Show High-Pressure Salespeople To The Door
A couple of years ago, I attended a one-day sales seminar conducted by a well-known sales guru in the construction industry. I hadn’t seen this person before and since one of our product manufacturer’s paid for me to attend, I couldn’t resist. While I did take away some positive things, my overall experience left me feeling frustrated and disappointed. The bulk of the time was spent teaching their “one call close” techniques.
One Call Close Sales System
The goal of a one call close sales system is to close a sale with a potential customer the first time you visit their house. The focus is to try and identify any potential objections and deal with them so that as the “closing” time approaches you can ask a question like, “Is there any reason that we can’t finalize this deal tonight?” If the potential customer balks then the salesperson can simply go through all of the prior objections and show how he has already taken care of that and ask the question again. The “guru” says that this is the best way for a business to close sales, because if you leave without a deal your chance of making the sale goes down considerably. Also, if you have to return, it costs you more time (and time is money) to go back.
If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of something like that you know how awkward it can feel. In essence, the salesperson has led you down a path that makes you feel stupid if you don’t sign up because he has answered every possible objection and there’s no reason that you shouldn’t make this happen right now. Sometimes they will end up lowering their price, saying that if they don’t have to return it will save them some money and they would be willing to take a bit off to get the deal done that night.
High-Pressure
My overall problem with the one call close system is that it is focused on what’s best for the business/salesperson trying to make the sale. Over the years, I’ve observed that the businesses that are the most successful long-term are focused on what’s best for their customers. I truly like to treat our potential clients like I want to be treated when I’m buying something … and I hate to be pressured into anything! I’ve learned that before I spend thousands of dollars on something, it’s probably a good idea for me to walk away and sleep on it – even if it’s something that I feel very good about and am probably going to buy. There’s wisdom in waiting.
I think it’s very safe to say that if someone is trying to pressure you into a sale they are more concerned about their success than they are about your satisfaction. If you find someone like that in your home my advice would be, SHOW THEM THE DOOR! I’m shocked by the stories I hear from people about how a salesperson was at their home for hours and wouldn’t take no for an answer. I’m shocked by the audacity of the salesperson and also shocked that the homeowner allowed it to happen! If one or two polite attempts to end the sales process do not work then you as a homeowner should feel free to very directly tell the salesperson that it’s time to leave.
Conclusion
While it’s great to close a sale on the first call, for us it rarely happens. In fact, we rarely even give a price for the work the first time we meet someone. Our goal is to find out what a potential client’s needs are for their home improvement project, what type of budget range they are looking at, and then help them to identify what we believe would be the best solution to their needs. We try to spend a lot of time listening and understanding each situation. We often help to educate potential clients concerning possible products and installation methods. There’s no pressure in these meetings. We’re simply helping people find the best possible solution to their problem.
Of course, our goal is to ultimately make a sale. We need to make sales for our business to survive. And even though it may take us more time to get to that point when we make a sale it’s because our client has chosen us. Isn’t that a more gratifying way to buy things? It’s certainly a more gratifying way to sell things! Our prospects are more than just a potential sale to us. In fact, our ideal client is someone who understands the value of a relationship. I want to be able to see our clients in the supermarket, or at a community event, or wherever, and know that we sold them a great value and that they’re satisfied. I don’t want them to feel that they were pressured into anything. In the end, that’s a win-win for everyone.
