7. Never act desperate, unless you are.
Conventional wisdom correctly teaches that sales professionals should maintain the appearance of being willing to walk away from a deal rather than settle it on undesirable terms. Nobody wants to do business with a nagging beggar. Desperation is a stinky cologne, and there’s no sense letting yourself get pushed around until there is zero margin or commission.
The more you’re willing to give away in price, the more you devalue your product, credibility and paycheck. Negotiate pricing early so that you don’t discredit yourself later. Simple enough.
BUT, there is something to be said for the closing technique of simply letting the prospect know that you would appreciate the deal. As a fellow professional (or at least human), the prospect may be moved to buy when informed that their decision could help you keep your job, hit a commission target or achieve the next level of bonus. This is especially true if you’ve gotten them to like you.
Purposeful evocation of sympathy can be powerful on both sides of a deal. If you’re truly in a bind and in need of some business, you might as well see if compassion turns the tide in your favor.
8. Find the buyer’s pride points. Relate them to the sale.
People tend to have two or three facets of their life that they are most proud of which are easy to spot because they are mentioned early and often. Finding these pride points is equal parts research (rule #2) and observation.
On the research side, whatever they’ve chosen to put in their bio or display case was put there for a reason. On the observation side, keep tabs on whatever personal tidbits are revealed. Pictures of family or mentions of a blissful home life mean you should focus on the elements of your solution that benefit or are of interest to their wife and kids. Mentions of an alma Mata or military experience are to be noted and referenced whenever possible. The same goes for stories about travel, professional accomplishments and hero stories from the boardroom to the bedroom. If they’ve made an effort to point out that their proud of it, it belongs in your pitch.
One of my sales reps once had a guy on the phone that (although completely irrelevant) made it a point to mention that he had been a Navy Seal before starting his current business. The rep started almost every sentence with “Back when you were a Seal…” or “I’m sure someone who has been a Seal can understand…”, and she closed her biggest deal of the year.
Stay on the lookout for indicators of pride points. Everybody likes to reminisce about their heyday, so remind them of it often on the way to making the sale.
9. Offer to do more than what is expected.
Opportunities to do a favor for a prospect are to be nurtured, not avoided for lack of guaranteed payback. It’s simple psychology; you go the extra mile for them, and they’ll feel obligated to do the same for you.
This is why “I don’t know” can be a good thing. It gives you the chance to say, “I’ll find out and get back to you with an answer”. Whether it be a technical specification about your own product or a competitor’s, some obscure industry term come across during an exchange in making their purchasing decision or a random statistic that happened to come into question during a meandering conversation, taking the time to do the research will result in the most pleasantly surprising follow up call the prospect will receive. You will come across as diligent, dedicated and trustworthy. All good qualities for someone to do business with.
Constantly be aware of chances to become an asset. Pick up their kids from school if that’s what it takes. If they owe you one, it will be hard to tell you no at decision time.
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