Greg Bennett's Rambling Thought #16
Greg Bennett's Rambling Thought on Successful Selling #16: Have Someone Else Help You Apply Pressure At the Close
I developed this strategy years ago after helping sellers deal with several slow, deceptive, neutral-loving clients (several meaning most of them)...that they just couldn't move across the goal line.
You know what this situation looks like, right? You're working a prospective client through the process... you've done the Mini-Steps, you've written proposals, you're asking the client to take action... and they just aren't moving ahead to a conclusion (either YES or NO). And you try asking...and pleading...and begging...and just about anything else you can think of...and still, there is no definitive answer.
You and the client are stuck in an endless circle dance...where you, the seller, continue to ask, and ask, and ask (usually the same quesitons)...and the client hears and responds in the same way, usually with being "VERY interested", then stalls, promises, deception, and delays.
At this point you need to break the circle-dance cycle, by introducing a 3rd party questioner to the equation... someone else associated to your product or service, particularly with the execution of your product or service. And this 3rd party arrives to ask the prospective client some questions about what they MIGHT be looking for...here's how it might sound:
You: "Hi Bob...it's Greg Bennett...glad I caught you on the phone..."
Client: "Yeah, Greg...what's up? I still can't give you the green light yet if that's what you're calling about"
You: "I understand...I actually would like to get our service coordinator, Janet, on the line, because I know she had a few questions...hold a second please...hi Janet...it's Greg and also I've got Bob Edwards from ACME on the line...did you want to ask your question?"
Janet: "Sure...first of all, Hi Bob...Greg said that you all were contemplating moving ahead with the large XYZ package this September...but that you still had a few questions or concerns...that's fine, I was calling more about potential training execution...we have several clients coming on in late August, so I wanted to see if you WERE TO MOVE AHEAD, what are your internal requirements for outside training?"
You then listen carefully to how your client responds to this person. If they're on board and planning to go ahead (but just haven't told you), they'll respond in a more positive, participatory way...if they're not, chances are they won't give up much info, may be a bit elusive, etc.
Of course like all strategies, this one doesn't work 100%, 100% of the time...sometimes clients surprise you, but at a certain stage in the sales process you have try just about anything, right?
By the way, this 3rd party person can also be your manager or company owner, and he or she is just doing a ride along with the seller to who is realistically going ahead and who's not.
Have fun introducing a 3rd party, and let us all know how it goes.
GB
(Just one of Greg Bennett's "99 Rambling Thoughts on Successful Selling")
