“…only one thing counts in this world: get them to sign on the line which is dotted.”
—Glengarry Glen Ross, 1992.
—Glengarry Glen Ross, 1992.
Researching the Internet’s sales communities, I was amazed by how many self-proclaimed “Sales Experts” are preaching aggressive closing techniques or the “Closing Mentality.” The following are just a few (out of dozens) of their examples:
• 24 Techniques for Closing the Sale,
• Secrets of Closing the Sale,
• Killer Closing Techniques,
• Closing the Sale for Dummies,
• And even... “Hypnotize” Customers.
The “Closing Mentality”—inherent in every technique these experts promote—teaches us to pressure people into making decisions that are not necessarily in their best interests—decisions likely to have long-lasting, far-reaching negative affects on their lives.
The “Closing Mentality” not only endangers the buyer, but it also damages the seller. Seeking to confuse others, we ourselves become confused. The “Closing Mentality” causes us to compromise our values, to distort the truth, to create a high level of discomfort, to suspend our inclinations toward empathy and understanding—in other words: to become what we are not.
We have all seen the negative impact that this “Closing Mentality” has had on the real estate market. In the name of “closing the deal,” many lenders ignored the truth about people’s financial situations. Individuals entered into loan agreements they had no business entering. Now they find themselves facing threats of foreclosure. Home loss is just one way the “Closing Mentality” has wrought tragedy upon the lives of real people.
I had a conversation just the other day with a lender in the mortgage industry. He told me that, at the height of the real estate boom, he used to close forty deals a month. Now he is lucky if he closes two. He also made an interesting comment regarding the “Closing Mentality.” He said, “I want to go back to Sales 101 and just tell the truth to people.” Wow. The truth—what a concept!
Honesty and integrity should be core values that are reflected in all aspects of our lives, including our actions as sales representatives. People want authenticity; they want to work with those who are trustworthy, caring, understanding, and truthful. Therefore, our first responsibility in the selling process involves getting to the truth.
I am currently working on a high profile account—worth over 10 million dollars in revenue—with a company that has brand recognition throughout the world. Over the course of a couple of months, I had a few phone conversations and email exchanges with my contact, during which I sought to familiarize myself with her “truth” regarding the conditions and pacing of the project’s forward momentum. Meanwhile, the company with which I am partnered was contacting me several times a week seeking status updates: “What is the progress?” “When can we move forward?” “What other strategies can we use?” And so on, and so on!
The “Closing Mentality” would have compelled me to transfer that pressure to my contact, pushing her to move faster. I do not believe, however, that more frequent and more aggressive communication would have produced any beneficial results. More likely, my contact person would have closed the door on the whole thing, and the opportunity would have been lost.
Fortunately, instead of the “Closing Mentality,” I adopted a mindset that I call “It’s Not About the Sale.” I was patient and respectful, responding to my contact person’s needs and pacing. And it paid off. She recently called to say she was sending a mini-RFP—the process is moving forward.
Going at your customer’s pace—as illustrated by the preceding example—is one step in the “It’s Not About the Sale” approach. This mindset represents the alternative to the “Closing Mentality.”
Next week I will outline the steps and values of the “It’s Not About the Sale” process. This approach really is about creating a mindset, since it acknowledges that each sales scenario is unique. If you adopt this mindset, I believe that you will find far more opportunities and feel far less pressure.
I want this blog to be interactive. I want to hear your opinions, thoughts, and stories, and I want to answer your questions about different sales scenarios. I also want to ask questions and see how people respond. Through this interactive communication, we can build a community wherein we can truly help each other achieve success—in sales and in all aspects of our lives.
Warmest Regards,
Gabriel P.
• 24 Techniques for Closing the Sale,
• Secrets of Closing the Sale,
• Killer Closing Techniques,
• Closing the Sale for Dummies,
• And even... “Hypnotize” Customers.
The “Closing Mentality”—inherent in every technique these experts promote—teaches us to pressure people into making decisions that are not necessarily in their best interests—decisions likely to have long-lasting, far-reaching negative affects on their lives.
The “Closing Mentality” not only endangers the buyer, but it also damages the seller. Seeking to confuse others, we ourselves become confused. The “Closing Mentality” causes us to compromise our values, to distort the truth, to create a high level of discomfort, to suspend our inclinations toward empathy and understanding—in other words: to become what we are not.
We have all seen the negative impact that this “Closing Mentality” has had on the real estate market. In the name of “closing the deal,” many lenders ignored the truth about people’s financial situations. Individuals entered into loan agreements they had no business entering. Now they find themselves facing threats of foreclosure. Home loss is just one way the “Closing Mentality” has wrought tragedy upon the lives of real people.
I had a conversation just the other day with a lender in the mortgage industry. He told me that, at the height of the real estate boom, he used to close forty deals a month. Now he is lucky if he closes two. He also made an interesting comment regarding the “Closing Mentality.” He said, “I want to go back to Sales 101 and just tell the truth to people.” Wow. The truth—what a concept!
Honesty and integrity should be core values that are reflected in all aspects of our lives, including our actions as sales representatives. People want authenticity; they want to work with those who are trustworthy, caring, understanding, and truthful. Therefore, our first responsibility in the selling process involves getting to the truth.
I am currently working on a high profile account—worth over 10 million dollars in revenue—with a company that has brand recognition throughout the world. Over the course of a couple of months, I had a few phone conversations and email exchanges with my contact, during which I sought to familiarize myself with her “truth” regarding the conditions and pacing of the project’s forward momentum. Meanwhile, the company with which I am partnered was contacting me several times a week seeking status updates: “What is the progress?” “When can we move forward?” “What other strategies can we use?” And so on, and so on!
The “Closing Mentality” would have compelled me to transfer that pressure to my contact, pushing her to move faster. I do not believe, however, that more frequent and more aggressive communication would have produced any beneficial results. More likely, my contact person would have closed the door on the whole thing, and the opportunity would have been lost.
Fortunately, instead of the “Closing Mentality,” I adopted a mindset that I call “It’s Not About the Sale.” I was patient and respectful, responding to my contact person’s needs and pacing. And it paid off. She recently called to say she was sending a mini-RFP—the process is moving forward.
Going at your customer’s pace—as illustrated by the preceding example—is one step in the “It’s Not About the Sale” approach. This mindset represents the alternative to the “Closing Mentality.”
Next week I will outline the steps and values of the “It’s Not About the Sale” process. This approach really is about creating a mindset, since it acknowledges that each sales scenario is unique. If you adopt this mindset, I believe that you will find far more opportunities and feel far less pressure.
I want this blog to be interactive. I want to hear your opinions, thoughts, and stories, and I want to answer your questions about different sales scenarios. I also want to ask questions and see how people respond. Through this interactive communication, we can build a community wherein we can truly help each other achieve success—in sales and in all aspects of our lives.
Warmest Regards,
Gabriel P.
Posts
Great comments. It's not all about selling but more consulting and adding value. You have to be patient.
ReplyDeleteGreat insight and info here Gabe! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGabriel,
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much for this above and beyond gifted sales insight and coaching!
It's so very refreshing to stay aware that we are not all having to live in a used car or time share choke hold sales environment!
Please continue to share more! Very timely, precise coaching in this difficult sales season!
Gabe,
ReplyDeleteThat is simply awesome and it is exactly how I manage the process. It is even more important in today's treacherous market to to tune up "corporate" pipeline demands (well, we do have to answer their questions) and allow the sales cycle to proceed at a pace that allows the client to the wisdom of a formal relationship with us (our firms).
Too bad our bosses don't see this. I have a meeting every Monday that begins with the same trite question "what are you doing to push the sale further". What makes this even worse is that I sell highly complex SaaS to Broker/Dealers and the sales cycle is up to 1 year. It is nearly insulting that "bosses" think you can somehow manipulate smart clients into moving forward; our job is to educate them through the process and hopefully, with our patience and relationship skills, they will come to that conclusion on their own which makes for a much better client.
Jim Ryan
P.S. What up Coach!
This post is on behalf of M. Blaker:
ReplyDeleteGabriel, I loved the entry about the “Closing Mentality.” Especially the mortgage industry example, I've never looked at it in that way, but you are right, it's just another example of the "Closing Mentality" that is so prevalent out there. I actually read your blog entry a day before the following interaction:
I had stopped by to see a client and found him out of the office. While I was heading back to the car I noticed on the door of one of the offices near my client’s office, the sign of one of my prospects. One I had not yet contacted.
So, I walked into his office and let him know I was there. He came out, introduced himself and we started to talk and quickly found that we are both military veterans. This started about a 15-minute chat about our time in the military.
Needing to get moving to my next appt and wanting to let my prospect get back to work I suggested to him that we set aside 15–20 minutes in our schedules in the next two weeks to meet again at his office to talk a bit about his business, how they work, the type of clients and transactions they pursue and see if it made sense for us to talk further about how we might be able to help him or even find some ways add value to their business transactions.
This is where it gets interesting. He immediately starts, without being prompted, to tell me about his great, long-term relationship with his existing provider and why he uses them. To me it seemed as if it were to fend off the “pitch” that he assumed I was about to give him or would give him if we were to set up a time to meet again. That’s when I simply said “look I’m not interested in meeting again to pitch you or tell you all about what we do and why you should use us, I want to meet again to get to know more about you and your business and in addition to that I wasn't even sure I could help him any way.” I would need to know more about his business to even figure that out. We talked a few more minutes and settled on a time and day to meet the following week.
I find this all the time Gabriel, clients/prospects are so used to being immediately pitched by salespeople that are only interested in one thing "The Pitch and Close" (Wow, I should trademark that one) that even when they meet a salesperson who is truly interested in uncovering needs and identifying ways to meet those needs they respond as if all they will get is a pitch. The cool part comes when the client/prospect finally realizes that you are actually interested in helping them and only if it makes sense, that they open up and are more likely to share what their biz needs are.
Peace, Michael…