How to overcome a major obstacle to the sale -
Fear of commitment
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You know, twenty-something
men aren't the only ones who have a fear of commitment.
All of us are
reluctant to sign a contract or commit to a purchase that involves a lot of
money. We're cautious and skeptical, and well we should be.
And great
salespeople know this. They've learned that when they're trying to make a
sale, they should always downplay the need for the prospect to make an
irrevocable commitment.
Let me give
you an example.
Insurance agents are instructed to never use the word "contract" when they're selling a prospect. The word is way too legalistic and can turn people off. Instead, when they want the prospect to sign on the dotted line, they're told to point to the signature line, and say, "I just need your ok here and
we're all set." The takeaway
lesson is that how you handle the final "close," and reduce the
prospect's commitment-anxiety, is crucially important to making the sale.
Here's another
(very small) example of what I mean.
On the Levison Letter "Back Issues" page of my
Web site, where I'm asking people to sign up for my e-newsletter, I write:
"Check out these recent back issues of the Levison Letter, then sign up for your own monthly subscription and 101 Ways to Double Your Response Rates report absolutely FREE! (What have you got to lose? You
can unsubscribe any time with one click!)"
As you can
see, the last two sentences in parentheses are an attempt to give the
potential subscriber an out; to reduce the sense of commitment that comes with
signing up for a subscription to yet another e-zine.
One final
point . . .
As you may
know, there's a sales technique, made famous in David Mamet's play Glengarry Glen Ross, that's based on the
acronym "A-B-C." This stands for "Always Be Closing." The sales person is
instructed to go for the close from the get-go and keep the pressure up every
step of the way.
My personal
sales approach is rather different. I believe that one should "N-B-C" or "Never Be Closing." Or to put it more seriously and realistically, one should
close the sale at the appropriate moment while all the time reducing anxiety
and the fear of commitment that may sabotage the sale.
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Want me to
close some sales for you? Let's talk. If you need me to write email, Web
copy, direct mail, or anything else, give me a call at (415) 461-0672. What kind of results can I get for you? CLICK HERE to find out.
Let's go to work!
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| How to get in touch with Ivan Levison . . .
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Phone: (415) 461-0672
E-mail: ivan@levison.com
Fax: (415) 461-7738
Visit my Web site
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