This was Written by Grant Cardone
Check Him Out at
www.grantcardone.com
Disagreements come in more ways than just saying "no." And if you are disagreeing with someone, you'll never close the sale.
Agreement
is vital and is the single most important and violated rule of selling!
I’m not saying you should mislead the customer. There’s an art to
telling the customer, “I’d love to make that happen to you,” rather
than, “I can’t,” “I won’t” or “That’s not my job.”
Here are seven things not to say in sales or business:
1. "That’s not my department."
You
must take responsibility for everything, whether it’s in sales or your
personal life. Don’t blame the economy, don’t blame other people, and
don’t blame any external conditions, because blaming is something you do
to become a slave.
Related: Avoid the Dead Zone By Adopting 'Recruit Daily or Perish'
The
greats gave up the blame game long ago. They are big on accountability
and responsibility to get the job done. If you are willing to take the
credit when you win, be willing to take the credit when you lose.
2. "You can trust me."
Have
you ever noticed when a buyer isn’t fully listening to you? This occurs
because the prospect assumes that since you are a salesperson they
cannot trust you. The media constantly runs broadcasts of scams and cons
that make consumers skeptical of salespeople. Losing credibility will
add time and this lack of trust from the prospect will cost you sales.
Saying “trust
me” to a prospect isn’t going to build trust and may even have the
opposite effect. To properly handle your buyers trust you must
understand that people believe what they see, not what they hear.
Always,
always show written material to support your presentation or proposal.
Make sure to use third-party materials when collecting facts for your
customer that support what you’re saying -- this adds external
credibility to your claims. And you must write down everything you have
said, offered, proposed, promised, suggested and implied during the
proposal.
3. "I don’t use this myself."
Others will never
agree with you until you are convinced of the value yourself. If you’re
working for an auto dealership and you aren’t driving the kind of cars
you’re selling, you lose credibility and trust -- and no one buys from
someone they don’t trust.
Conviction will make or break you -- and
your sale is made only when your belief in your product, service or
idea is stronger than your prospect’s objections. The moment they give
up a bit of their conviction is the moment the sale becomes possible.
You
must be in 100 percent completely and entirely before you can maximize
your opportunities. Don’t even attempt selling someone else until you
are completely sold yourself.
4. "It’s a company policy."
Nobody
ever wants to hear this, ever. This is a perfect opportunity for you to
practice the golden rule, because you know you hate hearing it. Nobody
cares about a company policy, they care about the service they are
provided, so don’t use it as a way to justify why you can’t, or won’t,
do something for a customer.
If you have a policy that conflicts
with the comfort of the client, either break it, don’t bring it up or
come up with a solution before you propose a problem.
Sell the
reason. Here are a few startup examples: “Sir, just wanted to let you
know, this may not be the best place to…” Or, “Ma’am, I understand you
don’t have a receipt and I want to help you with this. I can exchange it
for you, would that help?”
Related: Stop Offending Buyers: Dangerous Words and Phrases to Avoid in Sales
5. "We’re competitive."
The idea that “competition is healthy” is meant for consumers, not salespeople. Don’t compete -- dominate.
When
Steve Jobs wanted to get into cell phones, the people at Apple told him
to stick to iPods and to leave the phone alone. The iPhone is still the
single most popular smartphone on the planet. That’s how you dominate a
space -- you need to become an expert in your field. Use LinkedIn,
Twitter, Google+, Facebook and any other means to be the first thing
people see or think of when they look for your type of product or
service.
6. "This might be out of your price range."
Always
treat the buyer as a buyer, because in sales anyone who believes they
have the ability to pre-judge the ability of a buyer is costing
themselves a fortune. I have been told in countless situations that
there was no way this would be a sale, but because I treated the buyer
like they could do a deal, guess what: they did!
Regardless of
them saying they have no money, no budget, they don’t want to pay taxes,
they aren’t the decision-maker, can’t, won’t -- whatever they tell you,
always treat the prospect like they can and will buy.
7. "I’m off today."
You
must always be open for business. Have you ever received an “out of
office” auto-response when trying to contact someone? It’s so impersonal
and drives me nuts! Never announce you are closed off to opportunities!
You need to do whatever it takes to be open for business, no matter
when, no matter what.
Look, I understand, I’m a father and a
husband, and there are plenty of times I’m in 10X mode giving full
attention to my family. However, business is still getting handled.
Tweets and Facebook posts are going out and people who are trying to
reach me have no idea I’m on the floor playing with my daughters or on a
trip with my wife. I’m still always connected.
