sales fundamentals – JOHNDAPPERCLOSER

HOW TO: Close More Deals Through Gossip

The “Gossip Close”. Well, this is a personally coined term for Third Party Story as I wrote this post. Third Party Story or TPS is one of the tools of the trade which sites a commonality of a previous buyer to that of the latest prospect in order to encourage a purchase.

One could always personalize and articulate how TPS is delivered. However, generic contents considered as pillars of an effective Gossip Close are

(1) Time Element of the previous purchase (Urgency) (2) Real Names Of Buyers (develop a mental database of buyers) (3) Commonality that’s further articulated with emotions, logic and kinesthetics (common discomfort, same demography or occupation similar situation or objection) (4) Mental Pause and (5) Closing through Handshake.

So how really to let them buy through the story of the previous buyer? Here is an example spiel to let you appreciate the numbered points after.

“I used to have a guest seated there just yesterday. Paul and Amy De Leon of Angeles City . They have been like you, searching for a more frugal way of traveling with their family while at the same time in a luxurious room . As I showed them how this concept gives them the reasonability and quality of family vacationing, they asserted that this would be the better way of spending their next holidays and never waste their money in vacations ever. Do you think they made a sound choice? Would you be like them, when the offer is affordable, save and at the same time enjoy a not for everyone kind of getaway? (Pause for 5 seconds to let them absorb the thought) Then recognize their affirmation by shaking their hands, Welcome to the Club then?! (the close)”

1: IDENTIFICATION AND EMPATHY.

Truer than ever, prospects like it when you to talk about them. Their success, their family, anything that turns their hot button. On the case of TPS, you talk about a person whom your prospect could identify himself through a similarity.

Identification in Psychology, is a largely unconscious process, often a defense mechanism, by which an individual takes as his or her own the characteristics, postures, achievements, or other identifying traits of other persons or groups. This is exactly what TPS wants to trigger. To ignite a mental suggestion to the prospect that the people who availed the offer were humans who have similarity with them, like same essence of the problem existent to them or any identifying facet. This is then reinforced by the emotional aim of Empathy. In the case of the similarity of existent discomfort, Empathy lets them behave that having such problem isn’t comfortable and the advise you are about to pitch will relieve them from the discomfort. The identification of the prospect on the similar existent problem of the previous buyer is contagious to identifying of the prospect on the similar solution availed by the already buyer. This strengthens their interest on the journey of understanding that your offer is the solution to the felt need. Thus, subtly persuading them that they need your offer and tickles them to actively listen, cooperate and contemplate as you pitch. The Identification-Empathy tandem is the foremost of the psychological aim of the Gossip Close.

2: CONFIDENCE AND BELONGINGNESS.

As you turned the prospect high that there are also those who have experienced same or even worse challenge than them and had triumphantly deciphered a solution for it, This ignites the emotion of belongingness. That they are in the same group of vulnerable humans who could actively do something about their discomfort. This inspires them to be confident on asserting for a sound solution. This challenges them to mend their discomfort through your offer to feel that they are one of those educated choosers who solved their needs. That is actually belongingness in a continuum. From accepting same problem through identification, to the confidence on the journey of getting the problem solved and to the rewarding relief of deliberately ending their discomfort with an educated choice (your offer).

3: INVOLVEMENT.

It is showing what your offer could benefit to them according to a real person whom they have identify with. TPS serves as an effective situational demonstration of how exactly your offer is used to help achieve a real solution from a real person. This also strengthens your appeal being an expert on how your offer was proven to be a better solution as done by the previous purchaser. They feel that it is already them applying your product’s benefits and features to mend their problem because of the identification your TPS has caused to them. Involvement here has become more effective since it doesn’t sound like a too-good-to-be-true, canned-pitched benefit from a salesman who hungers a deal but rather a virtual image of them using the feature and feeling the benefits like the previous buyer you have mentioned whom they identified with.

4: CREDIBILITY AND COMPASSION.

TPS serves as a testimony of both trustworthiness to you and the company . Furthermore, proves your compassion using your product expertise, to help. This lets them perceive you as a competent teacher to their recently identified problem. They are giving to you not just the permission to help them the way you helped a previous “like them”, but as well as their confidence of exchanging their hard earned money to the benefits of your offer proven to be effective from a buyer who are “like them”. TPS gives you then authority.

5: OVERCOME OBJECTION.

Objection connotes “tell me more why I should get your offer”. In order to play cool and not too pushy in overcoming objections, TPS is your subtle tool. Prospects never want to be stabbed to the idea that they are wrong in their objections about your offer. Thus, letting them know that there are previous guests who thought same way they do, relates that you understand their point and their concern is normal and was previously resolved. This convince them that their apprehension about the product was manageable as evidenced by the experience of a previous “like them” who availed the offer and is in fact enjoying purchase.

6: ENTERTAINMENT.

Human ears are good for only 20minutes. When you aren’t able to dramatize your pitch, then it basically turns to a preach. In order to make your pitch interesting and compelling, present it novel-like with TPS. Amusing them with the same exact plot where they are, with engaging characters similar to them in an exciting journey to a happily-solve-their-problem ever after. You could close gracefully through the Gossip Close.

Closers need to be good writers when using TPS. Gossip, on this context connotes as a sales tool. A decent, pro-to-your-offer kind of gossip. Then, Closers have to be good monolog speakers too. You have to deliver the TPS script splendidly. Just like in theaters, audience choose which story they could empathize and identify. Trophies and sounding applause are given to the actor who portrayed a character the most convincingly. The box office bursts to which story best entertained.

Selling the story (not just telling) of previous buyers is an affecting art to fortify weight on you pitch. It is an imperative whenever you want an articulate process of closing.

HOW TO: Negotiate the Price with Tactful Pride

When you’re done conveying how your offer helps your prospect, it’s always been part of the selling process to let your prospect appreciate the corresponding value of the solution you are proposing.

Negotiation has always been a very exciting phase of the sale. Pride for the tagged price while negotiating on the other hand, makes it a sizzling phase. Most of the sales people just negotiate. On how to negotiate the price with tactful pride, these what closers do.

1. BEARING AND WORDS. Pride is reflective on how we bear self as we discuss the price. Facial expression, gestures, motion, voice dynamics these all affects your presence and determines your confidence. Just be vigilant on the difference between being arrogant and intimidating to being confident that the offer is justly tagged to the benefits it provides to any interested guest.

Filtering words that sound not being pushy makes it coherent to being proud of what you’re offering. Play with communication elements that sound like you are pulling them away from the Rubicon of enjoying the benefits of the purchase.

2. MY OFFER IS REASONABLY PRICED. Values of any offered product or service is regulated directly or indirectly, either with an assigned authority or benchmark among competitors. Thus, there’s no such thing as over priced or under priced. It is then be reinforced with haggling skills that let prospect realize that your offer is priced just rightful as the urgent ease it gives to their discomfort. Reasonability lies on how buyers equate the tag to the personal essence of the bag.

3. MY OFFER IS THE BEST OF ITS KIND AMONG EXISTING IN THE MARKET. There is no other offer with an identical feature that gives you same or even lower cost. It will either be lower cost for a lower quality or higher cost for a higher quality. This is the only offer that comes with higher quality in a just cost. Elaborate the selling point of the product specific to the prospect in order to justify the “higher quality”. Intensify such “higher quality” versus any other offer from any other agent by spicing it up with your personal elements like you being credible, an expert to the product or you being an advocate for post sales services.

4. TAKE AWAY. Let them feel what they are missing out after tactfully presenting how your offer improves their aspirations. Play hard to get and appear like you have since accepted that not all you have offered with this price really could afford and avail it. It’s an exclusive deal. The offer doesn’t fit for all.

5. SAY “NO”. When the prospect haggles so low from your offer, though you have let them realize how worthy the value, learn to say No. Let them feel the fear of loosing your generous offer.

Discount (lowering the price) never exists to deteriorate the appraisal of your offer. It exists to let the prospect feel relieved from a too high preconditioned price rooted from an appreciation of a too beneficial solution of their urgent felt need.

Learning what your product could benefit to your prospect is a an elementary responsibility being in sales to ignite an afire involvement during your pitch. As you want to be an ace closer, develop the sales technique that gears up the synergy of your product knowledge and being proud of the price as you drive the negotiation to a deal.

HOW TO: Instantly let someone feels they knew you for a long time.

after a little talk, you could leave shortly but less distantly in order to create an acquaintance-to-an-old-friend come back as you approach them again.”

As you are a reader here, surely you already know one of the fundamentals of a sales appointment, “Establish trust first and befriend the prospect”. Usual sales people do it in a long method but Closers do it instantly smooth. Here are some.

1. Monologue with your name. People are codified with names. When you know someone by name alone, you could say the least that you know something very distinct to that person even without seeing his face or knowing his stories. You just simply know him more than just a stranger because of the name.

Your goal is to let them hear your name as much as you can during your warm up conversation. And you let them hear it by relaying past conversations with previous prospects that make them feel they had a talked with you before. I mean,

when you have been promoting same offer over the years, you are able to tally a generic set of objections and concerns expressed by your prospects.”

By, inserting previous talks on same points that they will be raising, or those which remain unsaid in their brains, while using your name, you’re able to let them feel that you have already talked before with them on that same concern and feels like you’ve known each other even before the first meeting. This also gives them an impression that you are empathetic and compassionate on the things they are thinking.

2. Treat them like the way you treated their counterparts in your life. Simple. If they are on the age of your grandmother, tell them that you remember your grandmother as you meet her and be consistent on how you really treat them just exactly how you treated their counterpart. This even gives you the idea how to tailor your offer specific to the prospects desires as you yourself more or less knows the desire of the prospect’s counterpart in your life.

3. Leave. Then, be back like an old friend. Once you have introduce yourself and your role for that meeting,

after a little talk, you could leave shortly but less distantly in order to create an acquaintance-to-an-old-friend come back as you approach them again.”

You might offer them a drink and get it for them as you also get yours. Then as you go back, treat them as someone you have already known before. They would also treat you the same. This is also helpful whenever your first approach was a bluff. You could breathe and strategize again.

4. When they recognize you as one like they know because of a specific gesture, Act it. Frequently.“You laugh like my close friend from high school” thus, laugh more often during your warm up and laugh, whenever there’s worth laughing throughout the meeting.

You could even repeat the specific gesture again whenever you have a bit of disagreement as you go along the pitch. This reminds them and hence, neutralizes the situation that they are talking with someone they have identified as a memorable pal, not a promising enemy.”

5. Tell them a previous chapter of your life that explains a specific attribute you distinctly posses as you pitch. This is actually a trick in order to justify a you-only-trait but at the same time letting them know you deeper than any just-now-met person. When i do my pitch, i usually sound like a legislative man. Thus, I tell them early in our talk that on my high school and college years I have been participating in debate championships.

That way, they feel like they’ve known me since that chapter of my life as I naturally manifest it during the whole course of our communication. Seeming like they are in front, talking with an old friend.”

Molding friendship and trust with your prospect is a process. Whether through a long or short method, It is a process. It is a “pre-pitch” requirement. Those listed never aimed to compromise the quality of your befriending talk. It makes the prospect instantly feels they knew you longtime ago, but it may not instantly work for you. It needs to be practiced, polished. Remember those. Apply. Evaluate.