I received an e-mail a couple days ago from a friend who had a truly unique way of closing a sale. Enjoy!
The way I ask for the order is …(Married couple, wife wants to pull the trigger and husband wants to Hold off for now.)
“Mr. Customer, imagine when you and your wife were walking down the Isle to be married. Suddenly, your bride to be stops and says, “The only way I’m going to go through with this wedding is if you buy 2 Widgets; one for us and one for my mother”. Would you have still married her? (yes) That’s what I thought, Mr. Jones all I’m asking is that you love your wife Half as much as the day you married her!”…Press hard third copie’s yours!!”
Can you think of a funnier way to close a sale?
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Leave a comment | tags: money, life, Sale, Sales, people, friends, Marketing, confidence, dreams, advertising, management, questions, retail, selling, mattress, merchandising, value, Training, job hunting, productivity, communication training, management training, Training programs, business training, Efficiency, Employment, interview training, Job resource, motivation, motivational training, procratination, effectiveness, knowledge, excuses, salespeople, self evaluation, sales seminar, Wedding | posted in Salesanomics, Bed-ology, Productivity, Sales & Marketing
“Selling is not somthing you do to the customer, Selling is something you do for the customer.” - Zig Zigglar
“Customer satisfaction and closing customers should always go hand in hand.” -SalesRhino
There is no need to ever be pushy, but you should always be persistent. There is a difference.
Pushy = Trying to manipulate or pressure the customer into an immediate purchase without addressing the customers objections or concerns.
Persistent = Addressing the objections and giving the customer the amount of information they need to feel comfortable or reassuring the customer that the product will meet their needs.
Your customers 3 most basic questions that need to be answered:
- Is it worth the money?
- How long will it last?
- Does it solve my problem?
Why should you be persistent?
Because the sooner the customer makes a buying decision, the more satisfied they are likely to be.
Have you ever been shopping and get so confused you end up going from store to store without any direction and end up not buying anything because you’re so frustrated?
Consider the average mattress customer:
Why do they need a new mattress? Because the mattress they have needs to be replaced. They are not sleeping well.
How much do they know about mattresses? Not very much. Most mattresses on your floor did not even exist 24 months ago.
When was the last time they purchased a mattress? Anywhere between 5-20 years.
When would they like to make a decision? As soon as possible so they can quit shopping and get on with their life.
Are we not doing our customers a huge favor if we help them make a buying decision today? If we don’t, they have to do it again tomorrow.
If your customer is not buying, they are telling you that they are not willing to give you their BIG STACK OF MONEY in exchange for your little stack of benefits.
- Give them more benefits.
- Tell them why your product is best for them.
- Explain how your product will meet their wants and needs.
- Ask for the sale!
- Ask for the sale!
- Ask for the sale!
You know the saying, “A closed mouth doesn’t get fed.”
The SalesRhino Ask for the sale close:
(I am using mattresses but you can insert any product or service here)
YOU: Do you think you would sleep better in this bed?
Customer: Yes.
YOU: How soon would like to start sleeping better?
Customer: Soon.
YOU: Would a Tuesday or Thursday delivery work best for you?
And BAM!!! You just closed a sale!!!
What is your favorite way to ask for the sale?
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Leave a comment | tags: advertising, business, business training, Closing, communication training, confidence, effectiveness, Efficiency, Employment, interview training, job hunting, Job resource, knowledge, life, management, management training, Marketing, mattress, mattresses, merchandising, money, motivation, motivational training, people, productivity, questions, retail, Sale, Sales, sales seminar, salespeople, self evaluation, selling, Training, Training programs, value | posted in Productivity, Salesanomics, Uncategorized
#1 most common objection in the universe: PRICE
The price objection transcends industry, class, culture, race and language. No matter what you sell, big or small, cheap or luxury, they all seem to want a discount. Truth be told, American culture has conditioned us to be discount minded even over being value minded. So how do we maintain the ability to sell our product and still maintain a fair margin? After all, you are in sales to make money, right?
It is also important to note; your customer may not mean what they say (if you are married, you already understand this concept very well). When your customer says, “The price is too high,” they do not always necessarily mean what they say. They may actually mean, “I don’t believe the product is worth the money.”
If they don’t believe the product is worth the money, they don’t see or understand the value of your product. They need more information and you need to find a way to be more clear in your communicatn. Also, I believe many customers use the price objection to test you to see if you really think your product is worth the price. If you discount too quickly, you are actually telling your customer that you agree that the price is too high, thereby, discrediting yourself as a salesperson with integrity.
So how do you find out what they mean?
ASK THEM!!!
Asking questions is the best way to qualify, understand or close any customer.
Here are three SalesRhino Closes that will turn price objections into closed sales:
1. The SalesRhino defend yourself close: “Mr. Customer, What is it about my product that makes you feel that it is not worth the price?”
This is a powerful question for many reasons. First of all, it puts you in a position that lets your customer know that you value your product and you believe it is worth the money. Second, the answer the customer gives you will help you determine if price is the real objection. Third, it gives you an opportunity to clarify exactly why your product is priced the way it is.
“If you can’t justify the price, you shouldn’t be selling it.”
2. The SalesRhino Cost close: ”Mr. Customer, Is it price you are worried about or is cost your main concern?”
The difference between price and cost is an extremely important conversation you need to have with every customer. People tend to get caught in what I call “The Price Tunnel”. I am no exception, (Click Here to read my favorite cost vs. price anology and learn the SalesRhino Cost Close)
PRICE = How much the thing will cost you today.
COST = How much the thing will cost you over time.
3. The SalesRhino your better than that close: “Are you interested in considering a quality product that will meet your expectations or would you prefer to look at a (product) that will just get you by?”
This question will help keep your customer focused on what is really important, their expectations.
When you stand by your prices you do your customer a favor. I believe people appreciate the things they pay for significantly more when they clearly understand the benefits than when they get a discount and do not understand the benefits.
Thank you for reading my Blog and being a part of my day! If you found this information informative and/or entertaining feel free to leave a comment or share this with a friend. You can also follow me on Twitter @SalesRhino
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5 comments | tags: advertising, business, business training, communication training, confidence, cost, dreams, effectiveness, Efficiency, Employment, excuses, friends, interview training, job hunting, Job resource, knowledge, life, management, management training, Marketing, merchandising, motivation, motivational training, objection, people, price, Price Vs. Cost, productivity, questions, retail, Sale, Sales, sales objections, sales seminar, salespeople, self evaluation, selling, Training, Training programs, value | posted in Dollars & $ense, Productivity, Sales & Marketing, Uncategorized
Have you ever wondered, “How do people like Donald Trump do it?”
I was watching one of my all-time favorite shows (The Celebrity Apprentice) the other night and thought to myself,
“How in the world does Donald Trump do it?”
I have the same 24 hour day, but for some reason I feel like ”The Donald” accomplishes a lot more than me on a daily basis. Donald Trump is a Billionaire real estate investor, he stars in one of the most watched cable TV shows in the country, he is a Father, husband, philanthropist, and his brand TRUMP is one of the most recognized brands in the world today. Oh, did I mention, he is also a golf course designer. Could you imagine juggling all those things? Just the thought of that amount of pressure would give most people a reason the throw up their hands and quit.
Obviously, I’m not one of those people and I hope you aren’t either.
I started thinking about how I could be more efficient in my daily tasks. There are many times I get up early in the morning, work all day, then find myself still answering e-mails and taking business calls after 9pm when I should be spending time with my family. After some self-reflection, I realized that I was living a lot of my life in a reactive state. Meaning, I would wait for something to happen, then I would react. I was rarely being proactive. There was no time in my schedule for answering e-mail, writing, reading, spending time with my family or really any other daily task that I consider important. Many times that would lead to me being stressed out because I missed a deadline, didn’t complete an e-mail, forgot a meeting, didn’t spend enough time with my family, or a number of other anxiety causing issues.
Here are a few things that I have changed to make my life more efficient, effective and more than anything, more enjoyable!
Sales Rhino’s 5 time management tips for a Pro-Active life:
- The last 15 minutes of every day is dedicated to scheduling the following day down to the minute.
- Never open an e-mail unless you are ready to handle it completely.
- Schedule time every morning to read something and write something.
- Schedule time once a week to write an (Honest) encouraging note to someone you appreciate.
- SCHEDULE FAMILY TIME EVERY DAY (on paper, on purpose)! IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO!
Sales Whino Says, ” I didn’t get it done because I didn’t have time”
Sales Rhino Says, “I didn’t get it done because I didn’t make time”
“You will make time for the things that are really important. If you never have time for the things you say are important, you may need to consider how important you really think they are”
-Douglas Stewart
I have been living by these 5 tips for 2 weeks now. I promise they work! This is not a theory, this is a proven fact in my life. I challenge you to try it.
You will be amazed how much time you really have when you plan, focus, and forge ahead!
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Proverbs 25:28 is a verse that continually challenges me. I’ve had this sticky note sitting on my desk for over 5 months now. I know it is very important to make sure I keep control of myself in every aspect of life.
I’m still not great, as you are about to see:
Just this morning as I sat down to write this post, my computer decided to act up and not cooperate with me. Every time I would attempt to upload the photo my web browser would crash. There is nothing that frustrates me more than when my computer or cell phone crashes. After about three crashes I could feel my blood starting to boil. My attitude about writing this post immediately started to change. I started to think, “Maybe I should just skip this one before my computer absolutely drives me nuts!”. Believe it or not, I was starting to feel pretty non-spiritual.
Just about that time my wife walked in and asked what I was up to. I’m pretty sure I made her regret her question. I started complaining about how much I hated my computer and how every time I needed to do something, the stupid thing keeps me from getting my work done. I was so mad at that dumb machine. I got up from my desk, huffed and puffed a few times, got in my car and off to work I went.
I had not even gotten out of my driveway before it hit me. I had just done what this post was supposed to encourage you not to do.
This morning, I allowed a computer to control my attitude, my efficiency & my relationship with my wife. I neglected to take responsibility for my own attitude & emotions. In turn, I was frustrated on the inside and rude on the outside. And guess what; I’m pretty sure the computer didn’t care. I don’t think the computer even knew how mad I was.
It is so easy to master the art of Non Self-Control. But it’s always better for you and those around you if you remember how important self-control really is.
Are the decisions you make every day based on self-control or impulse?
Do you allow your surroundings to frustrate and control you?
The only things that have power over you are the things you give authority over your life.
-Douglas
Thank you for reading my Blog and being a part of my day! If you found this information informative and/or entertaining feel free to leave a comment or share it with a friend. You can also follow me on Twitter @SalesRhino
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2 comments | tags: advertising, attitude, Bible, business, business training, communication training, confidence, effectiveness, Efficiency, excuses, friends, interview training, Jesus, Job resource, knowledge, life, management, management training, Marketing, merchandising, motivation, motivational training, people, procratination, productivity, Proverbs, questions, retail, Sale, Sales, sales seminar, salespeople, self control, self evaluation, selling, Training, Training programs, value | posted in Productivity, Uncategorized
3 things you will never hear a sales person say:
- You decide; you know more than I do.
- I know you want the more expensive one but I think you should buy this one that is 30% less.
- I think the guy down the street has the same thing for less. You should save some money and buy from him.
Although there are a lot of similarities between us salespeople, there are also a lot of differences. Here are the 5 most common types of sales man/woman:
The Hungry Wolf:
I am starving for a sale and you are looking like my next meal. The only relationship I want is a relationship with your credit card.
The Know-It-All:
Just so you know…. I know everything there is to know about everything. Don’t even think about telling me whats best for you. I will enlighten you with my genius.
The Competition Basher:
I don’t really care if you buy from me. But I do need to let you know how crappy my competition is.
The Concierge:
I would like to help you buy something that would be good for you. If it’s not good for you, the sale is no good for me.
The Educator:
I would like to show you all your options so that you can make the best purchase decision possible.
Who would you rather buy from?
Thank you for reading my Blog and being a part of my day! If you found this information informative and/or entertaining feel free to share this with a friend. You can also follow me on Twitter @SalesRhino
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The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but victory rests with the Lord. (Proverbs 21:31 NIV)
Verse of the week! Prov. 21:31
Focus on the things you can control. The things you think about and how you react to life are your responsibility. Let God be God. Don’t worry about the things you can’t control anyway. Develop yourself and be ready for anything. Let God control the rest.
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Today I attended a leadership seminar hosted by Jeffrey Gitomer. What a great experience. If you ever get the opportunity to see him live, GO! Jeffrey is the go to guy (other than me, of course) when it comes to sales. But even if you’re not in sales; you would get a lot from one of his seminars, books, Blog, etc. Go to Gitomer.com and check it out. I have purchased the Little Red Book of Selling multiple times to give away as gifts. I own everything he has every written. You can’t go wrong with this guy.
Click the book to purchase it now!
I have to admit, today my motive was not to just go and listen to what Jeffrey had to say; I wanted to see how he presented his material. I rarely run across anyone who loves selling/presenting as much as I do. It was pretty evident that Jeffery loves his job.
How about you? Do you love your job? If the answer is no. Stop making excuses and start making plans. I promise you it’s much easier to be happy if you’re doing a job that doesn’t feel like a job.
Someone told me a long time ago that selling was nothing more than the transfer of emotion. I have always believed that but today I got to see it in action. You could really see that Jeffrey was happy, intentional, passionate and everyone really enjoyed being a part of it!
How many seminars have you been to that ended up being a complete waste of your time? This was not one of those.
Here are some takeaways I got while watching Jeffery work his magic:
- Your customers need to see your enthusiasm in order to be enthusiastic
- Your customers need to see your focus in order to be focused
- Your customer needs to see your (fill in the blank) in order for them to want to (fill in the blank).
You get the picture, don’t you?
The most important part of your presentation is not your product/service or even the price. The most important part of your presentation is YOU!
- If YOU expect people to be focused; YOU have to be focused.
- If YOU expect people to be excited; YOU have to be excited.
- If YOU expect people to care about what YOU are saying; YOU have to care about what you are saying.
- YOU set the tone for every interaction YOU have.
Now that you know, what are YOU going to do about it?
Alright, that’s enough about you, let’s talk about me! I want to thank you for reading my Blog and being a part of my day! If you found this information informative and/or entertaining please click the “Sign me up” button in the top right corner of your screen to receive weekly notifications of all my posts. You can also follow me on Twitter @SalesRhino.
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Leave a comment | tags: advertising, business, business training, communication training, confidence, effectiveness, Efficiency, Employment, gitomer.com, interview training, Jeffery Gitomer, knowledge, leadership seminar, little red book of selling, management, management training, Marketing, merchandising, money, motivation, motivational training, people, procratination, productivity, questions, retail, Sale, Sales, sales seminar, selling, Training, Training programs, value | posted in Productivity, Sales & Marketing, Salesanomics
Last Monday I traveled to Lexington, KY for my annual regional sales meeting. Lexington is the cooperate headquarters for Tempur-Pedic. Although, I knew I would get a lot out of my week, I wanted to make sure I took full advantage of my time. So me and one of my counterparts, Billy, scheduled some one on one time with a Business Development Manager (BDM) at Tempur-Pedic. A BDM handles some of the largest and at times most difficult sales decisions for the entire Mid-Atlantic region. After he agreed to meet with us, Billy and I compiled a list of questions that we wanted to ask him and sent them to him. Needless to say, our time with him was very valuable to me. I always feel like I get so much when I spend dedicated and intentional time with people who are smarter than I am. Fortunately, that’s usually not a difficult task for me.
I would like to give you one thought that was shared with Billy and I. In a tongue in cheek sort of way we asked, “What would be your recommendation for handsome young bucks like us to keep progressing to the top-level sales roles?” I have to be honest here and say I was not expecting much from this question. As a matter of fact, I was expecting the cookie cutter answer. Something like, work hard, stay committed, be honest, network, learn, etc. But that’s not what we got. I was given a nuggets of wisdom that I felt was extremely valuable. He said,
“The worst thing that could happen to you is for you to get promoted and not be ready. Don’t focus on getting promoted, focus on being ready for your next position.”
Wow! How great is that? If you don’t think that is awesome, go back and read it again. No, even if you thought that was awesome, stop what you’re doing and take 30 seconds and just meditate on that sentence.
After taking some time to completely digest that comment I could not agree more. The worst thing that could happen to me or you is to be promoted past the place of our ability. I know I find myself focusing on the when and not on the what.
“If you focus on the what, the when will take care of itself” -DS
Start focusing on developing yourself to be ready for the next stage in your career. Don’t spend your days worried about getting noticed or when the next raise is going to come.
This topic reminded me of one of my favorite Bible verses. Proverbs 21:3,
The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.
Feel free to leave your comments or share with a friend!
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6 comments | tags: advertising, business, business training, communication training, confidence, effectiveness, Efficiency, Employment, excuses, friends, interview training, job hunting, Job resource, knowledge, management, management training, Marketing, mattress, merchandising, money, motivation, motivational training, people, productivity, questions, retail, Sale, Sales, selling, Tempurpedic, Training, value, Wisdom | posted in Bed-ology, Productivity, Salesanomics, Uncategorized
Last month I was forced into a dance lesson. Well, not forced. Actually yes I was; I was forced. My Mother-in-Law had a birthday coming up and my wife thought it would be a great idea to surprise her with dance lessons. I thought it was a great idea and I knew my Mother-in-Law would love it until I found out I had to participate. Now let me be clear, I’m not your normal “two left feet” kind of dancer. I’m way worse than that. I never have been a good dancer and I have never liked dancing but my wife really wanted to do it so I oh so reluctantly agreed. There were eight of us in all, My Wife, her brother, sister, their spouses and my Father & Mother-in Law. I can honestly say; I was in good company because as far as the men involved there was no danger of any of us making a career out of dancing.
The lesson was in Country Swing dancing. Although there is not much chance I will make it a hobby, I did learn a lot and I actually had a lot of fun.
I made an interesting observation while taking the lesson. I learned the leader leads and the partner follows and gets all the glory. I thought that was a little counter intuitive. I immediately thought the leader should get all the glory. I mean, the leader is the one who takes the most risk. The leader sets the tone of the dance. The leaders’ leadership is what determines the success or failure of the dance.
Consequently, my responsibility was to lead my wife through the dance. I had to make sure my footwork was right or my wife would mess up. If she messed up on her own, it was not that big of a deal because she could get right back into rhythm with me. But, if I messed up it was much more difficult for us to recover. Also, as the leader I noticed that my wife got to spin and do other showy stuff. You would think the leader would get to be in the lime light. But nooooo, I didn’t get to do any of that (Not that I wanted to of course). But my point is, as the leader, my job was to make my partner look good. If she looked graceful, I was doing a good job. If she was out of step it meant I was doing a poor job.
I think dancing is a pretty good metaphor for leadership. As a leader, do you lead in a way that makes it easy for your partner to look graceful or do you try to steal the spotlight? Do you focus on modeling the behavior you would like to see from your team? A good leader not only sets the rhythm for their partner they also make sure their partner gets recognized for staying in rhythm.
How is your footwork? Are you setting the example you would like people to follow?
Feel free to leave your feedback!
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3 comments | tags: advertising, business, business training, communication training, confidence, dance, dancing, effectiveness, Efficiency, Employment, friends, interview training, lead, leadership, motivation, motivational training, people, retail, Sale, Sales, selling, Training, Training programs, value | posted in Productivity, Salesanomics
