chapter three making King customer the [Music] winner hold the phone stop don't read another word unless you have that pen I discussed at the beginning throughout secrets you and I are going to be involved in a learning motivational experience that will enable you to sell more of whatever you sell you need that pen from Hello to goodbye because you will need to circle underline Mark and make notes on virtually every page of this book as well as in the notebook you need for the second reading secrets of closing the sale is an easy funed book but my major objective as the author is not to inform or to entertain but to get you heavily involved in a growth and action process that will be stimulating and financially rewarding it's not easy it takes work to become a professional salesperson or to substantially improve your closing percentage while building customers instead of just making sales work a lot lot of work is required if you are going to fully develop your sales potential this goes far beyond just reading the script but to put your mind at least partially at ease let me assure you that one trip through these pages will definitely have considerable value you will pick up thoughts ideas and feelings which will reinforce many things you already feel and believe but have not articulated you will learn power phrases and specific words which will make what you already using even more effective you will be mo motivated to do more and use more of what you already have and your sales will probably improve before you finish the first reading you will pick up new psychological insights which will help you to understand why prospects respond or react as they do to certain techniques and procedures this is especially important because if you know how to do something and then do it you will always have a job but if you know why it is done you will be the boss or in this case the sales leader convin Vince then persuade perhaps the most frustrating experience a salesperson has is to gain agreement from the customer that yes the product is good yes it will save money yes they do need it yes they would like to have it yes they really could afford the payments but no they are not going to buy many times this indicates that the prospect has been convinced of the merits or at least appears to be convinced and sold but they have not been persuaded to take action Aristotle is considered one of the most brilliant thinkers of all time but he had one belief which was completely an error he believed if two different weights of the same material were dropped from the same height they would fall at different rates of speed this belief was taught at the University of Pisa years later Galileo entered the picture challenged this Theory and started saying the opposite the other professors and students were astonished that Galileo would dare refute what the great a stle had taught they challenged him to prove his position Galileo did so by going to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa with two different weights of the same material he dropped them together and they hit the ground at precisely the same time he convinced the students and professors Beyond any doubt that he was right and Aristotle was wrong but guess what they kept teaching at the University of Pisa you're right they continued to teach Aristotle's theory Galileo had convinced them but he had not persuaded them the questions are a how do you persuade people and B what is persuasion the answers are a you don't tell them you ask them and B persuasion derives from the French to give good advice in advance in the following example I will specifically demonstrate the question asking technique throughout secrets we explore and demonstrate the role the sales professional plays in the process of becoming a counselor or assistant buyer who truly gives good advice in advance in the process of touching all the sales bases as I indicated earlier you will encounter over 700 questions now the example the persuasion close these questions are ridiculously simple but it is critical that you answer them because this will clarify your thinking and set the tone for the entire book what you answer will bear directly on your attitude and hence your success as a salesperson please use that pen which you now have in your hand and answer these simple questions one at a time question do you sell a pretty good product yes no question do you sell an exceptionally good product yes no question do you sell a product that solves a problem or problems yes no question do you feel you deserve a profit when you sell a product that solves a problem yes no question do you feel you deserve two profits when you sell two products that solve two problems yes no chances are excellent you answered yes to all of these questions what you're really saying is you honestly feel that the more problems you solve the more profit you deserve that's the way it should be question have you been selling for as long as one year yes no question if yes do you still have all the money you earned in your last 12 months as a salesperson yes no I think it would be safe to say your answer to that last question is no question do you have customers to whom you sold over a year ago who are still using and enjoying the benefits of what you sold to them at that time yes no if you answered yes and in most cases you probably did then the next question is who is the biggest winner you or the customer now if the customer is the biggest winner who ought to say thank you to whom at the conclusion of the transaction chances are fairly good that you spent all or most of your profit or commission shortly after you made the sale if not before chances are also excellent that your prospect or customer used and benefited from what you sold them for weeks months or maybe even years if you selling a legitimate product that solves a problem and you sell it at a fair price the customer makes the best deal question is the sales process something you do to somebody or something you do for somebody this is one of the most important and profound issues I will explore in Secrets your answer reveals everything about where your heart and interests lie in the world of selling if in your heart you really feel the sales process is something you do to the prospect then you are a manipulator the dictionary defines manipulate to control the action of by management also to manage artfully or fraudulently manipulation skillful or dexterous management sometimes for purpose of fraud state of being manipulated I'll be the first to admit that manipulators make sales but in my 50 plus years in the profession profession I have never known even one manipulator who is successful in the profession as you read secrets you will discover my definition of success if in your heart you feel the sales process is something you do for the prospect then this book will represent a significant addition to your sales Library your benefits will be considerable because you are truly interested in benefiting others the world of selling is often the exact opposite of the world of Athletics I fought in the ring for 2 years as a matter of fact the only reason I quit was my hands the referee kept stepping on them one of the first things the coach taught me when I got into the ring was zigg find the opponent's weakness and exploit it find out where his defenses are weak and capitalize on them take advantage of him in football the quarterback is told to probe to find out where the other team is weak and exploit that weakness in athletic competition you look for the opponent's weakness so you can exploit it in the world of selling you look for the opponents prospects weakness need so you can strengthen it by selling them your goods or services yes the sales process is something we do for the Prospect and not to the prospect if you are truly professional you will seek every legitimate means for persuading the prospect to take action for their benefit the winner and still champion king customer I use the preceding series of questions to establish in your mind that the customer really is the one who benefits the most I'm obviously assuming the product is legitimate is fairly priced and will perform as expected now let's reverse that process and assume that instead of asking you those questions I had simply said to you let's face it my selling friend as everybody knows the customer is the big winner many of you would have agreed but a high percentage of you would have thought factiously yeah they're the big winners all right but then I didn't do too badly myself you would would probably have this thought with a satisfied and mildly sarcastic chuckle under your breath the method I used however is simple and clear because I did not attempt to tell or sell you anything if I had you might have resisted by my asking you questions there's no way you can get unhappy with me about the answers you give to those questions now let's translate this to your situation with your customers when you ask or use this particular procedure the customer is actually persuading themselves there is no resentment and therefore the chance of their taking action which is your objective is much higher use the question technique it works here's why they won't or don't by there are five basic reasons people will not buy from you these are no need no money no hurry no desire and no trust since any reason or excuse for not buying will cost you a sale and will cost the prospect the benefits they would ACR from the purchase the missale is a loss for both buyer and seller now because a missale is expensive to both buyer and seller let's look carefully at each reason a prospect does not buy from you one of the five reasons prospects will not buy from you is they do not feel they need what you are selling if everybody belong to the old old old school of thought which says we should buy only what we need then you and all other salespeople would be in serious trouble I say this because most people have considerably more of everything that they need how many clothes how much floor space how much car how many TVs how much food do you need fortunately for us and in most cases for the prospect we buy what we want or desire I deal with desire or lack of it as the fourth reason the prospect will not buy from you now let's get back to the question of need and what it really means when the prospect says no in many cases if not most the prospect says no because they don't know enough to say yes more on this later the second reason most people do not buy is they don't have any money and there are people who really don't have any or enough money you can use all the techniques in the world and you still are not going to manufacture the money itself having made that observation let me now state that I do not want to disillusion anyone especially if you are new in the world of selling when it comes to money some people will actually lie to you when they say they don't have any or enough to buy what you are selling I'll bet you have a suspicion you've already met some of those folks The Wanted clothes this little story verifies that point many years ago when I first entered the world of selling I was calling on a thunderberg family in Lancaster County South Carolina they raised chickens and sold eggs I demonstrated a set of cookware for them and several of their friends it was a complete demonstration and since it was in their home I had a chance to look through their cabinets and see the amount of cookware they did not have their need for a good set of cookware was obvious I tried for two solid hours to make the sale but never came close Mrs thunderberg kept saying no money too expensive can't afford it she sounded like a broken record then somehow somewhere somebody said something about Fine China I don't know if it was Mrs thunderberg or Me At The Mention Of Fine China Mrs thunderberg eyes lit up like the proverbial Christmas tree and the following dialogue took Place Mrs thunderberg do you have fine china zigg smiling we just happened to have the finest China in the whole world at least that's the way I saw it Mrs thunderberg do you have any with you zigg getting up to make a Mad Dash to the car you're in luck a few minutes later I was leaving the thunderberg home with an order for China which involved substantially more dollars than the cookware which I had been trying to sell actually no selling was involved it was just a question of choosing using the China pattern she preferred and working out the financial Arrangements question if she bought the China which cost more than the cookware which was too expensive and which she couldn't afford was she lying when she said she didn't have the money interesting question isn't it actually the answer is yes she was lying and I'm one of those purists who believes that a lie is a Lie Is A Lie however the purpose of this book is to help you persuade more people to take action in their own best interest so let's move over to the customer side of the table where we can think her thoughts feel her feelings and become an assistant buyer this is important whether you sell China cars computers or anything else when Mrs thunderberg was saying she had no money and couldn't afford the cookware she was completing the sentence to herself in this manner I don't have any money for that cookware because I don't want the set of cookware thus she rationalized that she was actually telling the truth even though she was telling part of it so quietly no one else could hear it the key in situations like this is probing to uncover the real reason she was not buying the cookware I deal with this probing technique throughout this book Mrs thunderberg bought the China because one she really wanted it two she trusted me as a person and three I was courteously persistent in my role as probing assistant buyer and in the process she revealed her desire to own fine china and not the cookware people buy what they want the minute she saw that beautiful China she said to herself I've got money for that set of china because I want that set of china realistically she desperately needed the cookware and would have used it daily for life she probably used that China only a few times each year if that often but she wanted that China critical sales Point people buy what they want when they want it more than they want the money it costs let me sum it up as we explore the best best way to build a sales career people are going to buy in most cases what they really want not necessarily what they need it is your opportunity and responsibility to sell the legitimate benefits of your goods and services in a legitimate manner so your prospect will want to buy from you again and again it's possible to back up and go forward the third reason a lot of people don't buy is this they're just not in a hurry it doesn't matter to them whether they buy today or next year in essence they are often thinking and sometimes asking what do you mean I've got to buy today I'm 39 years old I've lived all of my life without this Earth shattering product you're not just passing through town are you or I mean you're going to be here aren't you you're not closing your doors are you what's your hurry realistically no hurry is one of the toughest objections to deal with since getting prospects interested enough to take action today is a major OB icve I'll deal with this objection throughout the book The Bride close here's one effective technique for getting people off dead center early in my sales career I learned to agree with the Prospect and it has been very productive for me here's the way it works if I was making little or no progress after making a substantial effort to persuade the prospect to take action I would smile and say you know Mr Prospect as I review your situation and think back on my own experiences in life life I believe that perhaps you are right maybe you should wait I know in my own life when my wife and I got married we made a financial mistake getting married costs money and anytime you spend money you might well be making a mistake for example had we waited just 20 more years we could truly have had a honeymoon to end all honeymoons when we started our family it was a mistake it did and does cost money had we waited just another 10 or 15 years we could have given the children so much more when we bought our first house that was a mistake had we waited another 20 or 30 years we truly could have built a much nicer home the only problem Mr Prospect with waiting until everything is just right before you take action is that you might wind up like the two people in this poem The Bride white of hair is stooped over her cane her footsteps uncertain need guiding while down the opposite Church aisle with a Wan toothless smile the bridegroom in wheelchair comes riding now who is this elderly couple thus wed well you'll find when you've closely explored it that here is that rare most conservative pair who waited till they could afford it from timid salesman have skinny kids by judge Ziggler after the poem I would pause and quietly say Mr prospect there is seldom a perfect time to do anything and if you wait until all the lights are on green before you head for Town you're going to stay stay at home the rest of your life the Chinese say that a journey of a Thousand Leagues begins with a single step you and I both know that ownership of this product begins with the decision to own it actually the only decision you need to make at this moment is whether or not you can handle this first payment and you've already indicated the first payment is no problem since you want it can you think of any reason you should not at this moment treat you and your family as well as you deserve to be treated the alternate of choice close in direct sales smile and ask shall I ask the company to ship it as soon as possible or would 2 weeks be better in store or service center sales smile and ask would you like to take it with you or should we send it out never give the prospect a choice between something and nothing let them choose between something and something else they buy if they really want it then there's the fourth reason a lot of people don't buy from you they do not really want what you are selling most sales people and that certainly includes me find it inconceivable that anybody would not want what they're selling and that's good if you did not feel that way I can assure you that with few exceptions you would not be a successful salesperson if you're selling caskets we going to need one eventually but most people will not want one at that moment your belief in your product should be so strong it would be impossible for you to understand how anybody could possibly not want what you're selling realistically however some people don't when we deal with refusal and rejection you will be given the details on how to handle this so you will understand that the prospect has refused your offer and has not rejected you personally the Now or Never Close when I think of Desire I think of an incident which happened to me early in my sales career I had demonstrated a set of cookware for a widow living in the little town of Elgen South Carolina after I finished the demonstration she asked the price when I told told her she acted as if she were going to have a heart attack she loudly moaned oh I could never buy that cookware why Mr Ziggler she said I'm a widow I live by myself every morning I eat breakfast with my son and his wife who live in the little house next door I have lunch at the Mill and I don't eat any dinner I work 6 days a week the only time I would really use that set of cookware would be on Sunday she continued I'm getting close to retirement age the only thing I'm going to have is Social Security which is not much it would be the most foolish thing in the world for me to even consider buying that set of cookware she gave me every reason in the world for not buying then she looked at me and giving me one of the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen said but you know Mr Ziggler all of my life I've wanted a nice set of pots and if I don't order now I know I'll never have them I'll take them she had given me every reason for not buying then she bought because she had that lifetime desire to own a really nice matched set of cookware coupled with that desire for ownership was the very real fear that if she didn't by now she would never have the cookware which meant she would have missed or lost something very important to her it's a psychological fact that the fear of loss is greater than the desire for gain the only part one played in the scenario was to be in the right place at the right time with the right product in addition I kept quiet while she was voicing her objections this made her feel better and helped her talk herself into buying until that moment I thought I believed in the set of cookware I was selling my meeting with this Widow who had dreamed of ownership made it crystal clear to me how important belief and the desire for ownership really are how sad it would be for you and the prospect to miss a sale because your own belief and desire to help the prospect own your product is not at least as intense and deep as that of the prospect they buy if they trust the fifth reason the prospect does not buy is the most significant no trust this one is very difficult to pinpoint and identify with certainty because very few people are going to say specifically look friend you know you're lying to me why don't you go ahead and admit it you know your product won't do all the things you're claiming it's highly unlikely that the prospect will call you a liar but if they think or feel you are lying the results will be the the same they won't buy in most cases that feeling of distrust is slight very slight but if it's there at all it could and probably will cost you the sale according to a study conducted by the New York sales and marketing Club 71% of the people who buy from you do so because they like you trust you and respect you the word trust includes us a bond must be formed between you and the prospect before anything significant will be bought or sold you've got to establish that trust and respect with your prospects if you expect to be a sales professional this should be obvious but in case it's not I'll spell it out again you cannot be one kind of person and another kind of salesperson you must be consistent in all areas of life if you're going to achieve maximum results in building your sales career that's one of the major reasons we deal with the entire person rather than just the salesperson throughout this book this is one of the not so little things that make the buying difference in the prospect's mind based on overwhelming evidence the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance study the Harvard University study by Dr Robert Kohl's corporate bamy by Mortimer fineberg and Richard dempwolf The Forum Corporation report the Cox report and others the feeling is strong that Corporate America will progressively and quickly move toward giving preferential treatment to those job applicants who have a solid moral Integrity base on which to build a career that's any kind of legitimate career but especially a sales career a persuasive but immoral salesperson can smooth talk a lot of people into wanting and buying cheap or useless merchandise or services at inflated prices when that happens we have not one not two but three losers the customer loses money and a certain amount of faith in mankind the salesman loses self-respect and sacrifices any possibility of a truly successful sales career for temporary financial gain the profession of selling loses Prestige and the confidence of the general public when any of its members betray public trust by using professional persuasion skills in the deceitful practice of selling inferior merchandise at inflated prices to gullible uninformed or misinformed buyers it is my strong conviction that your sales career or for that matter your career in anything started when you reached the age of accountability if Integrity is as much a part of you as your head then success in selling will be much easier and faster and it will be solid and longlasting that's the reason I will repeatedly emphasize that the most important part of the sales process is the [Music] salesperson