And that's exactty why you should buy.oo

By James Olsen

f OFTEN ask my classes. ''What lbusiness are you in?" The sales business, the people business, the relationship business, and often the actual industry they are in, be it lumber, real estate. or car sales.

Admittedly, this is a trick question. I tell them. "Those are all subsets of the business we are in. We (as salespeople) are in the communication business." The guy cutting lumber in the sawmills is in the lumber business. In theory, the better he makes lumber, the more money he makes. For us as salespeople, the same is true for communication. The better we communicate, the more money we will make.

Why do I even make the Point?

Because there are a lot of us out there selling who haven't updated our product (communication) in a long time. What happens to a plant that doesn't update its equipment? It falls behind. The same will haPPen to us if we don't upgrade our communication and keep it fresh. We should learn to enjoy experimenting with new tYPes of openings, questioning techniques, consultative approaches. aggressive approaches, closes or any step in the sales (read communication) process.

One of my favorite closes is the "and-that' s-exactly-why-you-shouldbuy-it" close, sometimes called the "right-angle" close. Whatever objection our customer makes to our Proposal, we answer by saYing, "And that's exactly why you should buy it." After we say this we need to have a good reason that dovetails with our customer's objection. For example:

Sales Trainer: "My taPes will increase your sales. They're $79.99."

Customer: "I couldn't afford that!"

Sales Trainer: "And that's exactly why you need to buy these taPes; if you were selling more, You could afford them."

Lumber Seller: "We've been selling2x4 l6's at a great level, how many should we put on?"

Lumber Buyer: "We're not mov-

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Seller: "And that's exactlY whY we need to bring some of these in. Our cost will help you lower You cost, helping you to get more in line with the market and sell more."

This is a fun close to use, but we must be careful. If the reason we give after "And that's exactly why..'" doesn't make good business sense. we will sound flip, argumentative or like someone just trying to get an ordcr. If our reason does make sense, we are on the way to getting an order.

Another reason I like this close is because it's an idea shifter. As salespeople, part of our job is to get our customers to see things in a slightly different way. Their perception of us or our product may be off just enough to keep them from buying from us instead of a competitor. The "And that's exactly why. ." challenges their thought process. ManY sellers are afraid of standing up to customers in any way. If the "And that's exactly why..." is delivered in the right way, it will create respect from the customer. not confrontation.

Yr)u're A llundred 'Ioo ltigh!

We find ourselves in a tough market. Buyers seem to have the dial turned to "automatic no." Sometimes we have to say something to shake them up. I've got a friend in the lumber business that opens a $100 Per 1,000 too high or too low.

Lumber Seller: "John, I've got a fantastic deal on 2xl0 green Doug fir. We can get it to you for $440lmbf."

Lumber Buyer: "$440/MBF? You're off by $100/MBF!"

Seller: "So you're PaYing $330?"

Buyer: "That's about right...

And now my friend finds himself in a sales conversation versus an "automatic no" conversation.

The point is to communicate with our customers in new, more effective ways-upgrade our equipment. If the way we are communicating is not bringing results, we must change individual phrases in our sales lexicon or even our entire approach. Try these examples -or something elselnext week and see how theY oPen communication and increase sales.

- James Olsen is principal of Realit"v Sales Training, Portland, Or., specializing in saLes training for the lwnber industr.v' He cun be reached at james@realitysale straining. c om o r ( 5 0 3 ) 544 - 3 572.