Tag Archive for: up front close

Setting the Stage for the Up Front Close

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If you’re in sales, you can probably relate to the following scenario. You met with a prospective client and immediately had great rapport, which opened the door for you to compete for their business. You gathered the necessary information and provided them a better deal than they currently had. They asked for time to think it over and consider a couple of other quotes. Despite all the positive indicators, in a follow up phone call you learned they opted for another provider. You’re left wondering what you could have done differently to seal the deal.

Sound familiar? One way to reduce the odds of that happening is to engage the principle of consistency through a technique known as the “up front close.” Consistency is the principle of influence that tells us people feel internal psychological pressure and external pressure to be consistent in what they say and do. Getting someone to commit to you early on exactly what it will take to win their business is what the up-front-close is all about. It might look like this:

“Mr. Smith, I’d like to know exactly what it will take in order for you to move your business to our firm. If I can’t do something you require, I’ll let you know right away and save us both time. How does that sound?”

Your goal is to find out all the things you need to do for the customer in order for them to make the switch to your company. If you can’t meet the price, delivery date, service requirements, etc., then let the customer know and remove yourself from the sales process as soon as possible. If you think you can meet all the requirements, then go for it and use their requirements as leverage during the sales presentation.

During a recent coaching call a graduate of one of my Principles of Persuasion (POP) workshops asked how he could easily and naturally work his way into the up-front-close. That’s a great question because you don’t want to jump right into the up-front-close in the first five minutes of meeting a potential customer. It takes some finesse, but you can do it! Here’s how I would envision using questions in a natural, ethical manner to move into the up-front-close.

  • Salesperson – It looks as if business is going great and you seem like you’re very busy.
  • Customer – Never been busier but I suppose that’s a good thing in this economy!
  • Salesperson – Agreed, better too busy than not busy enough. With all that’s going on I’m going to guess saving time is pretty important for you.
  • Customer – You bet. I’m usually in here by 7 a.m. and rarely leave before 6 p.m. I even put in extra time on the weekends.
  • Salesperson – I have many days like that myself. If you’re like most people, I talk with buying insurance isn’t high on your list of fun activities. It’s not like planning a vacation or shopping for a new car. Knowing that, I have an idea that might save us both a good bit of time when it comes to your insurance. Would you like to hear it?
  • Customer – I’m all ears.
  • Salesperson – Since the insurance buying process is a necessity, I’m sure other agents are competing for your business. While that’s a good thing, you probably don’t want to deal with any more agents than you have to in order to complete the process, right?
  • Customer – Exactly. It’s a necessary evil and time consuming. That’s why we only put it out to bid every two or three years.
  • Salesperson – Here’s what I propose that could save us both time. I’d like to know exactly what it would take in order for you to move your business to our agency. If I can’t do something you require, I’ll let you know right away and remove myself from the quoting process and save us both time. How does that approach sound?
  • Customer – I think that’s a great approach.

From this point forward the salesperson has to use good questioning techniques to learn the key factors in the buying decision. The conversation should end something like this:

  • Salesperson – We’ve covered a lot of ground today! If I understand you correctly, we need to do A, B and C in order to become your new insurance agent. Am I correct?
  • Customer – That’s right, A, B and C are critical.
  • Salesperson – And there’s no other reason you wouldn’t make the switch if we do A, B and C?
  • Customer – Nope. You do those three things and we’re in business together.

If you return to the office and realize you can’t do all three just let the customer know right away. But if you can do all three that becomes you’re leverage to easily ask for the business when you present your proposal. Will everyone say “Yes” at that point? No, because sometimes things change. However, using this approach will get far more customers saying, “Yes” because the psychology of consistency drives them to naturally do that.

Brian Ahearn, CMCT®
Chief Influence Officer
influencePEOPLE 
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.
 
 

Don’t Ask, Don’t Sell

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One of the biggest reasons salespeople fail to make the sale is simply because they don’t ask for it. It’s easy to tell someone all about your company, product or service. After all, a good salesperson will know about these things backwards and forwards. However, asking for the sale (a.k.a. “closing the sale”) can be scary because of the fear of rejection.

Some of the biggest regrets people have are not when they stepped out and failed but when they failed to step out. When we don’t take a chance we’re often haunted by what might have been and ask ourselves, “What if…?”

Studies show people who ask for favors often underestimate the number of people who would be willing to help. In fact, they underestimate it by a lot! In one study, when asked how may strangers they’d have to ask to walk them a few blocks to a location they’ve been unable to find on a college campus, most people assumed they’d have to ask seven or more strangers before one person would take the time necessary to help. However, when they actually asked for help, the number of people they had to approach was only two or three before they got the help they needed. If you knew people would most likely respond positively to you twice as often as you thought they would, you’d probably have a lot more confidence to ask.

Having been a consumer all my life and teaching sales for the past 20 years, I can tell you most salespeople fail to ask for the sale. They might fear being seen as too pushy or believe the prospective customer can sort out all the product features, weigh the benefits against the cost, and make a decision that’s in their best interest.

But here’s the problem – as consumers, when we’re making purchases sometimes we’re overwhelmed by all the choices and price points. And the more money we’re about to spend the scarier it can be because we want to make sure we make the best choice. We want to avoid “buyer’s remorse.” A salesperson can alleviate much of that anxiety throughout the sales process but in the end the salesperson still needs to ask for the sale.

One way to lessen the fear and increase the odds of hearing “Yes” is to learn up front exactly what the customer is looking for. If the salesperson can meet the customer’s requirements, then simply asking the following should work: “If we can get you A, B and C at a fair price, would you seriously consider buying from us?” Most people will agree to that; then it’s up to the salesperson to show their product or service has all the required features. This is known as “the up-front close” in sales circles.

The reason this approach can be so effective is because the principle of consistency comes into play. This principle of influence tells us people generally live up to their word because they feel a little bad about themselves when they don’t. If someone says they’ll strongly consider you, your company or your product/service, then odds are they will if you can deliver what you said you would.

Once the salesperson has asked the right questions up front and then clearly shows how their offering meets the requirements it becomes much easier and more comfortable to take the next step and ask for the sale. It’s like dating. Wasn’t it easier to ask for a date when you knew beforehand the other person was interested in you?

Here’s my persuasion advice. You don’t have to live with the regret of what might have been. Remember, people are more likely to say “Yes” than you probably think. If you use the up-front close the odds that a customer will say “Yes” are significantly better. So remember – Don’t ask, don’t sell.