Watching people sell and try to close the deal when you are a sales trainer is always an interesting experience. And while I try not to be a judgy person, I’ll admit, I judge bad sales pitches!
The truth is, most people are pretty solid with the information part of their sales presentation. Unless they are brand new, most salespeople are knowledgeable about their product or service. They tend to usually do a good job balancing information and the more personal benefits.
Where I see most sales people tank is when they try to close the deal. Here are 5 things that will kill your deal.
- “I can follow up with you next week if you need some time to think about it.” It’s interesting to me when I hear salespeople ask for the sale, get nervous by the client’s silence and immediately move to pushing back the decision. I understand why they do it. They don’t want to hear the “no.” But the part that makes me cringe is that the silence didn’t represent a “no.” It was their thinking space. And by offering them a later decision date, you’ll never solicit those questions or concerns that would stop the client from buying from you. Since you didn’t give them time to express those concerns, you’ll probably never get to hear them. Instead your likeliness of getting a “no” on your next conversation just went up, way, way up.
- “I know it’s expensive, but…” Wait, WHAT? Why would you say that? Why? What is expensive to me is cheap to Beyonce. And what is cheap to me is expensive to a retired person living off of social security. Expensive is relative. Let your client decide how your price point relates to their budget. But if you think your product is too expensive, you’re going to be fighting an uphill battle.
“There’s no pressure to buy anything but…” I really hate when people say that one. It sounds so manipulative and at the same time wimpy to me. Of course there’s no obligation to buy anything. There never is. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be awkward pressure. And of course you want me to buy something from you. How about just being straight forward with your intentions? I find people respect it a whole lot more!- “Let’s keep in touch and you can let me know when you’re ready to move forward…” Nope, don’t go there. If you are going to follow up, you better have a date and time on the books. Otherwise you waste WAY TOO MUCH TIME! And be clear, it’s not the clients job to follow up with you. It’s your job to follow up with the potential client.
- Anything that diminishes the value of your offer. The close is the time where you are building up the value in your product or service. This is not the time for false modesty. It’s the time for you to be bold in sharing how amazing your product or service is! Go for it! They’ve liked you long enough to talk with you thus far. So now is your time to close the deal with confidence.
“There’s no pressure to buy anything but…” I really hate when people say that one. It sounds so manipulative and at the same time wimpy to me. Of course there’s no obligation to buy anything. There never is. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be awkward pressure. And of course you want me to buy something from you. How about just being straight forward with your intentions? I find people respect it a whole lot more!