Have you ever lost a deal - by trying to "close" it?
- Should you "always ask for the order?"
- Moving toward a mutual decision.
- The art is to get the prospect to "give up" on other options.
Most salespeople are taught to "always ask for the order." Asking, for the order may be acceptable strategy of last resort, but it really shouldn't be common practice. It tips the balance of equal business standing with your prospect. It puts him one notch up, and you one notch down.
If you have to ask for the order, then doing business together is not a "mutual" decision...a mutual recognition of the benefit to forming a business relationship. Asking for the order is like asking for a favor. It leaves you beholden to your new client.
"Make the prospect give up" doesn't mean "pressure the prospect into giving you the order." That, too, would upset the balance of equal business standing. What you are helping the prospect "give up" is his search for alternatives to deal with the concerns your product or service addresses. You are facilitating his decision to "give up" and lingering doubts about your product or service being the best fit for his situation.
Let's continue with the example from the previous rule. Take a look at how the dialogue might continue:
Salesperson: If your production team was able to integrate the de-burring and the final machining and polishing processes, how might that impact your production throughout?
Prospect: I'm sure it would have a positive impact, but to what degree...I don't know.
Salesperson: Would there be any value in conducting a study to determine the impact on production?
Prospect: I suppose so.
Salesperson: We can do that for you. Your investment would be nominal, and the report would provide you with the data you'd need to make a decision about reconfiguring the production line. Is that something you'd like me to do for you?
Prospect: It would be a good first step. How do we get started?
Notice that the salesperson was not pressuring for a "close" so much as continuing to engage the prospect with questions and guiding him to the sound decision to invest in an initial study. The final question - "How do we get started?" - was a request from one professional to another, not a plea from a subordinate to a superior. (The salesperson could also have asked, "What do we do now?")
Can it really be that easy? Yes....and no.
There are some prerequisites to making this kind of request work. You must develop some rapport and establish a degree of trust with your prospect that will allow him to have an open discussion with you. Also, you must be knowledgeable enough about your product and service to know the very best direction to guide your prospect. Take stock Identify the situations in which you are most often involved. Next, identify the solutions most appropriate to those situations. Then, develop the questions that will guide your prospects to those solutions. Practice, practice, practice....until you can ask your question in a casual, matter-of-fact manner.
Finally- after you have done all that and laid that and laid the foundations of the relationship - ask the prospect what needs to happen next, as one colleague to another.
Check out our collection of free resources.
Sandler Training – 100 W. Big Beaver Road - Suite 100 - Troy, Michigan 48084