Don't Buy Back Tomorrow the Product or Service You Sold Today - Sandler Rule 6

Have you ever had a buyer change his mind after committing to the sale?

• Deal with buyer's remorse.
• "Get the order and get out" is not the answer.
• Give the prospect the chance to back out.

Sometimes a salesperson obtains a buying decision from a prospect one day only to have the prospect call the next day - before the paperwork has been processed - instructing that the sale is put on hold, or worse, canceled altogether. Perhaps this has happened to you.

What went wrong? Obviously, the prospect had second thoughts. Perhaps a concern or unanswered question from an earlier stage of the selling process resurfaced. Or maybe someone in the prospects world demanded that he work with another provider - or no provider at all. Of course, these sudden reversals are no salesperson's idea of a good time. In some circles, salespeople of years past came up with an inventive way to defend themselves against such backtracking: the "get the order and get out" strategy. Under this strategy, you were supposed to close the sale, get the order signed, and get back to the office as quickly as possible to have it processed. Then it was someone's responsibility to ensure that the product was shipped or the service implemented as quickly as possible - before the customer had the opportunity to back out!

Another Way

While that kind of behavior on the part of selling organizations is not as prevalent today as it once was, its worth understanding. The "get the order and get out" strategy was designed to circumvent the effects of buyers remorse - the prospect is having doubts about the buying decisions he made and then backing out of the deal. trapping the customer into the sale may ensure one sale,but it will likely destroy the chances of a long-term relationship.

Rather than attempting to trap the buyer into accepting a deal, a better strategy is to make sure the prospect is 100 percent comfortable with the proposed sale before "signing on the dotted line" - and make absolutely sure there are no reasons to back out.

How do you accomplish that? Rather than reviewing all of the positives - the benefits and advantages of the product or service - in an attempt to reinforce the prospects decision to move forward with the sale, you should actually give the prospect a chance to back out before "sealing" the deal. You read right: Give the prospect a chance to back out! Encourage him to take a hard look at his decision and make sure he has no doubts. If there were any elements of the deal that represented compromises, bring them up and make sure the prospect is now completely comfortable with them.

This strategy accomplishes three things. First, it enhances your credibility. Only someone who is extremely confident in the product or service and the structure of the sale would encourage a prospective customer to reexamine his decision. Second, this strategy gives the prospective customer a chance to reconfirm the choice. If there are second thoughts, the prospect has an opportunity to express them in a no-pressure environment. Third, if the prospective customer does have doubts, you can address them while you are still face-to-face, which is usually far more effective, and far easier, than trying to deal with them over the phone.

Here's an example of what this might sound like:

You: Bill, I look forward to working with you and your company. My technical people can meet with your development team next week. Before you sign the contract and we schedule that meeting, let me ask you a question. What would come up that would cause you to call me and tell me to put the contract on hold?

Bill: I can't think of a thing.

You: And you're absolutely sure a six-week implementation schedule rather than a four-week schedule, as you had hoped, isn't going to be a problem?

Bill: I'm certain. We're eager to get this project off the ground but two weeks longer for implementation is perfectly acceptable. Let's get it going.

Giving the prospect a chance to back out while you're still face-to-face to deal with his concerns or doubts is much better than receiving a voice mail message that says, "Hold the order. I'll call you next week to explain."