Newsletter archives:
The Sales Connection, Volume 3, Issue 3
March 2006
What you will find in this issue:
The Sales Connection is a newsletter designed for you to gain insight and practical tips for your sales career. My name is Kathy Garland and I train and coach sales teams to excel in sales.
My newest talk, "What You Say is What You Get," focuses on three strategies to help you gain more attention by delivering an impactful message to your target audience. If you are interested in hearing this talk at one of your meetings, please contact me at 972.529.6744.
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SALES TIP OF THE MONTH: NEVER CLOSE A SALE AGAIN!
If you are in sales, you no doubt find that to be a radical statement. Never close a sale again! You are certainly wondering if I've lost my mind or what I have on my mind that would advise you not to close a sale.
There are several reasons not to concentrate on closing the sale.
- When you are focused on closing the sale, you are not really listening to your clients and what they need. You are busy thinking "How can I get them to buy from me?" And that really distracts you from the conversation and your ability to build a strong relationship with that person.
- Customers are savvy to "closing" techniques and their tension can increase as you maneuver the sales conversation toward the close. Again not a good way to build relationships.
- Look at the primary definitions of close from the dictionary listed below and you'll see close represents an ending. Your customers don't want to feel like you've "closed" them and now you're looking for your next buyer. Of course I realize some of you sell in businesses where you need to sell your products and services in one call and you really are on to the next buyer to reach your desired goals and income. You can do this with a relationship focus.
Let's look at a few of the dictionary definitions for the verb "close" I found in an online dictionary:
- To move (a door, for example) so that an opening or passage is covered or obstructed; shut.
- To bar access to: closed the road for repairs.
- To fill or stop up: closed the cracks with plaster.
- To stop the operations of permanently or temporarily: closed down the factory.
- To make unavailable for use: closed the area to development; closed the database to further changes.
- To bring to an end; terminate: close a letter; close a bank account.
And the last entry is the one people in sales use:
- To complete the final details or negotiations on: close a deal.
Yes, it's there — to complete the final details or negotiations on: close a deal. That one has been added to recognize the common use of the word close in the selling profession.
And a lot of people have made a lot of money teaching salespeople to close deals. There are techniques that people are taught to manipulate the prospect into the right corner to say yes.
Last fall, I joined a local health club. During the sales process I worked with two people, the club membership representative and the representative from the personal training group. The club representative focused more on my needs and what I was looking for in a club. The personal training representative led me through a specific sales process designed to "close" me in one meeting. I was on a mission when I went in because I was committed to improve my personal fitness so I ended up buying from both, but I didn't like working with the personal trainer. Today, she doesn't have a clue to who I am and what my fitness needs are. And in that situation, most of us are just numbers to them, but her sales pitch indicated otherwise. And I go to the club, but I am not enthusiastic about working with their personal trainers.
That is why I say never close a deal again! When you are focused on "getting" the prospect to say yes, you are most likely focused on getting the deal and not what is best for your potential customer. If you have no interest in a relationship with that prospect, use all the techniques you want, but if you want to establish a relationship, I encourage you to take a look at how you lead people from being a prospect to being a customer. And you do need to have an overall plan to guide and lead the conversation and I'll give you tips on how to do that at the end of this article.
If you are working hard to "close" a deal, that creates a lot of tension in the conversation between you and your potential customer. Think of a time you've been in a sales conversation. You've explored and discovered needs and desires and now both you and your prospect know the time is near for you to "close" the deal and the prospect will say 'yes,' 'no,' or the dreaded "Let me think about it.". So the tension increases both for you and the other person.
And there are the techniques like creating lists and asking questions like "Would you like to start on Tuesday or Thursday?" To me, all those techniques are transparent.
What do you do in this case?
It's best to have a natural conversation with the other person keeping their best interest in mind.
What's the best way to win your prospect's trust and business? You will want to stay in a dialogue with your prospective customer so that you can offer a solution that matches his needs. Then after all the issues have been explored, simply ask. The prospect doesn't need to be manipulated to say yes.
The best way to convert a prospect to a customer is simply to ask. "Bill, sounds like we have a solution that will match your requirements. Our team can get started right away. Will you work with us on this project?"
Or, "Janet, from what you've just said, the retreat seems to make sense for you. I'd love to have you join us that weekend. Would you like to go ahead and register now?"
The key is for you to summarize what they said they want from you and your product or service. Then ask them for their business.
Did you notice the ease of this? You simply ask. You will make more sales by asking people to work with you. If you've been an attentive listener, done your homework and have great solutions to offer them that match their needs chances are you'll have a new client.
Some sales professionals have a high close rate, but then a high cancel rate as well. This is because they are using techniques to "close" the deal or "get" a sale and put pressure on their customers.
As a salesperson, you do need to guide and lead the conversation. Here are steps you can take to win more business:
- Focus on what the prospective customer needs
- Really hear what the problems are
- Present options that are a match for them
- Discuss these options with them
- Ask for their business
Make it a habit to ask for the business instead of close the business. Asking for the business starts a relationship and that's the game we want to play today in sales.
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TRAINING OFFERED BY QUANTA PARTNERS LLC
Self-Driven Success™ Retreat April 21-23
The first three months of 2006 is already gone! Have you accomplished what you thought you would in the first quarter? The next Self-Driven Success™ retreat will be offered April 21-23, 2006 at the fabulous Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas. This retreat is designed for women to take time to plan what they want to accomplish for 2006. Participants will leave the weekend focused on what they want to achieve and with a comprehensive planning process to make it happen. To learn more, visit www.quantapartners.com or contact Kathy Garland at 972.529.6744 or kgarland@quantapartners.com.
Watch the next newsletter for announcements of new Teleclasses and seminars to help you build your sales.
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QUOTES OF THE MONTH:
"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world." — Buddha
"Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% what I make of it." — Lou Holtz
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RESOURCE REVIEW: "GET MORE REFERRALS NOW!"
Referrals are more important than ever to find new clients. And everyone networks now, but do you know how to leverage your network for referrals? I wanted to learn more about referrals so I picked up the book "Get More Referrals Now!" by Bill Cates. He presents a system that has two main parts:
- Build your business to be referable.
- Create a process and system to generate referrals.
Cates presents a lot of ideas in the book for both of these strategies to increase your referrals. It's an easy read, packed with sound ideas, tips and reasons why you need to build your business through referrals.
This is not a "get rich quick" book. The system he presents takes thought and work to develop, but like anything that has great rewards, is worth the time to develop.
Cates, Bill. Get More Referrals Now!. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004.
© Kathy Garland, 2006
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