I'm confident that you will benefit from this Wisdom from Art:
This Week's Tip:
One Word Could Kill the Sale
Greetings!
Did you know that all of the presidential candidates,
and other "watchdog" political organizations employ
people whose job is to monitor every word spoken or
written by the other candidates? Their intent is to
find a gaffe, or even an intentional statement that
can be exploited to ruin the candidate.
Yes, a single word or phrase here or there, or even
the way in which a few words are presented can
mean the death of a campaign.
And likewise, for us, the death of a sale, or giving
in to concessions needlessly.
For example, I heard a recording of a call where a
rep had the sale in the bag. The soon-to-be-customer,
grasping for any last minute throw-in asked
the rep,
“How’s ‘bout you guys pick up the delivery on this?”
I about leaped out of my chair when the rep hemmed
and hawed, then said,
“Well, we’re really not supposed to do that.”
Smelling blood, the customer spotted an opening:
“Really not supposed to, but you do on occasion,
right?”
“Uhhh, yeah, sometimes.”
“What cases are those?” inquired the customer
“When we need to get an order.”
The customer pounced. “OK. This is one of those
situations. I’m a new customer, and this is what
you need to get the order. You can explain that
to anyone who would have to approve it, right?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
What caused this whole mess?
Really.
That’s it.
Really.
The word, “really.”
And the rep's hesitant tone of voice.
When you know you have a deal in hand, and you’re
faced with a request that is 90% nonnegotiable, or if
you have a position that you feel deep down strongly
about, it’s imperative that you give the impression
that your stance is rock solid.
So what should this rep have said? Easy.
Prospect: “How’s ‘bout you guys pick up the delivery
on this?”
“(sincere tone) Wish I could. (matter of factly) Delivery
is just going to be $32 on this order. Which location
do you want it shipped to?”
Notice there's no apology for the shipping, like, “Well,
shipping is a part of our cost and if we did it for you,
whine, whine...”
It acknowledges the request, feeble as it might be,
states a fact, the shipping price, then gets on to the
business at hand, deflecting the person’s request.
You could even use humor if that is in your nature.
Act as if you didn’t take the comment seriously, and
they'll realize they weren’t serious about making it.
Unless you present your convictions and positions
with authority, you are inviting people to walk all over
you. State your positions with conviction, and you won't
have them challenged as often.
Speaking of speaking, are you satisfied with your voice?
Do you like the way you "look" over the phone? Well, if
there is any aspect of your voice or delivery that you are
less-than-thrilled with, I encourage you to check out the
best program available for building that voice that everyone
will compliment you on: "Voice Shaping: How To Find
Your Million Dollar Voice," by Susan Berkley. See all of
the details at
http://www.businessbyphone.com
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Most of the important things in the world have been
accomplished by people who have kept on trying when
there seemed to be no hope at all."
Dale Carnegie
Go and have your best week ever!
Art Sobczak, President, Business By Phone Inc. 13254 Stevens St.,
Omaha, NE 68137, (402) 895-9399. Or, email:arts@businessbyphone.com
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