Ok, anyone who is expecting to be a MASTER CLOSER
at this profession we have selected called Sales,
had better get this through their heads.
There are only 3 reasons
that a customer will buy from you.
Always remember...
People buy with
THEIR HEAD,
THEIR HEART,
AND THEIR POCKETBOOK.
If you do not understand this premise,
you are going to have truly skinny kids, and one upset spouse.
In this post, I am only going to be concentrating on the latter of the three reasons, the POCKETBOOK.
Being able to Justify the money that you are attempting to have the customer spend, is the ONE TRUE way to make sure that you are not sacrificing any of your gross.
There is an old saying...
"When people want what you are selling,
more than they want the money in their pocket,
they will buy from you."
Here is the issue, you need to do this without throwing
all of the profit, out of the proverbial window.
The old time honored lines of,
"if I could would ya," or
"would you be able to come up a little bit," or
"why don't you treat yourself,"
are what the Handin' out business cards,
style of salespeople do.
They are not closers, they are tour guides.
They are beggin' for a sale,
and the customer can smell it all over this salesperson.
Their commission breath is literally filling up the room.
THE STENCH IS SO FORMIDABLE, THAT NO AMOUNT OF VERBAL MOUTHWASH CAN ERADICATE IT.
As I have said before...
"Commission breath smells like crap on a salesperson,
however to a customer,
it smells like a freshly baked cinnamon roll."
I want you to remember...
businesses cannot stay in business, without making a profit.
With that being said, you personally as a salesperson cannot
stay in the sales game, by giving away all of your gross.
This veritable RACE TO THE BOTTOM ON PRICE,
to JUST TO GET A SALE AND RING THE BELL,
must stop, right here and now.
If you as a salesperson have been doing this,
and you don't stop right now, you may as well just close your bank account, because there will be nothing in it.
I am really getting tired of watching salespeople,
call or run to their sales manager, to get a T.O.
All the while knowing, the only thing
the sales manager is going to do, is to submarine the price.
Just so a number gets tossed up on the sales board.
ARE WE AS SALEPEOPLE,
REALLY THAT WEAK NOWADAYS?
It's time for all salespeople,
to put your big boy and big girl pants on.
IT'S TIME TO CLOSE SOME DAMN DEALS ON YOUR OWN,
AND MAINTAIN YOUR GROSS.
The only way to do this, is to be able to justify the price
you are asking the customer to spend.
Remember that you,
the salesperson,
are the strength in the deal,
not your sales manager.
If all your sales manager is capable of doing,
is to dwindle your deal and give you a price reduction,
THEY HAVE NO CLOSING SKILLS WHATSOEVER.
They are not doing you, or your store any justice.
Often times, some weak puke sales manager,
can actually ruin your deal by doing this.
In the customer's mind they are saying,
"this salesperson could have given me this price
all along, I don't think I can trust this person."
If all they can do is to pull down their pants and drop the price,
they are not a MASTER CLOSER.
It's time for you, to show the owner of your company,
You can do this,
because you ARE MASTER CLOSER,
who can hold onto gross.
A MASTER CLOSER, who actually makes
both you and your store some money.
YOU FOLLOW ME HERE?
So how do you do it?
You keep the Golden 3 items in your mind at all times
People buy with:
Their Head (features and benefits)
Their Heart (customer loves the product)
and Their Pocketbook (money justification)
For this, I am ASSUMING you have been able to adroitly show
the features and benefits of your product.
Also, that you have given a skilled virtuoso presentation,
that has made the customer fall in love with your product.
BTW....
If your customer isn't in love with what your selling,
STOP RIGHT NOW!!! I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH.
You need to CIRCLE BACK.
Go back into your presentation and
REMIND THEM OF THE REASONS why they are with you now.
Make them fall in love again.
It's what you get paid to do.
You are a matchmaker, you are an emissary,
and an ambassador of your product.
Never forget this.
If you don't do that, MONEY JUSTIFICATION will not matter.
If they are not in love with you, or the product, explaining to them why they should spend their hard earned money with you,
is a mute point.
So do you want to know how to do it?
OK
Then let's get Crankin'
For this example I am going to use
Joe Master Closer gutter protection salesperson
This one should be fun and easy to follow...
Salesperson:
"Ok, Mr. and Mrs. Customer, I got great news for you.
Before we start, I want you to know that we go through everything thoroughly.
First we clean out you gutters completely.
Second we re-pitch the gutters to make sure that water is flowing properly
And Third we re-seal all end caps, and outlets to the downspouts, to make sure that there are no leaks.
BTW, we do all of this as a complimentary service,
prior to installing the gutter protection.
We want to make sure that everything is working,
just the way it is designed to work.
Then we put on the gutter protection, so you never have to worry about even looking at those gutters again. We just want you to know that they will always be on the job for you, making sure that your gutters are doing what they are supposed to do.
Since you only have 300 Linear Feet of Gutter,
we will be doing all of this for you for only
$4,000.00.
Oh by the way, I forgot to ask you...
What day would work best for you,
we have either Wednesday or Thursday open?"
Customer:
"Joe seriously, $4,000.00 for gutter protection,
that's way too high."
Salesperson: (NO CONFRONTATION)
"Mr. Customer, I understand.
When you say that's too much for gutter protection,
would you mind being more specific,
why you think that price is too high?"
Customer:
"Yeah, my buddy down the street got his entire house done for $2,700.00. with a warranty for 5 years,
If you can do it for that, we gotta deal."
Salesperson:
"Mr. Customer, this is entirely on me,
I didn't explain to you our pricing policy upfront.
I cannot speak for what other gutter companies are selling their product for, I can only speak for mine.
You're not looking for cheap are you?"
Customer:
"No"
Salesperson:
"Most people aren't. I know I don't.
I'm guessing you are looking for quality
and quality for the price, right?"
Customer:
"Of course, everyone is."
Salesperson:
(FLIP PAPER OVER)
"You see Mr. Customer, do you remember what I just told you about the items we do prior to placing our gutter protection on your gutters? We take care of the items, that the eyes can't see. It's like when you vacuum your floor. You vacuum everywhere but under the couch, however under the couch is where the real mess is. We take care of everything. You see little problems always add up to big problems in the end. That dangling carrot price offered by that other company, was done so for a reason. They are taking shortcuts.
At first Mr. Customer, this may look like a Huge difference.
However, I am going to show you why your neighbor
is going to end up spending twice what my system costs."
"Let me explain...
Mr. Customer
1.Your neighbor purchased that protection for $2,700.00
with a warranty for 5 years.
Our protection is warrantied for life (no more $$ spent)
2. After 5 years he will probably have
to spend another $2,700.00 to do it again,
because the product stop protecting the gutters
Our protection again is warrantied for life (no more $$ spent)
3. More than likely this was installed by a Sub-Contractor,
so if there's any damage done to your neighbor's house,
it's his responsibility to repair.
Unfortunately, this happens all too often.
Ours are installed by our factory trained employees,
who fall under our insurance and bond,
so if there's any issues we take care of them.
Mr. Customer, is this making sense?"
Customer:
"Yes, but that is still quite a bit of money to just keep debris out of my gutters. Hell for that price, I may as well just have the guy who does it for me twice a year for $250.00, just keep doing it."
Salesperson:
"I understand, how long have you been doing that?"
Customer:
"About 12 years."
Salesperson:
"I follow. So for 12 years now, you have been spending $500.00 per year to get your gutters cleaned out. Well Mr. Customer, I'm no mathematician, but at $500.00 per year over the last 12 years, that's $6000.00. Just think, if you would have already had our system up and working for you for that time, you could have taken that extra $2,000.00, and had a pretty nice vacation, right?
Look, I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to help. I'll bet right now, you wouldn't mind having that extra $2000.00 back in your pocket, right?"
Customer:
"Absolutely."
Salesperson:
"The way I see it Mr. Customer, it's not a matter of if you buy gutter protection, it's a matter of when, and I am guessing the when, is when the deal is right, right?"
Customer:
"Right."
Salesperson:
"So Mr. Customer, doesn't it make sense to take advantage of the spring specials that are going on right now, save yourself any more wasted money on someone cleaning out your gutters, and doing this prior to the leaves starting to fall, of course it does."
(Joe asked the question & answered it)
Joe immediately throws out his hand,
he does not wait for a yes,
He is completely assuming the sale.
ONE MORE TIME FOR THOSE HARD OF HEARING.
JOE DOES NOT WAIT
FOR THE CUSTOMER TO SAY YES!!!
Salesperson:
"So again about the installation day,
is Wednesday or Thursday going to work best for you?
We like to get started as early in the morning as possible, around 8am to 9am.
Is that time ok for us to start working,
or do you need a bit later than 9am?"
Customer:
"8am is fine"
Salesperson:
"Great I'll let the OPS manager know that 8am
works great for you guys.
I want to thank you for your business,
now bring on the leaves and rain.
I am happy for you guys.
Oh BTW, I forgot to tell you about my referral program..
If you know anyone who is tired of dealing with the hassle and
issues of clogged gutters, give them my name and I will give you
$100.00. Take Mrs. Customer out to dinner, on me.
Once again, thank you for your business."
BABAMM
BABAMM
BABAMM
Now that's a way a
Master Closer does it.
He justified the money, and did it all
with no confrontation.
Will this work all the time,
NO!!!
But by using this approach I close 70% of all people I deal with.
I like them odds!!!!
And will take those odds
any day of the week,
and twice on Sundays.
Now go out, get to work, and close some deals!!!
Da Bear