ you
feel it is?

Step #2: Establish how many years they will enjoy the product or
service.

Step #3: Divide amount by years to get the annual amount.

Step #4: Divide annual amount by 52 weeks per year to get the weekly
amount.

Step #5: Divide weekly amount by 5 or 7 days to get the daily amount. When you get down to a daily amount, simply say, “John, Mary, do you think you should give up all the benefits we’ve been discussing for only $(daily amount) per day?”

YOU MUST KNOW YOUR MATH!!!

The average consumer knows at least three ways to stall or stop a sale. If you only know how to address two of those concerns, what are the odds of closing the sale? Not very good.

Keep a running list of the concerns you hear most often about your product or service. Determine the best ways to address them (perhaps among your sales associates). Then master those words!

After you address the concerns, it’s time to close. It’s been reported that the average decision-maker doesn’t say ‘yes’ to a buying decision until after saying ‘no’ five times. Count ’em, five! If that’s the case, the ‘average’ salesperson has to have at least six closes in their arsenal.

Champions must have even more. Average salespeople look at learning multiple closes as drudgery. Champions recognize each close as giving them another opportunity to serve their clients’ needs.

Are you limiting your opportunities or are you dedicated to mastering more closes? Dedicate yourself to mastering one new close every month.

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This information is copyrighted by Tom Hopkins International, Inc. for reprint permission, contact Judy Slack (judys@tomhopkins.com).

You will come across clients who are more afraid of not having the benefits of a new product, than they are excited about having them. For example, this fear may occur with a piece of manufacturing equipment that will put the client on the cutting edge and ahead of the competition. The fear that the competition will outpace the client may be the biggest motivation to own. (more…)

Since most clients have a ‘say no’ mentality when you first begin talking with them, you would be wise to have a way to counter it. In fact, I encourage you to incorporate the phrases “If you say yes…” and “When you say yes…” into more of your presentations. It mentally takes them from withholding making a decision to enjoying the benefits of your offering.

“When you say ‘yes’ to this investment program, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing your daughter will have the resources she needs to complete her college education and walk across that stage on graduation day.”

“If you say yes today, Mr. James, we can complete the installation of your new system by March 15th. Not only will you have this decision behind you but you’ll be enjoying all the benefits we’ve discussed here today.”

This close turns the tables on your potential clients’ fears. Fear is very likely telling them to say ‘no.’ By demonstrating with words what happens when they say yes, they are forced to think about what won’t happen if they continue to say ‘no.’

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This information is copyrighted by Tom Hopkins International, Inc. for reprint permission, contact Judy Slack (judys@tomhopkins.com).

There will be times, especially when you’re new, when a potential client may doubt that you know enough about the product to be giving them the best advice. Until you get your feet wet, make it a point to have a senior salesperson or your manager available to answer questions for you during a presentation. When your future clients are hesitant, just reach for the phone to get them the information using these words:

“John and Mary, it seems that the challenge with getting you involved with our ____________ is that possibly you’re not convinced of all the benefits you will receive. I’m getting my associate/manager on the phone right now to answer any questions that I may not have covered to your satisfaction.”

Say hello to your phone contact, introduce your future clients, and then hand one of them the phone. Even better, use a speaker phone to include the other person in the meeting. Let your support person take it from there. When the call is over, you should be able to move into your final closing sequence with your paperwork.

Never be afraid to ask for help in serving others if you believe it to truly be a wise decision for the client.

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Use this close when the people you serve say they want to weigh the facts before deciding whether or not to own your product or service:

“I understand how you feel John, and weighing the facts before making a decision makes a lot of sense. In fact, when I’m in this type of situation, I use a method called the ‘Fact-Weighing Scale Approach.’ Here’s how it works: first, we draw a scale. On the left side of the scale, we pile up, just like small weights, the reasons you feel it makes good sense to go ahead. On the right side of the scale, we pile up the reasons you feel are against it. When we are finished, the decision will be weighed. Let’s try it, ok?”

(Go for a minimum of six reasons for the decision.)

“Now, what are the weights you feel are against the decision?”

(Don’t help on the right side!)

“Let’s see what we’ve got. On the left side of the scale, we have six heavy reasons why you should go ahead. On the right side, we only have two against. So the answer is rather obvious, isn’t it? By the way, I know you will be happy that we took the time to do what you wanted to do, which was to weigh the facts.”

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It’s bound to happen that you’ll reach the point in a sale where you just cannot get your prospective client to make a decision. When this happens, relieve any pressure that may have built up by packing to leave. Then, since you have nothing to lose, deliver these words:

Phraseology: “Pardon me, John and Mary, before I leave, may I apologize for not doing my job tonight? You see, if I had done my job tonight, I would have said the things necessary to convince you of the value of (the name of your product or service). Because I didn’t, you won’t be enjoying the benefits of this fine product, and believe me, I’m truly sorry.

So that I don’t make the same mistake again, would you take a moment and tell me what I did or what I said wrong?”

In most cases, they’ll be willing to help and will tell you just what turned them off to the sale. This will give you an opportunity to correct that error and close the sale after all!

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This information is copyrighted by Tom Hopkins International, Inc. for reprint permission, contact Judy Slack (judys@tomhopkins.com).