Guys; I just got off the phone with a guy that is selling consulting services. He was telling me that everything went well in his “interviews” until the prospect would raise a buying objection. He said that almost always that objection would be a variation of “We’ll get back to you”. He wanted to know the best way to handle that.
Let me say here that this is just for prospects you want to close right then. In many kinds of selling, you aren’t looking to close in one call.
Anyway, this is what I sent him. It came out of (pretty much, with edits and additions) my book on one call closing. I thought it would be useful to many of you.
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For years, I sold vacuum cleaners door to door. I pitched, and answered objections (until one of us simply gave up) and then closed. I would work with other salespeople that were amazingly successful. I’d just work with them for a day, and they would work with me. We would usually both learn a thing or two. And I love watching sales being made. Anyway, this acquaintance of mine sold encyclopedias (Remember those?)
He taught me his one answer to every objection. And it’s a whopper. Here it is.
“I can’t afford it”, “I have to think about it”, “We don’t buy the same day”...whatever the objection is…..
And here is what he would say;
“John, if there is any reason you would hesitate, you shouldn’t do this. And maybe this isn’t for you. In my business, I only want happy customers. I only want to place this library with people that are sure that this is for them….the customer who is so excited, they can’t wait to get this library in their home. My question is, is that you?”
I changed it a little because I sold vacuum cleaners. When I started selling local online marketing services, it eventually evolved into….
“John, if there is any reason you would hesitate, you shouldn’t do this. And maybe this isn’t for you. In my business, I only want happy clients. I only want to work with people that are sure that this is for them….the client who is so excited, they can’t wait for me to get started. My question is, is that you?”
And I’ve used it for years. My encyclopedia salesman friend used it as his answer to every buying objection. I started using as the answer to the second objection that they brought up. And for me, about 40% say “Yes” and 60% say “No”. And the 60% that say “No” would never have said “Yes”. But you have to understand, that I only use it when I get a second objection…and I usually don’t. So it’s 40% of the prospects that gave a second objection…. Not 40% of the people I’ve seen.
It saves me an hour of answering objection after objection…And I can go home. Sometimes it’s what I use when I feel I’m starting to lose them. Sometimes I’ll listen to their problem, feed it back, and answer it. If they bring it up again, the, “Is that you?” close is what I use.
Do you know why this works so well? Because if there is any glimmer of a desire to buy, it fans that flame by sounding like I’m selective…and taking the offer away. If they aren’t interested, they usually say (after I’ve used this), “Well, right now….”, and I know that it’s not going to happen. When I’m giving this little dialog, I lean in a little. I may lower my voice slightly. When I say, “I only want to work with people that are sure that this is for them.”, I’m talking slightly slower than normal. I say “Sure” like it’s important.
Some of selling is theater.
Again, this is valuable if you are willing to force a “yes”or “No” at that meeting.
In my business, the way I sell in person, it pays better than going back over and over again. If I were selling over the phone, I probably wouldn’t use it. It’s too final.
And it fits with my personality. It may not fit yours. You have to make sure that the way you answer stalls to buying (if you do at all) are consistent with the way you have communicated up to that point. “Switching gears” will kill a sale. Believe me, I speak from experience.
And it’s strong enough that you would not use it twice in the same presentation.
Eventually, if you keep records of your efforts, you’ll find out where the point of diminishing returns is for you. Where it pays less and less (instead of more) to make repeated attempts at a sale…whether in the same sales call...or multiple sales calls.
The reason I stopped using it as my first answer to the first buying objection…is that sometimes (not often) the client just needs a little more time to absorb the idea of buying. And I don’t always use it. It’s just an arrow in my quiver.
If I think it’s the right approach that second, I’ll do it. But after saying it...anything other than “Sure, let’s go ahead” is a “No” in my experience.
