Ahhh yeah, sales – the one industry nearly everyone has a negative opinion or emotion about, is a skill set that everyone has practiced at some point or another since birth.

At my point, think about the last time you went to great lengths to get someone else to see something from your perspective; that’s sales. For example, if you are in a relationship with someone, casual or married, you have undoubtedly tried to sell something to your partner before, but it may have come in the form of an idea. For example, where to go to dinner, what movie to watch, what color curtains to buy, or what appliances or furniture to furnish the house, are all ways we have made an effort to make the other person see things our way. We are constantly selling and sometimes even ourselves.

Kids are by far some of the best salespeople in the world, ask any parent. Kids have two things that work for them when it comes to sales – they have an unlimited amount of energy and they are simply relentless! As the father of 5 children, I can attest that my own children are very tenacious, persistent, and at times quite convincing.

When it comes to professional sales, the idea is to help people see a need that they may not have realized. And this was certainly the case during my sales career in the insurance industry. During this time, when meeting a potential customer for the first time, I often heard, “Oh, you salespeople are all the same. Don’t think you’re going to come to my house and sell me something!” The truth is that the first “sale” I had to make in these situations was to get the individual to see my perspective that all salespeople are not the same and that I was different from whatever their perception of a salesperson was.

The reality is that my official title was licensed insurance. “tutor” Unauthorized seller or seller of insurance. Although the function or activity of what I was doing was selling, first I was an advisor. My main concern was helping people identify a need that was missing from their portfolio without any pressure, coercion, or scary sales tactics. Now, I am not naive, I know there are such people in the industry, but that was never in my nature and it still is not to this day.

Nobody wants to deal with the clever salesperson who only cares about his results. Of course, every time I sat down with a potential client I wanted the sale, but I understood that a sale is a reward for providing great service or value and advising my client appropriately. So this brings me to where we are, I wrote this article to give you some tips on how you can outsmart the salesperson.

Before you begin, remember this: NOT ALL sales are final. With that said, the needs of the customer (YOU) always come first and as a customer you should always remember that YOU are in the driver’s seat.

Now let’s get started.

Tip No. # 1: start with the end in mind

As a consumer, you are always in control, yet many customers feel they are not. But why? The truth of the matter is that we consultants are good at pointing out what is missing and many times it is the reality of a person’s situation that ultimately makes “the sale.” In our industry, we are trained to start with the end in mind, so as a consumer I recommend that you do the same.

I’ve heard so many times throughout my career: “Okay, you can come but I’m not buying anything.” Then after the meeting is over, I leave the house with a check in my briefcase. Of course, it didn’t always happen that way because the sales industry is a numbers game, but most of the time it is the guy or the girl who makes such a statement that you MUST end up buying. So first, don’t be so against the idea of ​​making a buying decision on the first show because if it makes sense to you, don’t be so tied up with the idea that they are “selling” you. A product or service is being provided and if it meets a need that you have, then to me that is a buy and sell relationship, or a win-win situation, and it works for both parties.

I’m rambling, just like us, you must start with the end in mind. Know what you are willing and not willing to do or at least have an idea and if it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it.

Counselors advise and have the ability to get you where they want you to go. The canny salesperson is often aggressive and eager to get to the end of the meeting, where he can “close the deal” and run out of the house before the ink dries.

Tip No. 2 – Always be closed or ABC

There are different levels of closure. For example, “If you can qualify for this program Mr. Prospect, which of these programs do you think is best suited to your needs?” would be considered a soft close.

Why?

Physiologically, we are making him mentally prepare (and at the same time give us a little hint) as to which of the options he is most likely to select. Soft closures are very subtle and are often not even noticed by time consumers. Soft closures are very important and are often sprinkled throughout the presentation. The reason is, if we encounter any objections when we get to the hard closures, the soft closures above are the pressure points we will refer to. Do you see why these are slippery?

You can do the same and “Always be closing” also using soft closures for your own service. “Well if I were to qualify for this program Mr. Slick Sales Guy I am more likely to choose this one however I always use a two step process with any decision I make, I am definitely going to want to meet with you to discuss this again when I am completely satisfied with what you have shown me … but please continue. “

Sales are all physiology.

Tip No. 3: get to objection 3 and using silence is key

You will know when you are working with a “smart salesperson” because you will begin to feel uncomfortable with the direct pressure that you continue to exert. It has been my experience (being the customer) that sleepy salespeople often don’t give up until the customer is irritated and they certainly don’t use the power of silence. Silence is golden on a sales call, but it requires patience. This is not necessarily a common practice in the world of sales, however, this is a methodology that I subscribed to during my career in sales. Basically what this means is that it would take 3 of the customer’s objections and summarize them again. Here is an example.

Throughout our meeting, Mr. Prospect raises the following objections:

• I need to talk to my wife

• I need time to think about it

• I don’t have the money right now

Of these particular objections, there is only one that essentially puts an end to the possibility of a sale and that is, “I don’t have the money right now” and even that can be up for debate. What I would do is repeat all the objections as follows:

“So Mr. Prospect, I can totally appreciate the need to talk to your wife (spouse). However, assuming your wife loves the idea, what other reason would you have for not moving on today?”

Then I shut up! No matter how uncomfortable the dead air is, I don’t say a word.

“Okay, I think timing is something we all want when we make a buying decision, but honestly, you’ve been thinking about it long before tonight, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. So what would you say is the real reason? ?? “

“Okay. Hey, if you don’t have the money today, I completely understand. However, just to be clear, it’s not that you don’t like what I’ve shown you today, but simply the inability to pay it today. So, assuming your wife supports the idea, and you had a little more time to consider that your options and money are not an issue, when would you like to move on? “

Keep in mind that these are all open ended questions, which means it keeps the conversation going. Now I often leave it at 3 because I honestly don’t like to twist people’s arms … that’s what the canny salesperson does. However, what I always do is keep the conversation going. From here on, I can still walk away with the sale, or at least I have a follow-up meeting where we could work out a deal.

So, being the consumer, how can you use this method of three questions and silence? It’s not necessary, but if you really want to make it clear, you can simply say, “Mr. Slick Sales Guy, I appreciate this and the time you’ve given me, however, I’m just not sure at this point. That what you’re offering is what better for me. That being said, I would love the respect of sitting down with this for a day or two and will get in touch with you to let you know if we’re going to move on or not. “

Using that word respect it’s heavy. If you feel ANY kind of pressure after this statement, “someone” is being nifty and can shut it all down right there. But here’s the thing, if YOU are the type of person to procrastinate then don’t do this. Ask them to contact you because I’ve seen it before (specifically in the insurance industry) when I’ve given people the respect of time and after their “procrastination” time, they suffered an injury of some kind and they finished. top left in a worse situation than before. So if you are a procrastinator, be honest with yourself and be honest with your intentions and just make up your mind.

As I said at the beginning, you are in the driver’s seat, but you need to know where you are going and not procrastinate to get there just to demonstrate a point of “not wanting to be sold.” If your salesperson is being slick, he will often pick up on it because of the energy he receives. However, if you are working with a professional, a professional salesperson has been said to have a ‘bedside attitude’, meaning that they allow you to express yourself and your wishes while creating a space that you are comfortable in and the professionals provide. you with a valuable product or service and should ultimately be compensated. But, if you don’t feel comfortable, there is probably a reason. The truth is, people will only buy from someone they know, like, and trust. So, always remember, when all is said and done, you are the one with the checkbook.