Close Just Doesn’t Count in Sales
Consider these close calls in history:
- Alexander Graham Bell and another inventor applied for a patent on the telephone on the same day. Bell was awarded the patent.
- The Chicago Cubs won the National League pennant by one game because their second baseman noticed that a member of the other team failed to touch a base.
- Rutherford Hayes won the American presidency by one (1) electoral vote.
- General Robert E. Lee’s written military plan at Antietam was shown to a Union general before the conflict. Despite that, Lee’s army won the battle.
In each case, the “contest” was won by a very small margin. None of the victories were accidents, yet each could easily have been won by the other side. Nobody remembers who finished second (if you can’t name the “losers” in the examples, they are listed at the end of this article). “Close” only counts in curling, shuffleboard and bocce ball. “Close” never counts in sales
“Coming close to a sale” is the equivalent of admitting a loss. A slight edge almost always makes the difference between a sale and a “Thanks, but no thanks.” These are the critical little things that prospects observe, evaluate and act on. The more attention that we pay to these nuances, the better our chances of winning the sale.
The selling system we use here at Henricks CORP, and HOPEFULLY your system, contains many subtle distinctions that are extremely important. Here are some questions about the sales skills necessary and the slight edges that make them special:
- When you get Pain, do you find the “why” as well as the “what?” Do you explore the impact of the Pain? Do you use only certain questions all the time? Do you always summarize as you struggle to understand the nature and causes of the Pain?
- When you speak to “visual” prospects, do they “see” what you are saying? Do kinesthetics get a message from you that “feels” right? In talking to a “big picture” person, are you first dealing with the generalities? Does your prospect use a “going toward” or a “moving away” directional filter for perceiving reality?
- Are your up-front agreements strong and concise, with mutual agreement on clearly specified conditions? Do you use “biggest fear” as an up-front agreement idea?
- In telephone conversation and sales calls, do you know that 83% of the communication is about tonality? You know you can match your prospect’s pitch, volume and pace, as well as favorite words, don’t you?
- In the money step, is it your prospect’s budget that is your focus, and not your costs? Does your post-sell remove the agony of “buyer’s remorse?”
- When you write your daily Attitude/Behavioral Journal, do you really understand “who you are” goals and “what your are” goals and why their separation is important to your survival? You do keep a journal …….don’t you?
If you answered “no” to any of these questions, you probably need to do some sharpening. How?
- Keep your journal every day. Revisit past entries and see how much you have grown.
- Use support. Talk to your coach. Find a mentor. Be a mentor.
- Seek out information about the competition. Know the enemy.
- Record your calls and critique them. Debrief and practice.
- Do a two-minute drill both before and after your sales calls. The continuous feedback loop is invaluable to owning the selling system you use.
- Read and listen to materials on Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), selling, human behavior, psychology, etc.
- Stay on the right side of the trouble line. Do only what you know you should be doing when you should be doing it. That means everything…..every time.
Ultimately the question is whether you want to give more so that you may get more. That is, if you increase your skills, energies and dedication to these subtle distinctions, you will receive better return. It’s called “Emerson’s Law of Compensation”.
A little more history: In the Civil War, there were two cousins from Virginia who became generals. Both were named Jackson. One, Thomas, was recognized as a military genius and is still revered as “Stonewall.” The other, William, is a footnote in the history of the Confederacy and is only faintly remembered as “Mudwall.” You don’t suppose that slight edges played any part in their stories, do you?
(The “losers” in the examples at the beginning of the article were: Elisha Gray, New York Giants, Samuel Tilden, and General George McClellan.)
