Sales Professional: Beware Of This Innocent Looking Sales Terminator

By Author: David Nassief
Total Articles: 6
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Sales Professional:
Years ago I was having lunch with Paul, my boss at the time. Paul was a very seasoned and highly successful sales professional and sales training pro. One of my objectives during the lunch was to recommend a new project I wanted to start. Because of the time and money involved with the project I would need to get his approval before I could start it. The benefit to the company would be significant and I knew this would be a business smart move.

But the thing was I needed to convince Paul of this the merits of the project or it would never happen. Paul was a very sharp guy but he was also very conservative at times so I knew this might be a difficult sell. So I came prepared with research and charts and very powerful key points that I knew more than justified this project.

After Paul and I ordered lunch and had the customary small talk I introduced my proposal to him. I had just scratched the surface in my well thought out presentation and Paul said lets do it.

I was rather surprised by his quick approval because I only showed him about 25% of my presentation. So I responded ...
... by saying, Great and let me tell you why I think it will also benefit us in another way. Before I could say too much more Paul kindly said to me, David I said yes. Don't sell past the close. Paul was a true sales professional and had a good way of getting right to the heart of the matter.

I realized he was right. He had said yes why am I still selling? I smiled, and immediately changed the subject before I talked him out of the sale I just made.

Sales Professional:
Years ago I was having lunch with Paul, my boss at the time. Paul was a very seasoned and highly successful sales professional and sales training pro. One of my objectives during the lunch was to recommend a new project I wanted to start. Because of the time and money involved with the project I would need to get his approval before I could start it. The benefit to the company would be significant and I knew this would be a smart business move.

But the thing was I needed to convince Paul of the merits of the project or it would never happen. Paul was a very sharp guy but he was also very conservative at times so I knew this might be a difficult sell. I came prepared with research and charts and very powerful key points that I knew more than justified this project.

After Paul and I ordered lunch and had the customary small talk I introduced my proposal to him. I had just scratched the surface in my well thought out presentation and Paul said, Let's do it.

I was rather surprised by his quick approval because I only showed him about 20% of my presentation. So I responded by saying, Great and let me tell you why I think it will also benefit us in another way. Before I could say too much more Paul kindly said to me, David I said yes. Don't sell past the close. Paul was a true sales professional and had a good way of getting right to the heart of the matter.

I realized he was right. He had said yes why am I still selling? I smiled, and immediately changed the subject before I talked him out of the sale I just made.

Three sales tips every sales professional should do after they get a YES!

Positive comment - Confirm their yes in their mind and yours by making a positive comment about their decision. An example would be, Congratulations, I know you'll be happy with your new (product).

Seal the Deal - ASAP take the next step to conclude the transaction. This may involve having them sign an agreement or receipting in the payment or down payment or turning them over to the finance department. If possible do it without delay but never look or act rushed.

Change the Subject - Many times in certain big ticket transactions you can't always conclude the transaction immediately after the yes. You must wait on a manager to be available, or a contract to be printed, or something else that involves another party.

This means you have waiting time with your customer. In cases like these once you verbally confirm the sale change the subject. Don't risk talking them out of the sale by saying the wrong thing about the product or their purchase.

So what do you talk about? Things you learned about them in fact finding or during the selling process such as, hobbies, sports, their job, their family

Sales professional action item:
Once you get that yes from your customer do the above three steps immediately to avoid terminating the sale you just made.