The "I Want To Think It Over" Close By Brian Tracy

Saving The Lost Sale
There is a powerful technique you can learn called the “I Want To Think It Over Close.” This is the only way I know to save this kind of lost sale. You know by now that when the customer says, "I want to think it over," he is really saying "good bye." You know from your own experience that customers do not think it over. They do not sit there carefully studying your brochures and price lists with a calculator and a pen.

People Are Often Ready To Buy
On the other hand, as many as 50 percent of the people you speak to are probably ready to buy at this point. They just need a little push. They need some help. A buying decision is traumatic for them. They are tense and uneasy, and afraid of making a mistake. They may be right on the verge of saying "yes" and they need the professional guidance of an excellent salesperson. But if you accept the "I want to think it over" at face value and depart, you will probably never get a chance to see them or to sell to them again.

Be Agreeable and Prepared
This is how you use it. When the prospect says, "I want to think it over," you appear to accept it gracefully. You smile agreeably, and begin packing your briefcase and putting your materials away. As you do, you make conversation with these words: "Mr. Prospect, that's a good idea. This is an important decision and you shouldn't rush into it.” These words will cause the prospect to mentally relax. He sees that you are on your way. His resistance will drop as soon as you stop presenting and trying to sell, presenting and trying to sell.

Ask Curiously
You then ask, in a curious tone of voice: “Mr. Prospect obviously you have a good reason for wanting to think it over. May I ask what it is; is it the money?"

Remain perfectly silent, watching his face. Smile gently. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. This is a critical moment.

Wait Patiently
Again, you have nothing to lose. If you leave, you have lost this person as a prospect forever. The worst thing that he can say is that he has no particular reason but that he still wants to think it over. However, in many cases, he will reply by saying one of two things. He will say, "Yes, I'm concerned about the cost." Or, he will say, "No, it's not the money."

Probe the Answer
If he says that "Yes, it's the money," you immediately go into a series of questions designed to deal with concerns about cost or price. You ask things like, "How do you mean, exactly? Why do you say that? Why do you feel that way? How far apart are we? Is price your only concern, or is there something else?"

If he says that, "No, it's not the money," you reply by asking "May I ask what it is?"

Remain Silent
Again, you remain perfectly silent while you wait for his answer. In many cases, he will think about it for a few seconds, even a minute or longer, and then he will give you his final concern or objection. He will finally tell you what is really on his mind. He will tell you the real reason why he is hesitating about going ahead.

If you can now satisfy him on this final condition, you can go on to conclude the sale. You can say, "Mr. Prospect, what if we could do this...?" Or, "I think there is a perfect answer to that question."

Action Exercises:
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, memorize the words of this closing technique and practice it as you would for a play or movie. Role-play this technique with someone else if you can.

Second, use this technique as soon as possible, the very next time you hear those words, “Let me think it over.” You can save sales that might be lost forever.
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Brian Tracy is one of the world's leading authorities on personal and business success. His fast-moving talks and seminars are loaded with powerful, proven ideas and strategies that you can apply immediately to get better results in every area. Visit the Brian Tracy web site.

Why you need sales training (we all do) By Joe Tye

During my years of graduate business school, I took a number of courses on marketing, but not one single course on sales. Even had I wanted to take a course on sales, I wouldn’t have been able to, because none were offered. At Stanford, as in much of the rest of our world, marketing is considered a real profession; selling is considered a somewhat less than respectable job.

That’s really too bad, because we are all in sales one way or another, and we’d be a lot more successful in our work and in our lives if we took it a bit more seriously and got better at doing it. Consider this:

If you have ever applied for a job, you were involved in sales. If you didn’t get the job, you didn’t do a good enough job of selling yourself.

If you are a manager, you are constantly involved in selling coworkers on why they should work more productively and take ownership for achieving results.

If you are a caregiver, you have no doubt found it difficult to sell a patient on why they should exercise more and eat less for their own health.

If you have children, you will spend the first sixteen or so years of their lives trying to sell them on a certain set of values and work ethic.

Seeing yourself as a sales professional can help you be more effective in many of the roles you play – as a parent, a manager, a caregiver. It can help you more effectively pursue your own personal and professional goals.

Learning more about the selling process will help you be a better listener, and help you learn to more readily ask for what you need to reach your goals. It will help you face the universal fears of rejection and failure more bravely, because when you’re in sales, that’s just part of the territory.
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Joe Tye is president of Paradox 21 Inc., which provides corporate training and culture change initiatives based on a proprietary curriculum of The Twelve Core Action Values of Personal Leadership Effectiveness. He is also the author of several books and audio programs on personal, career, and business success, and a popular motivational speaker. Visit www.JoeTye.com.

Hate to Make Cold Calls? 5 Tips to Make it Easier By Maya Bailey, Ph.D.

Have you often avoided making those “dreaded cold calls?” Do you dream of how much better your business could be but just can’t bring yourself to pick up the phone?

You’re not alone. In the 10 years that I have specialized in coaching real estate agents, I have noticed the same avoidance patterns in each of my clients. This article gives you 5 tips to make it easier.

Tip 1 - Change the name

I’m not kidding. Do the words “cold calls” send a chill up your spine? It’s no wonder . Whoever created that term didn’t know what they were doing. So, change the term, because it’s inaccurate. First of all, many of the people you’ll be calling are leads. Second, why would you you think cold? Are you cold? Is the receiver of the call cold? Not likely if you’re living in a human body.

So maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, but the point is, call it something different, call it what it is, “direct response calls”. My clients do much better when they realize they are making direct response calls.

Tip 2 - Be in the right mindset

Are you calling to sell something? If so, put down the phone and start again. No, you are actually calling to give something and that is your time and expertise. Would you be scared if you had a gift you wanted to give someone? Unlikely. In the same way, be in the mindset that you have a gift and you are it.

Why is this so? Well, think about the fact that you have something to offer. You know much more about real estate than Ms. Jane Doe. So if you call to let her know what properties have sold in her area, that is valuable information. Likewise, if you want to offer her a Free Comparative Market Analysis. That’s a gift of your time, energy and expertise. You should be proud to offer that. Guess what? If you are proud to offer that, she’ll most likely feel appreciative of the offer. Our energy and mindset is transferred to our prospective clients.

Tip 3 - Use a permission based approach

For example, when I do direct response calls, the conversation goes something like this, “My name is Maya Bailey and I work with real estate agents who want to double their income. If you’d like to take 30 seconds, I’ll be happy to tell you what I do.” Notice that I didn’t barrel my way through. I said as little as possible until I got their permission to continue.

Use this script as a template to make your own direct response calls. For example,” My name is ____________ and I’m your local real estate consultant. I have some news about the value of properties in our neighborhood. If you’d like to take 30 seconds, I’ll be happy to…..” Is this getting more clear? The latest trend in marketing is permission based marketing.

Tip 4 - Get excited about the relationships you’ll make

If you approach this in a permission based way, people will be much more open and friendly to you. Instead of focusing on the occasional rude person at the other end of the line, focus instead on what you want.

Most likely what you want is to make some connections with a person, in which you can follow up, convert them in prospective clients and then convert them into transactions. Let yourself feel how good it’s going to feel to close those deals. Pat yourself on the back because it all started with the courage it took to make direct response calls.

Tip 5 - Remember to reframe a “no” into a “yes”

What do I mean? First of all a “no” does not mean that you are being rejected. Neither does it mean that your service is being rejected. What it means is “No, not now.”

Secondly, do you realize that every “no” brings you one step closer to your “yes”? It’s a numbers game and you need a certain number of “no’s” to get a “yes”. Just remember to have thick skin and not take it personally.

My experience as a coach to real estate agents has shown me that it’s all about attitude. If you are sold on yourself and your service and you convey that with pride and enthusiasm, the other person will be glad you called. They may even become a client. It pays to know that you are valuable and what you have to offer is equally valuable.
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For more information on powerful marketing tips and tools, please visit Maya's website at 90daystomoreclients.com While you're there, get your Free Audio Mentoring Session by clicking the first button you see on the page.

Making the Most of a Short Month By Tom Hopkins

Just because February is the shortest month of the year, it doesn’t mean it should be your least productive month. We find that people who work on monthly schedules (such as those who make purchasing decisions) are well aware of the impact of fewer days in the month in which to get work done.

They tend to get the “week before vacation” syndrome to a small extent. You know how that is — people tend to be more focused the week before vacation than any other week of the year because they want to go on vacation with peace of mind.

No one wants to end February with a couple of day’s work to complete. Many people simply can’t move some of their work into the next month for budgetary reasons.

Take advantage of this February flurry of activity to get before those people you know need to make decisions now. They should be more focused than in the two previous months and more ready to make good decisions.
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Tom Hopkins International
7531 E. 2nd St., Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Tel: (480) 949-0786 or 800/528-0446 Fax: (480) 949-1590
TomHopkins.com - Visit our website for a great "Tip of the Day"

The Myth About Price By Kelley Robertson

In today’s competitive business environment, it often seems that the most important aspect of someone’s buying decision is price.

People constantly ask for lower prices, compare our prices with the competition, and badger us to give them a better deal. Regardless of what you sell, you probably face price objections on a regular basis.

I will never dispute that price is a factor in every sale. However, it is seldom the primary factor. If price was the only reason people bought goods and services, high-end boutiques and companies that sell premium products would not exist.

That means we need to learn how to resist the temptation to offer too much of a discount, too quickly. Here are a few ideas that can help.

Do your research. If you cold call on companies then conduct some preliminary research BEFORE you call them. Find out as much about that company as possible.

Thoroughly browse their website, ask for a copy of their annual report, and talk to other people in the company if possible. Figure out what problems they are facing and determine exactly how your product or service can help them solve those problems.

The more information you have about your prospective customer, the more relevant you can make your sales presentation to their specific situation.

Adapt your presentation. Most sales people try to tell their prospect everything about their product or service during a sales conversation.

Instead of taking this shot-gun approach, adapt your presentation so that it addresses the specific issues your prospect or customer faces. Remember to focus on the benefits of your product/service, not the features.

Too many sales people ramble on about the features of their products and services. But people don’t buy features they buy a solution to their problem. Position yourself as an expert and demonstrate to people how your product or service will help them solve their particular problem.

Establish the value of your product/service before you discuss price. The sooner price is brought up in the sales interaction, the more of a focal point it will become and the more difficult it will be to demonstrate your value.

When price is presented too early in the conversation, everything that is said afterwards comes across as trying to justify that price. I encounter this regularly in my business because one of the first questions most companies ask me is, “How much do you charge for a presentation?” I have learned to redirect this question until I have fully assessed their situation and presented a relevant solution.

If someone insists on an immediate price – and it does happen from time to time – I never get the sale. You need to increase the value of your product or service in your customer’s mind before you actually discuss the dollars associated with it.

This does not mean telling your customer everything about your product though. It means taking the time to thoroughly assess their situation and position your offering in a manner that shows them how they will benefit.

Show tangible results. This is particularly important when you deal with C-level decision makers. High level executives seldom care about the details – instead they want a macro view of the solution. I fell into this trap when I was contracted to deliver a train-the-trainer session for a client.

The VP dropped by the meeting room and after a few pleasantries I began telling him the details of what his trainers were going to learn. But he wasn’t interested in this. All he wanted to know was whether or not we had prepared a detailed outline so his internal trainers could deliver the program consistently across the country. It would have been more effective for me to have said, “Mr. VP, when this workshop is completed your trainers will be able to teach your sales team exactly how to improve their sales.

When you combine it with the follow-up program, it means that you will see an increase in your sales.” Whenever possible, translate the benefits of your product/service into actual dollars. This approach is extremely effective in reducing price resistance.

For example, if a company will save thousands of dollars in operating costs after implementing your solution then a purchase price of several hundred dollars seems worthwhile.

It amazes me how often sales people will automatically drop their price at the first sign of price resistance. However, most consumers, and certainly all corporate buyers, have learned that pushing back will save them money.

What’s even more interesting is that many sales people offer a discount BEFORE they are even asked. Not only does this affect your profitability, it also teaches your customer that you have price flexibility and conditions them to ask for further price concessions, now and in the future.

Copyright 2006, Kelley Robertson, All right reserved.
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Kelley Robertson, President of the Robertson Training Group, works with businesses to help them increase their sales and motivate their employees and has helped thousands of sales professionals and business people improve their results. He is also the author of “Stop, Ask & Listen – Proven Sales Techniques To Turn Browsers Into Buyers.” Receive a FREE copy of “100 Ways to Increase Your Sales” by subscribing to his free sales and motivational newsletter available at kelleyrobertson.com Contact him at 905-633-7750 or Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com.