Many years ago a business colleague, we shall call him John, was attending a training seminar featuring the greatest sales trainer of all time, Doug Edwards. During his training Doug Edwards taught what is known as “The Benjamin Franklin Close.” John was young, had some sales experience and had great potential. However, another characteristic of John at the time was his cockiness. At this point in the seminar, John raised his hand as if to ask Doug a question. When Doug recognized him, John said that the “Ben Franklin Close” did not work. Doug asked why he thought so. John ...
When closing a sale, sometimes it takes to. No, I did not misspell that last word of the first sentence. I really meant to write “t” “o”. Those two letters are the initials for one of the most long-practiced sales techniques we know. They stand for “Turn Over.” The “T.O.” is used in sales environments where the salesperson has other salespersons or sales managers nearby when they are presenting to prospects. This would usually be in a retail setting or perhaps a group sales presentation of some type. The “T.O.” is the technique of “Turning Over” a prospect to another ...
What is “Post Closing” and Why Is it Important? “Post closing” helps to prevent the prospect from “changing his mind” after he has made a purchase. We do this by helping a new client reduce any “post purchase” doubts that may be entering his mind just after making the buying commitment. Do you remember the thoughts going through your mind the last time you made a major purchase (i.e. automobile, home, life insurance policy, etc.)? It is not uncommon for a person to begin to “second guess” his decision. This is often called “Buyer’s Remorse.” It does not always threaten ...
Regardless of what we sell, we will often find that when we ask for the order we meet with some resistance. Sales Pros know this comes with the job and never take it personally. Following is a basic, but very effective, formula for responding to an objection from a prospect. The objection handling formula is: Cushion, Technique, and Close. Here is how it works. It is important to remember that the prospect knows we do not want to hear the objection. The prospect knows we want to hear agreement. Therefore, when a prospect gives us an objection, they are expecting us ...
Do Great Closers Have a Closing Instinct? Yes! How Did They Get It? What must we know even before we meet our prospect that will help us make the close of the sale more natural and comfortable? Tom Hopkins can probably still hear his mentor, Doug Edwards saying, “All great salespersons have a ‘closing instinct.’” When asked if these great salespersons were born with these “closing instincts?” He said, “Of course not! They got their ‘closing instincts’ by closing too soon and too often rather than closing too seldom and too late!” (That is an excellent phrase to ...
