..
It's not common to find many in sales "calling the bluff". Most of the sales men on a call or making door-to-door are jerks pulling out acts of persuasion to closures, and we believe selling something need not be the "jerk" way. Many practical reasons why sales personnel try to gamble is obvious – targets, and not achieving them is largely a pressure for many.
Meeting the expectation of the customer is an intensely personal process, and not every single of their demands can be handled. This is one good reason why closers tend to place a heavy bet. You can mostly spot someone yell "If you are gonna earn 20x profit why not spend $20k today?", "We have just 3 tickets left for this month's event", "20% off on all orders today. Can we take your order like NOW?", and more.
But frankly being in sales, and if you've long worked with clients of all bucket sizes, one would agree its not easy being lenient. It's obvious we shouldn't put pressure on the clients, and earn a bad repute, but what if liberty is taken for granted. At times in sales, we can be at our liberty to hang up on prospects. And, its wise choice to conserve your time and move on to better buyers.
Agreed! Most of us shun at the word sales man, and thanks to a generation of deceiving con-men who sold virtually anything they could get their hands on. Does honesty and selling mix well? Sales is all about finding the people who do respect your time, and value your products/services. Be honest with yourself, your prospects and customers. No pushy sales tactics, just honest advice to help clients make the correct decisions.
Its common prospects object to reacting questions like "what's your budget?". Right from ignoring your unsolicited emails, to non-paying the first payment, its highly depressing to have worked on so long only to be forgotten. Often this is tiring and one must know when to stop asking questions and follow-ups. Nobody buys from a jerk. It's not really very complicated to open up with prospects, sit down for a coffee, listen what they want without talking about money, and understand what they want. Open up two-way sales conversations. It’s a tacky sales ploy to start pitching right on the face! Being pushy and idealistic dies hard.
Sales is a game of time, and one can never predict what makes or breaks your business. If the money is not in your bank by the end of the day, you obviously haven't closed the sale. The hardest regret in sales is losing your business to another competitor, and knowing your offers have been used to bargain a better deal all along! Playing catch-up with the customer is extremely tiring process, and can we honestly agree automation will not "close" your sales and bring the numbers? Value selling needs a human touch, and when this perceived value outweighs the cost, you’ve created value for your customer that outweighs the price.
There's no absolute need to be jerky about pushing around for closures. Ask the right questions and provide advice. Don't be a generic text-book jerk in sales, personalize! Make yourselves sound, or even act "as if" you care! However strongly not recommended to exhibit such foolishness when you can't act well, rest assured growth trumps profitability with openness, honesty and integrity. Customers are people, not targets!
Remember: Nobody likes to be SOLD. Follow-up with clients will ensure the interest with closing the sale sans bargain. To stay relevant and ahead of this ever evolving profession of sales, adopt new tools to help you reduce stress post-closures. Stop being a jerk, and automate what you think is wise. If you wish to seal a deal, stop building pressure, and give clients ample time to make their wise choice. Here's some food for thought: Can automation solve the sales drudgery? Read more ⟶
Keep hustling folks.