For all you married people out there,  how did it go when you proposed or were proposed to? Chances are, it went pretty well. We don’t often hear about a marriage proposal that was turned down. Why not? Because you don’t propose until you are pretty sure you are going to get a yes.

There are many steps between  the initial meeting and the ultimate proposal…

A first date? Pizza and a movie. Maybe then a double date – that’s always a safe bet. Later, a more romantic, slightly more expensive dinner. At some point, a day trip, then a weekend getaway.

Dating is about spending time together and doing things that represent a higher level of commitment from each person. Eventually, your commitment to each other is strong, and getting married is the next step. 

In sales, you don’t have to marry or even date your prospects, but you can still utilize the same approach.

“Courting” Your Prospects

We are all told to ask for the sale. Good advice. But the important part is timing. You need to ask for the sale, but only when that decision matches the prospect’s commitment level.  Has this gotten harder in the virtual selling world?  Maybe but not really. 

If you ask too soon, it erodes trust, hurts your relationship and ultimately, your influence with the prospect. It’s the same reason you start with, “Can I buy you a drink?” instead of “Will you marry me?”

Like dating, selling anything that takes more than a one-call-close requires a series of steps to advance the sale (and your relationship) with the prospect.

When you are trying to close a sale that is not transactional in nature, it’s important to sell your process, not your product or service. The following steps should help you learn to take your selling process step-by-step, and ensure a higher close ratio with your potential customers.

Check Your Six

In the world of aviation, pilots use the imaginary face of a clock as a guide – giving us the expression: “check your six” or “look behind you.” 

When you are selling, you should be leading – or acting as a pilot. The customer should be following. “Check your six” is a reminder to make sure that your potential customer is on board, with you, and following your lead.

You want to make it easy for the customer to share any hesitations before you get too far into the process. When “checking your six,” you could ask things like:

“How does that sound?” 

“Would this potentially be beneficial to you?” 

“What do you think so far?” 

A negative response is something you need to address. That’s for another blog  (or podcast). But once you get a positive response, you have a buying signal. You’ve sold them on what you presented. Now it’s time to advance with the next step.

Match Their Commitment Level

Before you start a call or meeting with a customer, you must have an objective. What will happen at the end of the call? What kind of commitment will you get? You should have a few options to present that involve customer action.

They have to do something to be considered advancing. This could entail attending a conference call or a screen-sharing session, participating in a product demonstration, meeting with/ talking to another customer, reviewing a proposal with you, or signing the PO. Your job is to match the next step to their commitment level.

If your customer says, “I’m interested, but we have some other priorities right now,” asking them to buy, or anything else that requires a higher level of commitment, is too much too fast. Like dating, this will probably be a turn-off and make you look pushy or desperate.

But closing with “Would it be okay to check back in a few weeks?” doesn’t help the customer determine if and where they should prioritize your solution, and it sure isn’t a commitment. You can follow up anytime, but chances are, it will be harder to get them on the phone again without having set a definitive next action for them. 

Instead, think of something that helps them take a small step: an upcoming webinar, sending some appropriate support literature, or having them attend an event. Recommend a specific action on their part (that’s in their best interest) to help them with their decision-making process.

Make an Other-Centered® Offer

Telling the customer why the next step is in their best interest, not yours, is the key to advancing the sale.

I see a lot of reps use a favor-close technique without even knowing it:

“Could I get some time on your calendar to come meet in person next week to show you our solution?” or, “I’d like you to come to our office so I can give you a hands-on demo.” 

Re-read those questions as a customer. What is the benefit to the customer of either of these options? There isn’t one.

If customers don’t understand why it’s in their best interest, they are less likely to say yes to your proposed next step. In fact, not only is there not a customer benefit, but these options clearly communicate that you are going to launch into your sales pitch. What customer is going to be excited about that?

Instead, give the customer the specific benefit of the next step that involves action – make an Other-Centered® offer. At this stage of your sales call, the customer has communicated some interest in your solution – because you “checked your six.” Now, sell your process, not your product. Don’t mention any more product/service benefits, but focus on what the value of the event or webinar, etc. and how it could help them with their decision process.

Here are a couple examples.

Customer Hesitation:

“We are trying to determine our direction right now.”

Other-Centered Response:

“It might make sense for my sales engineer and I to visit your environment. Then we could give you a few ideas to think about as you determine your future direction, regardless of whether you are ready to buy.”

Customer Hesitation:

“We do a lot of that in-house.”

Other-Centered Response:

“Understood. Instead of a meeting, I could give you and others a quick look at the details of our program as an example of what an outside partner might be able to do. Then, you can best decide if your in-house process is good, or if outside help might be valuable in the future.”

The Other-Centered offer shows the customer the specific benefit (of that next step) to them – regardless if they buy from you or not. It’s about helping them in their decision process, not making a sales pitch.

To bring it full circle, when asking for a second date, the Other-Centered offer might sound like: 

“We can go to that fancy restaurant you’ve always wanted to try, my treat. You’ll enjoy the food, even if you never see me again …” 

What’s Next?

If your team is struggling to make the transition to virtual selling, click here for our new program. 

We would be happy to understand your challenges and see if we can help.  We started as an inside sales training company in 1996, working to help sales teams overcome the very same challenges we are all facing today.

Marc Lamson

As President of ASLAN, Marc is responsible for all day-to-day operations including our sales and marketing efforts and growing our success in helping our clients be Other-Centered®.