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by Terry L. Sumerlin
A customer told me of the day he and a friend were playing golf. When they returned to their cars, his friend had a problem: he had locked his keys inside his vehicle.
He called a locksmith, who arrived promptly. He quickly unlocked the door and announced, “That will be $100.”
My customer’s friend went into orbit. “I’m not paying you $100 to unlock my door.”
The locksmith remained calm, as he very quietly pushed down the lock, closed the door and walked away. Before he’d gotten very far, he closed the sale.
Experienced salespeople can often relate similar, though not identical, experiences. The need is often so great and the person so desperate for the product or service little or no sales technique is required. However, that’s not generally the case. What too often is the case is that we lose sales because we forget very basic principles of persuasion.
I was reminded of these simple principles recently while reading Elmer Wheeler’s classic, Tested Sentences That Sell. He, you may recall, is the fellow that’s best known for the phrase “Don’t Sell the Steak - Sell the Sizzle.” The many principles he taught in persuading (not manipulating) a prospect, a child, a spouse or an acquaintance are timeless. Let’s look at two of these basic techniques having to do with questions.
The first question is WHY. Though we never want to be like an interrogator, this word alone can often turn a self-centered bore into a brilliant conversationalist. For example, our spouse might say, “I had such an awful day at the office today.” We might respond with, “Yeah, me too.” Then we’re set to take the floor with a litany of our own woes. If, on the other hand, we compassionately ask our spouse “why” we might help in ways we never anticipated.
Similarly, if a prospect says “I need to think about it”, we might simply say “okay.” If we do, we’ll probably miss the sale. “Why,” on the other hand, could easily draw out an objection we can handle.
WHICH is also a very good question in the persuasive process. Even if we get to the root of an objection with “why,” persuasion can lose its effectiveness when the person is given a choice between something and nothing. It’s like parents who ask a little boy if he wants a haircut, or a teenager if he wants to cut the grass. It makes “no” the easy and natural response.
Wheeler pointed out the need for always making the choice between something and something – never something and nothing. For instance, he taught the restaurant industry to ask customers if they wanted chocolate or vanilla ice cream on their pie. Not if they wanted it a la mode. His approach made a huge difference in profit on the sale of pie. It will also make a big difference in our powers of persuasion.
BARBER-OSOPHY: If you would increase your persuasiveness and number of sales, increase the frequency with which you ask “why” and “which.”
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