Skip to main content

Salespeople - Just Answer the Question.

How we love to elaborate…     Both in our personal and business lives.   It is rare to find somebody who simply answers the question.

In sales, it is becoming more and more critical to just say yes or no.   If you want to embroider afterwards, by all means, but tell the client you can or you can’t do it, first.


That’s what they remember, the yes or the no.
Being married to an engineer, I have learnt that if I don’t answer the question, he simply repeats it, until he gets a definitive answer..

As the above is extremely bad for marital relationships, I try to say yes or no first and then give the details.


I thought it was just me, but I have been observing my friends and the people I work with, and it is fascinating how few one word answers are immediately available.
When you are selling and a client asks you:

  • If the widget turns blue in the dark, say yes if it does, then ask if that is a key part of the decision making process
  • If they ask when you can deliver, give them a date, then you can start to unpack if that was a buying signal.




  • If they want to know if there are additional features and benefits, say yes there are and then tell them what they are.
  • If they ask if it comes in pink, say yes, then tell them about all the other colours, but first say yes!
While I know that this might be counter to the ABC (Always Be Closing) of selling, I have realised that when I am in a “being sold to” situation my perception is that not answering the question directly is a sales ploy.   The sales person’s credibility immediately drops.   I know I am being pitched, and I immediately become defensive, and not that keen to finalise the deal.





So for me it’s the moment I hear the “If I can confirm that it comes in blue, will you sign the order?” when the warning  flags start to fly…




Of course, it is important to give the reason behind the answer, particularly if there is legal risk, or a possibility of misunderstanding, the immediate affirmative (or an honest no)  is a positive step in building trust relationships during the sales process.






Links, References and Notes

Accsys provides people management solutions ie Payroll, Human Resources (HR), Time and Attendance as well as Access Control/Visitor Management.
The company develops, implements, trains and services our solutions.  We provide readers, turnstiles, booms and CCTV.
We run both on premise and in the cloud, as well as mobile options for ESS.  Recruitment, online education and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) are part of our offering, too.
http://www.accsys.co.za/accsys-peopleplace-talent-management
email:      tschroenn@accsys.co.za
twitter:   @TerylSchroenn
Note:   Thank you for reading Teryl@Work.   Should you wish to use any of the material, please acknowledge this blog as the source.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

3 things to do BEFORE you resign

or sign a new contract… 1.         Confirm your notice period ·          A lot of companies allow 30 days from date of resignation, but many ask for a calendar month 2.        Check your restraints ·          If you are joining a competitor ·          If you are joining a client 3.        Find out when your last payment will be transferred ·          Companies have been burned by paying over on the 25 th , and people not returning, so they may delay payment transfer until the last official working day, or even the first day of the following month.  You may need to make special arrangements regarding debit orders …. Both your current company and your new one deserve to be fairly treated.   Knowledge of ...

When did having it all become doing it all?

Or being all things to all people… Ruth Bader Ginsburg , U.S. Supreme Court Justice: “You can’t have it all at once. Over my lifespan, I think I have had it all. But in different periods of time, things were rough.” As a mother, a wife and a business woman, I have thought a great deal about this.    My article about #OutsideWork generated some personal mail that asked me, inter alia: “How?” “What do I need to do to satisfy everybody that needs my full attention when I am with them?”  My children, my boss, my partner – they all need me to be the best that I can be, and I am barely keeping my head above water.” “I don’t want to be selfish, but there is no time for me.” And a poignant comment: “This article made me remember that there must be time for “self” but I am not finding it.  I am mentally and emotionally exhausted and nobody seems to care” There is no one answer.  It’s different for those in a committed partnership, compared to sing...

Employment Tax Incentive Bill

While there has not been agreement from all parties on the Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) Bill, and the roll out, it was formally published on 4th November, 2013.  With the January go live date, there are still some issues that need to be finalised, but simply put, the concept is as follows: The incentive runs from January 1st, 2014 to December 31st, 2016 The employee must be between 18 and 29 years old on the last day of the relevant month The employee must earn a wage of less than R6 001 per month The incentive can only be claimed in the months when the remuneration is under R6 001  The employee must have been engaged after October 1st, 2013 The employer must be eligible by being  Registered for PAYE In good standing with SARS Not local, provincial or national government Limited to South African citizens and valid asylum seekers, the main driver is for youth employment, however, the incentive also applies to employment in Special Economic Zones (SEZ) ...