Aha! Sales makes sense now...

by kemdev
11 replies
For those keeping score at home, today's meeting was meeting #9. The previous 8 have all been unclosed - although I'm still holding out for 3 which I think will still be sales. And yes, all meetings have been gotten through prospecting by means of cold-calling.

Anyhow, today's meeting was at 10:30AM and I walked in with a clear game plan. At first, a talked to a non-decision maker. This through me for a loop, but I carried on. We went over some details together and then the owner walked in.

Before I did anything else (and I think this was a vitally important step I've been missing) I found out if their was a problem. Not only that, but I got them to ADMIT that they had a problem. This problem was that they lacked any type of web presence, and were missing out on sales because of it.

Next, I asked questions to discover if they had done anything to remedy this problem in the past. They hadn't.

Then, I asked questions to find out what type of solution they were looking for. Basically, the details of their website, how it would function, how they would get people there, and how they would turn those visitors into leads.

Finally, I stole a line off Kanigan - a line I will from now on use in every single meeting I go to...

"Mr. Prospect, I see that you have a problem here. And I think I have a solution for you. But before I give you that solution, I want us to agree on something. If you decide to say 'yes', that's great and we can move forward with the project. If you decide 'no', that's fine too. The only thing I cannot accept is 'I'll think it over.' Does that sound fair?"

I honestly believe this gave me the sale. This also fixed the problems I've had in all of my previous meetings where my prospects would say 'call in a week' or something of the sort. It nailed him down to a decision TODAY.

I gave my solution, gave my price, asked for the sale, and waited. At first, price was an issue. He tried to barter down the sale, but I stood firm and told him there was no way I'd drop price. He seemed uneasy.

When I prodded more, however, I found the price wasn't his objection: value was. So after a couple minutes of back and forth (this was by no means an easy 'give-me' sale) I added more value to the table. He still wasn't ready.

Then, he mentioned something about a second website. Plus marketing work that I was going to do for the first. This changed the game, and I went for the kill.

Long story short, he signed up for roughly double the cost that he was originally uneasy with, contracted me out for two websites, and still has payment due after both websites are up and functional.

I felt very comfortable in today's meeting. I also portrayed confidence in myself and my services. But the biggest sticking point for me - and the biggest lesson I learned from today - was the sales process I followed.
  • Find out if there's a problem
  • Find out if there's an urgent need to fix that problem
  • Find out what they've done in the past, and what they'd like to do in the future to fix this problem
  • Offer your solution, with a guaranteed 'yes' or 'no'
Seems simple, but I guess the only way to REALLY make it work is through trial and error and boots on the ground. I can tell you with absolute certainty that I'm not the same salesman or cold-caller I was two weeks ago. If you're honestly putting in the time and effort... but are still struggling.... just know that this CAN work and you WILL get better. It's just a matter of putting in the effort.
#aha #makes #sales #sense
  • Profile picture of the author Mwind076
    Originally Posted by kemdev View Post

    For those keeping score at home, today's meeting was meeting #9. The previous 8 have all been unclosed - although I'm still holding out for 3 which I think will still be sales. And yes, all meetings have been gotten through prospecting by means of cold-calling.

    Anyhow, today's meeting was at 10:30AM and I walked in with a clear game plan. At first, a talked to a non-decision maker. This through me for a loop, but I carried on. We went over some details together and then the owner walked in.
    First, great job!

    Second...you need to qualify your appointment better on the cold call. You are wasting time talking to a non-decision maker, and probably lucked out that the owner walked in. You will save yourself lots of time by only making the appt with the DM and not discussing anything with people that can't say yes to you.

    I applaud that you are out there (as most people here just talk about doing and don't DO), but there are some things that you can definitely improve on with setting up your appointment, meeting with your appointment and CLOSING them. You shouldn't be waiting on 3 sales out of 8. If you didn't leave with money...it's not a sale!
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  • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
    Originally Posted by kemdev View Post

    For those keeping score at home, today's meeting was meeting #9. The previous 8 have all been unclosed - although I'm still holding out for 3 which I think will still be sales. And yes, all meetings have been gotten through prospecting by means of cold-calling.

    Anyhow, today's meeting was at 10:30AM and I walked in with a clear game plan. At first, a talked to a non-decision maker. This through me for a loop, but I carried on. We went over some details together and then the owner walked in.

    Before I did anything else (and I think this was a vitally important step I've been missing) I found out if their was a problem. Not only that, but I got them to ADMIT that they had a problem. This problem was that they lacked any type of web presence, and were missing out on sales because of it.

    Next, I asked questions to discover if they had done anything to remedy this problem in the past. They hadn't.

    Then, I asked questions to find out what type of solution they were looking for. Basically, the details of their website, how it would function, how they would get people there, and how they would turn those visitors into leads.

    Finally, I stole a line off Kanigan - a line I will from now on use in every single meeting I go to...

    "Mr. Prospect, I see that you have a problem here. And I think I have a solution for you. But before I give you that solution, I want us to agree on something. If you decide to say 'yes', that's great and we can move forward with the project. If you decide 'no', that's fine too. The only thing I cannot accept is 'I'll think it over.' Does that sound fair?"

    I honestly believe this gave me the sale. This also fixed the problems I've had in all of my previous meetings where my prospects would say 'call in a week' or something of the sort. It nailed him down to a decision TODAY.

    I gave my solution, gave my price, asked for the sale, and waited. At first, price was an issue. He tried to barter down the sale, but I stood firm and told him there was no way I'd drop price. He seemed uneasy.

    When I prodded more, however, I found the price wasn't his objection: value was. So after a couple minutes of back and forth (this was by no means an easy 'give-me' sale) I added more value to the table. He still wasn't ready.

    Then, he mentioned something about a second website. Plus marketing work that I was going to do for the first. This changed the game, and I went for the kill.

    Long story short, he signed up for roughly double the cost that he was originally uneasy with, contracted me out for two websites, and still has payment due after both websites are up and functional.

    I felt very comfortable in today's meeting. I also portrayed confidence in myself and my services. But the biggest sticking point for me - and the biggest lesson I learned from today - was the sales process I followed.
    • Find out if there's a problem
    • Find out if there's an urgent need to fix that problem
    • Find out what they've done in the past, and what they'd like to do in the future to fix this problem
    • Offer your solution, with a guaranteed 'yes' or 'no'
    Seems simple, but I guess the only way to REALLY make it work is through trial and error and boots on the ground. I can tell you with absolute certainty that I'm not the same salesman or cold-caller I was two weeks ago. If you're honestly putting in the time and effort... but are still struggling.... just know that this CAN work and you WILL get better. It's just a matter of putting in the effort.

    Kemdev; First, Congratulations. You made the sale for the reasons I bolded. (Based on what you told us)

    What you did not do, is make the sale because you got a commitment up front. I sold for over three decades. I'm still selling.

    The commitment you got helped because it positioned you as a serious businessperson. So, it did help.

    But, when you are done, they either want it or they don't. And if they don't, getting a commitment up front simply makes no difference.

    How do I know? Because for a couple of years, I said the same thing. My closing percentage moved by about 2%. Meaning it went up by about 2%.

    Why did I stop? Because it also caused some prospects to back off when I asked for the commitment. But this was personal in home sales.

    In phone sales? Sure. You only want to talk to the people who are ready. And this guy indicated that he was ready in many ways, one was this commitment to decide now. And business people who won't agree to this "pre-sell commitment", maybe you don't want to talk to.

    But it isn't the reason why he bought. He bought because you did all the other things Kanigan taught you, and things you have been learning as you go.

    Keep asking for this "pre-commitment" if you like. It won't hurt. But, understand that thinking this one thing you said carried the sale is a trap, and will keep you from learning all the other things that, added together, create sales.

    I speak from experience.
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    • Profile picture of the author arifsha
      Good Work Keep It Up With Improvement
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    • Profile picture of the author kemdev
      Originally Posted by Mwind076 View Post

      First, great job!

      Second...you need to qualify your appointment better on the cold call. You are wasting time talking to a non-decision maker, and probably lucked out that the owner walked in. You will save yourself lots of time by only making the appt with the DM and not discussing anything with people that can't say yes to you.

      I applaud that you are out there (as most people here just talk about doing and don't DO), but there are some things that you can definitely improve on with setting up your appointment, meeting with your appointment and CLOSING them. You shouldn't be waiting on 3 sales out of 8. If you didn't leave with money...it's not a sale!
      To clarify, the meeting was with both the decision maker and the other guy. I talked to the other guy for about 15min while the decision maker was helping a customer. Then, before he walked out the other guy pulled him aside to listen to what I had to offer.

      Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

      But it isn't the reason why he bought. He bought because you did all the other things Kanigan taught you, and things you have been learning as you go.

      Keep asking for this "pre-commitment" if you like. It won't hurt. But, understand that thinking this one thing you said carried the sale is a trap, and will keep you from learning all the other things that, added together, create sales.

      I speak from experience.
      Thanks Claude, I appreciate it. I guess I mis-spoke when I said it was the reason he bought from me. The biggest hurdle it helped me overcome was the fact that I knew I was going to get a commitment in THAT meeting - something I've been failing to do over the last couple meetings. I knew walking in that I didn't want to hear "you're the guy for the job" without picking up a check. It was going to either be a sale... or nothing.

      But I do understand what you're saying... getting that pre-commitment won't always work and sometimes people simply aren't ready to sign a check that day. But I'm going to continue to use the line to weed out the serious buyers from the tire-kickers.
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  • Profile picture of the author misterme
    Originally Posted by kemdev View Post

    "The only thing I cannot accept is 'I'll think it over.' Does that sound fair?"
    I have to agree with Claude. I learned this same close years ago and the thing is, when you tell people these sort of things, it challenges them to defend their position.

    Oh, they can agree with you up front just to get you going with your presentation and get more information out of you, but when decision time comes, they can just as easily back out of it by telling you it's some new information you presented that prompts them to now have a need to think about it, or they just suddenly realized they're out of time and need to run, or whatever.

    Point is, people today can smell "salesy" a mile away. And when you do these blatant sales tactics, it's no surprise to them. Then people resist. That's why it's called sales resistance. It's because they know they're being sold. So they resist.

    Conversely, if you don't do these salsey tactics, then that helps stop resistance from forming and may be a better way to go.

    Here's something you might try. Though again, it can set off resistance. Or flush out an objection. But it's not as brazen as telling them they can't say what you don't want to hear them say.

    "Other than the numbers, Bob, is there anything stopping you from going ahead with this right now?"
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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      Originally Posted by misterme View Post

      I have to agree with Claude. I learned this same close years ago and the thing is, when you tell people these sort of things, it challenges them to defend their position.

      Oh, they can agree with you up front just to get you going with your presentation and get more information out of you, but when decision time comes, they can just as easily back out of it by telling you it's some new information you presented that prompts them to now have a need to think about it, or they just suddenly realized they're out of time and need to run, or whatever.

      "Other than the numbers, Bob, is there anything stopping you from going ahead with this right now?"

      Yup; A similar thing I would ask when the wife was there alone "If you like what I show you, can you decide to buy without having to ask your husband?" Most of the time, they said "Sure, I make my own decisions"
      I would even tell them the price, monthly payments, down payments, and more before I asked that question. I was actually hoping they would say "No", because I knew it was going to be a waste of time. Eventually, I just refused those appointments. Believe me, it worked the same way with husbands without the wife there.

      They are agreeing with a condition before they have any idea if they will be interested or not. And nobody...nobody will buy if they don't want to, no mater what they agreed to at the beginning.

      One thing that will help you is to read the book Pitch Anything. It teaches you about positioning yourself, which is one of the real secrets of closing sales.

      Using Kanagin's method of getting them to commit to a value in what they want, before you start presenting, is another real secret to closing sales.

      Want something advanced? This afternoon I had an appointment to talk to a retail store owner about my Local Profit Geyser program (Marketing hint, name the service you provide. Now, it isn't a commodity...and they can't shop it online)

      Anyway he said "I don't want to listen to a sales pitch". I said "You sell things here. When you start trying to ask questions and help a customer, and they say "I don't want to listen to a sales pitch"....what do you say to them?"

      He actually started to answer that as a legitimate question. About 5 words into it...he stopped, got a big grin on his face, and said "Not bad. I think I'll use that myself. OK, what did you want to know?"

      Because in that quick exchange, he realized that he was talking to a peer. Yes, they bought. As they should have.

      If I would have asked for the "pre-pitch commitment", before this was established, he would have thrown me out. Appointment or no.
      (Yes, I actually sell stuff when I'm not here blabbing)

      I just added an advanced method you will like. Go here...

      http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...ml#post7395771
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      • Profile picture of the author mojo1
        Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

        Anyway he said "I don't want to listen to a sales pitch". I said "You sell things here. When you start trying to ask questions and help a customer, and they say "I don't want to listen to a sales pitch"....what do you say to them?"
        That rebuttal was priceless. I would have loved to see the look on his precious face.
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        • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
          Originally Posted by mojo1 View Post

          That rebuttal was priceless. I would have loved to see the look on his precious face.
          It was like the first time you get a joke that you heard years ago. He just stopped in mid sentence, stared ahead for about half a second, and got a big grin on his face. You could see the gears working as he shifted from "I hate salesmen" to "I get it!"

          It worked because he was smart, and recognized that he was dealing with an equal. If he was less than smart, it would have gone over his head, and the interview might have been over.

          He was a different person after that.
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  • Profile picture of the author tryinhere
    Originally Posted by kemdev View Post

    I found the price wasn't his objection.
    You let price go and focused on fixing problems, well done on your efforts and many more successes to you as you move forward.
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    | > Choosing to go off the grid for a while to focus on family, work and life in general. Have a great 2020 < |
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  • Profile picture of the author Anthem40
    Congratulations! Remember the feeling you are experiencing now if you hit another slump.
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    95% of IM'ers have great relationships with clients who also advertise offline and with other people. Stop missing out on that cash and leverage into it. PM me if you are an established marketer and want to find out how.
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