Have you ever noticed the “pitch men” on the television commercials? The next time you see one, do not dismiss the commercial. Pay close attention! If you listen carefully, you will likely hear some “great sales techniques.” For example, have you ever heard one of these “pitch men” saying something like this? “If you order two boxes of our “Super Suds” dishwasher detergent today we will give you a third box free.” Or perhaps you have heard something like this. “Call within the next 10 minutes and we will include ABSOLUTELY FREE our handy dandy, super absorbent, long lasting, specially imported, ...
Sometimes when we do a good job of giving a Feature, Advantage and Benefit presentation we just don’t get the excited “buy in” we are looking for from our prospect. There could be any one of several reasons for a less than exceptional reaction. For the purposes of this article, I am going to concentrate on just one reason and explain how to fix it. Read the following benefit statements aloud. “Mr. Prospect, the new management skills that your managers will have at the end of each monthly session will help them improve productivity and profitability.” “Mr. Prospect, the new tread design on ...
The great sales trainer, Larry Wilson, taught that before we could sell our prospect, we needed to “warm them up.” He recommended using an ember. Now don’t get the wrong idea! He did not mean we were to set them ablaze. In this case Larry used ember as an easy to remember acronym. E.M.B.E.R. stands for “Establishing a Mutually Beneficial Empathic Relationship.” Some salespersons today might say that we need to create a “Win Win” relationship with the prospect. For both the salesperson and the prospect to believe that the purchasing ...
The great sales technician and trainer, Doug Edwards, said “people buy emotionally and then justify their purchase logically.” Salespersons have been proving this statement true for decades through their own experiences. Since we know that our prospects are very likely to have their emotions involved in their buying decision; that should affect how we present the benefits of our product. As professional salespersons, we know that a presented benefit tells the prospect what the product “helps them gain” or “helps them avoid losing.” Should we present our benefits positively or negatively? The answer is “Yes.” Studies over many years have determined ...
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 ...
Communicating with one another is an interesting process. We use words to help each other understand what we want each other to know. However, when we say a word, the other person does not really envision the word we have said. For example, when we say the word “dog,” the person does not see in their mind the three letters “d o g.” The person will see in their mind an image of a dog. So what actually happens when communicating is that we paint “word pictures” in the mind of the person to ...
Do You Have an “Elevator Speech?” The other day my son called me. He is a new, but already successful, young internet entrepreneur. He told me that he had been invited to a luncheon of businessmen and that he would be given 60 seconds to introduce himself to the group. He told me that he had gone onto this web site to use the FAB Script writing tool to prepare what he proudly referred to as his “Elevator Speech.” (If you are a member of this site, you have free access to this great tool.) It is obvious that he had ...
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 ...
What Causes a Qualified Prospect to Buy … and to Buy Now? A prospect buys all products/services on emotion! However, there must be a “logic safety net” in place when he reaches the “Buy Zone,” so he can justify his emotional decision. What causes a qualified prospect to buy and buy now? The answer is: a professional salesperson has taken a prospect into the “Buy Zone” and then closed. What is the “Buy Zone?” The “Buy Zone” is that point in time when our prospect has bought our ...
Why Doesn’t a Qualified Prospect Buy Now? It is not uncommon for a thoroughly qualified prospect to stall on making a buying decision after he has heard a perfectly delivered feature, advantage and benefit presentation on a correctly priced product/service that is exactly what he wants/needs. Read on and find out why? Often after a prospect has heard a presentation and has been asked to buy, he puts up some resistance to buying at that time. Very often what he says has a tendency to cause the salesperson to lose momentum and ultimately bring the sales process to a halt. ...
