Know When To Stop Selling
I speak often about the importance of knowing when to talk and when to listen. One mistake many salespeople make is to keep talking after the customer has said yes. This is a good time to talk about the logistics of delivery, scheduling the first session or the weather, but do not KEEP SELLING!
Many people want to negotiate and up-sell after the customer has said yes. I believe you should make the first experience exceptional and build a solid relationship, then you will get an opportunity for future business.
I am not against a good salesperson making reasonable suggestions to enhance my purchase or auto responders online that make other recommendations on my way to the shopping cart. In each of these scenarios I can say no and move on. What I cannot stand is a face-to-face stand off that may never end.
I am a huge fan of The Shark Tank that airs on ABC on Friday night where entrepreneurs pitch their business to a panel of wealthy investors. On a recent episode, a contestant boasted of his exceptional selling skills and had created a sales training program for large companies. Mark Cuban made him an offer and the entrepreneur continued to sell to the other sharks and failed to say yes to Cuban’s offer. As you can probably imagine, Mark chose to teach him a lesson and told him he should have taken the deal when it was offered.
Recently, I watched the movie Moneyball. A true story about Billy Beane played by Brad Pitt as the General Manager of the Oakland A’s. In one scene, Billy is closing the deal on a player trade with another team and hangs up immediately after he hears yes. Billy advised his assistant, “When you get the answer you want, hang up!”
I would never advise you to hang up on a customer, however, when they say they are ready to buy, shut down the presentation and move to the next phase or you may miss the chance.
Have a great week!
Pierce
Check out my Shark Tank Fan Podcast where I recap the businesses, presentations and reactions from the Sharks. You can also find some exclusive interviews with some of the contestants.
