Three Basic Reasons Why Prospects Buy In this article I will not be addressing why people buy essentials, such as food and medicine. People buy food because they need to eat. People buy medicine because they are ill. This article is more about the three basic reasons why people buy non-essentials, such as furniture or jewelry. The three basic reasons why prospects buy are: fear, recognition and self-actualization. Let’s begin with the definition of each of these three motivators as applied in the case of buying motives. Fear is the primary motivator in a purchase when the prospect is trying to ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
One of the longest standing, most respected and basic presentation methods is F.A.B. Selling. I do not know who first identified this method, but I learned it from Larry Wilson in a Sales Sonics course in the late 1960s. The abbreviations stand for Feature, Advantage and Benefit. Many salespersons would tell you that they understand F.A.B. Selling. My 40+ years experience in sales training has taught me that this is not necessarily so. When salespersons say they understand it, what that has usually meant is that they know that prospects do not ...
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 ...
Often we as salespersons become disheartened due to the number, frequency and sort of objections we receive from prospects. Some salespersons may even begin to feel a form of personal rejection. In an attempt to help clarify what is really happening when a salesperson is given an objection, I would like to begin by getting rid of the cancer of personal rejection. I was fortunate to learn at a very early point in my sales career exactly why I should never take an objection as a
