Often, when it comes to closing the sale, one terrific argument, one master-stroke of persuasion, can overcome the prospect's resistance.
Here are three stories of how terrific salespeople turned me from a prospect into a sale . . . and in just a few words.
1. Years ago I was considering buying a million-dollar life insurance policy and got a quote from my agent.
The premiums seemed quite expensive so I gave my attorney a call and asked his advice. He said that I would do better by taking the money I planned on using to pay the insurance premiums and investing it instead in the stock market.
A few days later, the insurance agent came to the house and asked if my wife and I had made a decision. I told him what the lawyer had advised.
The agent paused, looked me in the eye, and then said, slowly and thoughtfully:
"Ivan, if you die tomorrow, and your wife calls your lawyer, will he come to your house with a check for a million dollars? . . . I will."
This powerful argument stopped me in my tracks. It seemed to clarify everything and stripped away my resistance. I signed on the dotted line.
The insurance agent's ability to defeat my objection and make a winning argument in just two sentences was impressive indeed.
2. I was shopping for a new car and wound up deciding that a spiffy sedan was just the ride for me.
The dealer and I went back and forth negotiating the price and finally came to terms.
The only hitch was that the car with the color I wanted was at another dealership about sixty miles away.
That hung me up. The fact that I couldn't see the actual car I'd be buying and just drive it off the lot, bothered me. The dealer could see this and said:
"This isn't a problem. We'll have a professional driver bring it up and you'll have it in about an hour."
Somehow the idea that the car would be delivered by a "professional driver" was very comforting and the dealer made the sale.
Only later did it dawn on me that there was no "professional driver." Some low-level guy hanging around at the other dealership would obviously be pressed into service to drive the car to my dealer.
My mental image of Dale Earnhardt Jr., wearing sun glasses and driving gloves, tooling up the freeway in my new car was nothing but a fantasy . . . but it got the job done for the dealer.
3. The classic fast food cross-sell.
You order your hamburger and the kid behind the counter immediately asks:
"Fries with that?"
"Sure," you answer reflexively. You weren't planning on ordering fries, but what the hell?
You multiply that interchange literally millions of times and you're looking at a fortune in extra sales.
Managers of fast food restaurants who don't train their crews to cross sell and ask "fries with that?" and "what will you have to drink?" at exactly the right time are literally leaving money on the table.
So what's the point of the three anecdotes above? To demonstrate how thoughtful, persuasive selling at key moments can make you a lot of money.
Want me to write thoughtful, persuasive lead-generation letters, emails, home page or landing page copy for you? Give me a call at (415) 461-0672 and let me quote (reasonably!) on your next project.
