You want to close that sale. The customer wants you to throw something in to seal the deal. You have authority to do so. “Sure,” you say, “Do we have a deal?” you ask.
“Hold on. Not so fast.”
And the sale drags on.
Listen to this oldie I was reminded of as you read. [Read more...]
Are you struggling with prospecting? My last post,
When asked “What do you sell?” my answer is “I don’t sell, I develop relationships, many of which happen to turn into business.”
No is a power word. No is inflexible. No is final. No is a relational nuclear bomb. No painted me into corners of embarrassing finality. Saying no without sticking to my guns always weakened my position and eroded my customer’s confidence in me. A blunt no hurt negotiations, killed deals, and damaged relationships.
As salespeople, we work against a continuous tide of adversity. We want to say yes whenever we can, but that is not always possible. Our job to convert challenges into opportunities is dependent upon how we respond and resolve difficulties. No is a dead-end, maybe is a world of possibility.
Finally, only the tough nuts are left, the airtight sealed nuts that take more work. Out of desperation we may try cracking some to the disappointing hint of pistachio mixed with shell.
A linguistics professor was lecturing to his class one day.
The advent of summer meant baseball, beach, and crew-cuts. We sat inline in green leather chairs at the barbershop waiting for a promise that outweighed our disdain for the assembly line head shave. The insult was followed by the injury of a burning slap on the neck with the green tinted alcohol combs were cleaned in.
Do you care how they feel or how they are?
