Closing is a Dysfunctional Selling Skill

 

In his blog http://thesaleshunter.com/never-leave-a-sales-call-without-closing-on-something/

Mark Hunter offers advice on how ‘Closing’ [asking for continuance in this case] should be done when a Sales Call is going badly. The premise he uses for this is the “Try Harder”, “persist longer”,
the “never give up” Sales school.

 

Mark writes:

 

“It is essential to always remember there is no such thing as a final sales call. If a sale can’t be made, there is still a sale that can be made and that’s selling yourself and creating a next step.”

 

 

 

What is the Evidence Basis for this view?

Well, Top Sales Performers use the opposite approach.

They ask themselves what is the likelihood of winning this business?
Unless their chances are high [the algorithm they use I will write about at a later date] they cut and run.

Their most important resource is their TIME, and they don’t waste it, on unlikely sales.

Poor Sales Performers, on the other hand, don’t give up.

They flog dead horses. Poor Sales Performers appear to lack judgement,
they do not use an Algorithm.
They spend 4 times as much time on No-sales as Top Performers.

Mark then writes:

“Minimally, strive to agree on what is keeping the customer from making a decision to buy.
Doing this helps to clarify in both your mind and your customer’s mind where the issues are.”

This is a highly Dysfunctional Selling Skill!

Agreeing with a Customer’s Objection is called “Objection Reinforcement.”

This was used disastrously with the Positive-Negative Close.

“You’re too expensive!”
“Yes, we are expensive, and it’s this Price ‘exclusivity’ which many of our Customers enjoy!

Agreeing with ANY Customer objection reinforces the Objection.

Xerox PSS in the 1970’s used a step in Objection Handling called “Confirm and Isolate”
e.g. “You believe we are expensive, is this the only reason why you won’t go ahead?”

Salespeople who used this were found to be 10 times less likely to get the business,
than Salespeople who missed this step out!

 

First of all recognise,
that YOU have most likely made mistakes both before, and during, the call.

Poor pre-call qualification, poor proposition or insight preparation or just poor selling skills during the call.

Don’t make it worse by “Reinforcing the Objection”,
or by causing further Objections through more ‘Closing’ or Commitment requests.

 

So, how can you manage the ending to a ‘difficult’ call?

DISAGREE with what is keeping you apart,

ask for a time-out and a new appointment.

 

 

Give a positive reason for the next meeting,
see three great selling skills that really work.

 

http://brianmaciver.blogspot.com.es/2012/02/three-great-selling-skills-that-really.html

And, finally if you did a good job in the Call, and it did not payoff, use the Algorithm “Move on!”

Sometimes Your Cheese really has Moved!

Be the Type of Salesperson who uses an Evidence base to Support their Sales Behaviours, not speculation.

Sales, a Job for Life! Part Two

 

Why some Sales people consistently outperform others.

Transferable Selling Skills are not COMMON sense.

If the skill is just “COMMON” in Sales then it is usually “Common Nonsense.”

 

“The last thing the Sales Manager saw and heard
before the Salesperson won the business was the Salesperson Asking for the Order.”

The Sales Manager used inductive reasoning
and made note of what he had seen. 

He saw it again soon after.
Then, again and again.

 

 

 

 

 

Considering the “evidence” he had seen, the only conclusion he could draw,

by INDUCTIVE REASONING, was Asking for Orders, CAUSED Buyers to Buy!

 

He labelled this Sales Behaviour “Closing” –

Closing the Sale or Asking for the Order.

The Sales Manager left his job and became an independent Sales Trainer.
He called himself an “Expert” and claimed to have discovered the “Secret of Selling”.

He promoted his Master Class in Selling under the Title

“Close the Sale!”

So sure was he about his “secret” that he offered a money back guarantee, if you did not win more sales by learning his secret!

Some people tried to claim their money back.
But, he simply said “It works for everybody else!”
And, then he added
“You are not doing it properly,
with great confidence and a positive mental attitude”.
So, he did not refund their money.

But, he did carry out some more research.

He found that Closing did NOT always work, the first time,
so he altered the “secret” and said you have to ‘Close’ FIVE TIMES to win the Business.

His Training now said “you can’t close too early and you can’t close too often!”
He developed many ‘types’ of Closing to give variety to the repetitive close five times!

The Assumptive, and the step by step,

The direct ask, and the indirect ask,

The alternative, and the trial close,

The Ben Franklin, and the Half Nelson close,

The Sharp-angle close, and the Positive-negative close.

His original 2 hour session was now a TWO DAY Sales Workshop called:

“101 ways to Close the Sale, the SECRETS to Sales Success.”

He performed in larger and larger venues.
He was a Rock Star, and the show went from Teaching to Theatre.

 

He trained over 200,000 people.

 

His Sales Training ‘heirs’ have passed his secret on to Millions of Salespeople,

through several generations of Salespeople.

But, He never conducted the simplest of all research, a behavioural experiment:

“Do Salespeople who Close MORE often, SELL more,

  than Salespeople who Close LESS often?”

If he had conducted that experiment,
then he would have uncovered that:
People who ‘Close’ LESS often SELL MORE, and
People who ‘Close’ MORE often SELL LESS.

What he had been selling as “The Secret to Selling”,

was in fact, a DYSFUNCTIONAL Selling Skill.

THE MORE YOU DO, then THE LESS YOU SELL.

If he had used Evidence Based Research, simple behavioural research,
instead of Inductive Reasoning, then he would have found that:

The most likely Buyer response to an “Early Close” is an OBJECTION.

He would have also been able to observe that:
the more often you close, the more objections you get!

And, he would have been able to empirically measure that:
the MORE Objections you get then, the LESS YOU SELL!!

When a Positive Attitude to Closing is displayed
by “Closing” too Soon and too Often then:

You do NOT succeed in Sales!

Sales, Jobs for life!

 

Nobody has a lifetime Contract of Employment,

which is strange because Employers want Customers for life.

 

How do we understand a “Job for Life” in 2013?

I believe it is found in the concept of “EMPLOYABILITY”

An ‘employable’ person is one who has desired Skills and Competencies,
which they can use to generate Value for their Employers, they are always in demand.

 

 

As a Sales “Employee” you have the right that your Employer shall at least maintain your current employability.

It is to their current benefit
and it is of vital future importance to YOU.

Employability, for a Salesperson, is having a Portfolio of transferrable Selling Skills,
which will enable you to bring Value to your Employer whoever that is.

 

 

 

 

 

If a Salesperson’s Selling Skills are developed and maintained,
then I believe they will have a job for life.

Selling skills, FUNCTIONAL Selling skills, serve as a good foundation for Management and a great foundation for General Management.

Insist that your Selling skills, hence your future EMPLOYABILITY are at the highest level.

If your current Employer will not do this, then before you lose what employability you have.
Leave and find an Employer willing to maintain your Selling skills.

In all events, recognise that YOUR future employability,
YOUR Job for Life, rests in YOUR own hands.

Take actions to safeguard your employability, do it for yourself!

Managing Sales Attitude for Success

 

Attitude, “Positive” Sales Attitude
is one of the five “leading indicators”
of a Sales person’s likely Sales successes.

We know this from repeated research.

 

Attitude is linked to motivation and if all other things are equal,
the more motivated Salesperson sells more than the less motivated Salesperson.

Adverts for Sales jobs frequently ask for “positive” Attitude,
every job Candidate claims to have it, but how do you measure it?

There are several Validated, and Reliable (in expert hands) Psychometrics,
which give insights into a Sales person’s likely attitude
to their Product, Company, Manager, Customers and to themselves.

Here is a simple exercise, which is a good indicator of a Salesperson’s Sales Attitude.

1. List the five most important tasks you completed last year.

2. Now, put them into two groups:

· Group 1 Tasks you did to avoid negative consequences or to receive promised reward.

· Group 2 Tasks you did because they had meaning for you or your company in the longer term.

You can now “measure” their engagement, the number of Tasks in Group 2;
which will give a percentage of their optimal Motivation, intrinsic motivation.
Sometimes this is called “Self-motivated”.

The number of Tasks in Group 1 which,
were sub-optimal motivated by external events of Punishment or Reward
show their Ratio to External or Manager-based Motivation.

During interview this exercise,
and YOUR subsequent inquiry,
will give insight into how the Salesperson works.

It applies equally to your current Sales team!

Repeat the exercise with every individual.

Diagnose their level of Engagement, by using the two lists.

The more Group 2 items the Higher their engagement,
they have the Positive Attitude to do the Task.

The more tasks they have in Group 1 the less engagement they have,
the more variable their Commitment and their Attitude.
Then, the more work YOU will have i.e. to manage them by punishment and reward!

 

As a Sales Leader, the Sales Manager’s role
is to connect the Salesperson’s work to meaningful outcomes.

The lowest form of motivation [the least effective] is Carrot and Stick; people are not Donkeys.

Understand and share the meaning of work, FOR yourself,
WITH your Salespeople and FROM your boss.

“Cutting stone is just poorly paid, hard, exhausting work,
  but, being part of building a great building that then brings meaning!”

 

.

Selling against Value, with Price.

 

In these frugal days, Price,
or as Buyers refer to it “COST”, is a very important factor in their Decision Making.

Sometimes, clever salespeople reverse the Price Advantage by offering more VALUE.

It’s a Formula:

Value = Benefits less Cost

Their “Added Value” comes from offering MORE benefits to cover their EXTRA Cost (higher Price)

For example:

They may claim that “due to lower running costs”,
their Total Value over five years is better than yours.
However, YOUR PRICE is less than theirs is, NOW!

 

 

So, “How do you WIN on Price?”

 

There is an embedded preference in most people.
In Human Decision Making we have a marked preference
for Rewards (payback or benefits) that arrive EARLIER.

 

People prefer Rewards sooner, rather than later.

Would you rather have $1 now or wait a year for $3?

If you chose a dollar now, then you are in the majority and you exhibit PRESENT BIAS.

 

You like the certainty of rewards now,

rather than the hope for reward at some future date.

A future which may, or may not, come!

When selling on PRICE, you have to appeal to your Buyers “Present Bias”.
The Value of a lower Price is available NOW.
The Value of “added” benefits only occurs over time and has a lower value than a Reward instantly available!

Who knows
if the projected value over five years will occur?
Who will get the credit, perhaps your successor?

The Time Value of Benefits discounts with time.
The certainty of reward and recognition of a lower Price, to you a lower COST, is available now.

 

 

So, when Selling on Price against a “Value” Seller, make sure you invoke the “Present Bias”.

Make sure your Buyer knows they can have their REWARD from you NOW!

How does PRICE link to Sales forecasts and missed Targets?

Read http://brianmaciver.blogspot.com.es/2012/03/ignoring-sales-forecast-and-missing.html?spref=tw

Do NOT spend money on Sales Training without doing a Sales AUDIT first

 

Dealing with Recession and Market Downturn
is causing many Companies to consider expensive or extensive Sales Training and Coaching Makeovers.

Do a SALES AUDIT first, before you throw good money after bad!

“Our research [ The MAC Group, no connection to BMAC ] shows that in most firms,
more than half of all Customer accounts are NOT profitable.
Moreover, between 30%-and 40% are only marginally profitable.
It is only a mere 10%-15% of a Company’s Customer-Sales relationships
that generate the bulk of the profits”.

A Sales Audit MEASURES your sales force,
its individual and their total capability.

It measures your ABILITY to SELL your Product,
to your Market, against YOUR Competition.

 
A meaningful Sales Audit is a PORTFOLIO of appropriate
Sales MEASURES, for your particular Product-Market.

 

 

The Sales Audit is the baseline score (100) against which future Sales Performance, both Positive or Negative, can be measured and compared.

 

THIS IS NOT A QUESTIONAIRE OR PERSONALTY TESTS.

 

Sales Audits and Sales Assessments

The purpose of the Sales Assessment is to measure Key Performance Indicators and calculate the likelihood of Sales Performance Success. The process producing a Sales Assessment should involve a Sales Audit by an Independent Sales Assessment Professional; its purpose is to provide a measurement rather than to express an opinion about “quality” of Sales Performance.

Sales Audits should always be an Independent Evaluation, which will include some degree of quantitative and qualitative analysis, whereas an
Sales Assessment implies a consultative approach.

The Sales Audit includes both LEADING and LAGGING indicators as well as an overall Performance Benchmark.

 

 

A Sales Audit is an ESSENTIAL part of:

• Due Diligence, Pre-Acquisition, Merger or Joint Venture
• Pre-Training Project Management
• Pre-Investment (or Re-investment)
  the Sales CAPABILITY is a key indicator of likely future success.

Contact brian.maciver@gmail.com for details it’s a LOT cheaper than a mistake!

The Secret to Selling

 

A great sales Guru discovered the Secret to Selling.

It is comprehensive; it is elegant in its simplicity.

Those who learn the secret will have untold success and fulfil their dreams.

Using the secret will bring great wealth, which may then be demonstrated in Property,
possessions of great quality and a five-star life style for themselves and for their families.

They will be respected and valued by their Employers,
admired by their colleagues and loved by their Customers.

The great sales Guru who found and taught the Secret of Selling
retires and disappears to live in secluded luxury.

The Salespeople who learned the secret begin to fail.

They search libraries for new books, watch new videos and attend conferences for the secret.
They consult with Consultants,
they are trained by Trainers and
they seek coaching with Coaches.

They search for the Secret of Selling in Psychology,
they then resort Pseudo-Psychology and Folk Psychology. 

They ask neuroscience if they have found the Secret of Selling
and they are told of a Biological basis to decisions.

Computers are bought to enter, share and manage Data, to Control Relationship Management,
to give Sales Force Automation systems and process to the speculations of ignorance.

As their Revenue numbers drop and their success turns to failure,
their search becomes frantic.
Any street prophet, lunatic or charlatan is paid for advice and, even worse, they are listened to.

Salespeople pretend to their Employers that they still have the secret,
but they are losing the respect and value they once had.
Their Colleagues stop admiring them; instead they begin to resent their high salaries.

Customers no longer love them; in fact, Customers avoid them preferring to buy on-line.

Their five-star Lifestyle is no longer possible and their families resent the change.

And then, the sales Guru returns.

They ask again for the secret of selling.

He smiles then replies,

“The secret of selling is in the skills that you have,

the knowledge that you need, the work that you do,

the strategy that you use and the attitude that you hold.”

“After I left, you forgot this,
you listened to false teachers
and you looked for lazy answers.”

• The secret of Selling is in Evidence Based Selling Skills, not in short cuts or proverbs.
  
• The secret of Selling is in Appropriate Knowledge of Product/Market, not in bluff.
  
• The secret of Selling is in Revenue Generating Activity, not in busy work.
  
• The secret of Selling is in a Good Strategy for Your Customers and Your Competition,
  not in an imaginary Selling Process married to an imagined Buying Process.
  
• The secret of Selling is in a Healthy Attitude to work,
  to your Employers, to your Colleagues and to your Customers;
  not in easy answers, tips, tricks, ploys and dodges.