Many of you emailed me this past week asking me to explain the “Puppy Dog Close” I wrote about recently. What I plan on doing this week is to give you a few Sales Tools that you can use to close the sale.
In my coaching program, I’ve received many email messages and faxes, which my subscribers asked me to address and write about some of the problems they were having. Each month I have given them the step-by-step methods to solve those problems but also at the same time to build their downline by Creating More and More Customers. When you get a few moments, please go to Training Program and let me know what you think of it.
Anyway, here it is:
The Puppy Dog Close
I’ve written about how this was done by the producer of the “Wizard of Oz” and how the dog was with his family for weeks, and when it came time for the family to part with it, they just couldn’t send it back.
This close probably got its start back in the days when pet shop owners encouraged those parents, of the children who wanted the pet, to take it home and see how they liked the pet. You can probably figure out how this story ends if you’ve ever experienced this concept.
This close is obviously not applicable to every product or service, but when it is possible try the following:
- If you are selling a service, offer a small trial service for free and if the customer likes your work, they then agree to hire you. Magazines use this type of offer most of the time when they are marketing to new subscribers.
- Anyone in the appliance industry can use this close also. You can offer the individual the floor model to take home, use it for a week, and if it doesn’t fit their needs, bring it back. Of course, you’ll have a few individuals who won’t purchase, but I’ll put my money up that the majority will.
- Tell your MLM customers who can’t make up their minds to buy or not to buy, to try out your product for a week for free, and if they don’t like it then they can return it, no questions asked. Most people, once they “have” something in their possession, will feel that they own it and therefore want to keep it once the week is up.
Most of you can massage this concept to fit your networking business.
The Testimonial Close
Last week I went over how to get testimonials and how to use them. The Testimonial Close is another method to use when closing a sale. After you have collected all of your testimonials, put them in a binder, and when appropriate you can leaf through them to show a potential customer or a present customer who had the same hesitancy problem.
Let me give you an example:
Customer: “I’m not sure about how your company will service me. That’s the only thing that keeps me from purchasing your product.”
You: “You know, John, most people feel the same way as you do and one of our customers in particular expressed that concern to me before he bought. But he found out that his concerns were never realized and in fact, he wrote us this letter thanking us for doing such a good job for him.”
This will reinforce the prospect’s purchasing decision.
The Total Honesty Close
People actually DREAD having to deal with salespeople. So why not be an advisor or counselor to them. Spend a great deal of time finding out what they want to do and accomplish. Then show them how your product or service can fill their needs.
Then do something that “no one” expects you to do, and tell them all the negatives about minor things that may mean your product isn’t the right one for them.
If you want to gain instant credibility with someone who is a potential client. Do this and watch all the sales pressure just melt away. You are no longer a pushy, obnoxious, or greedy salesperson.
You have become a confidant and trusted advisor to the prospect.
Let me give you an example:
Suppose you came into my car dealership and wanted to buy a sports car. I ask you all the necessary questions to find out what you really want and the benefit you want to receive.
I have just qualified you for how much money you want to spend and how you will spend it. Then I show you a car and as we are driving around I mention a few reasons why you might NOT want to own this car.
What do you think might happen?
Look at it this way. If you are selling a great product or service, the negatives of what you are offering will probably be very small. Don’t keep them a secret, just tell your customers upfront about any negatives.
I’ve experienced this quite often. The negatives you tell them won’t make any difference in their buying decision.
Keep it simple, just be totally honest with your prospect and tell them everything they need to know to make the buying decision. If you do tell them a few reasons why they may not want to buy your product, you will probably get the sale and more importantly, you will get tons of referrals because your customer will TRUST you.
Another reason for being honest is that after you’ve asked the questions to find out how they want to benefit from the purchase, and after using the Total Honesty Close, besides creating a customer, you have led them into purchasing the product or service that they truly desire and will create a long term customer who will be coming back more often and purchasing more from you.
Let me know what you think of these three concepts.
If you need step-by-step instructions on how to implement this and other ideas I give on creating customers, just visit Build Your Downline Fast Academy and sign up for my one-on-one coaching program.
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