Closing
The Sale VS. Opening The Sale
The
MLM Difference!
by
MLM Consultant Michael L. Sheffield
MLM and Direct Sales Expert
As
a member of a Direct Selling or Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) Company, I'm sure
you believe in the products or services offered. You most likely use them
in your own home and have recommended them to your friends and relatives who
may have purchased them for their own use. In fact, you may have even sponsored
these people into your business hoping that they would become an active business
builder enhancing their own income while adding additional profits for you.
A good marketing company will have developed sales systems that will support
your efforts as a retail sales person as well as provide a method for you
to earn income on the sales efforts of those you have sponsored. So, whether
you have just convinced your customer to purchase your product, or you are
assisting one of your direct sales recruits get the customer to sign on the
dotted line, you must use special techniques to bring closure to the buying
decision. Fortunately, there has been much written by noted direct sales experts
on time tested and proven concepts of "Closing the Sale". However,
I'm going to focus on a few things that you may not see in the usual direct
selling books, tapes or training program.
These include how to:
1. Build relationships
2. Earn trust
3. Determine the customer's hot buttons (wants, needs and values)
4. Create a compelling sales presentation
5. Deliver on your promise.
I would suggest
that the term "Closing the Sale" that has been the topic of so many
chapters in direct sales training manuals and books is only applicable when
you are selling a non consumable product. Usually this term is directly tied
to the "One Call Close". In my early days as a direct sales person
selling products door to door, I was taught that you either "Close the
Sale" or "Lose the Sale" on the first sales call. There was
no thought of the long-term relationship with the customer. After the sales
call, "Next" was the order of the day. But, if you are selling products
or a service that is consumable creating the potential of an ongoing income
stream, the term that seems more applicable is "Opening the Sale".
Why? Because you are just beginning the relationship with the customer. If
you are selling quality products, fairly priced and backed by great customer
service, you can have an OPEN relationship with the customer for years to
come. The wealthiest man I ever met told me that true wealth was not just
having a lot of money but creating a never ending income stream. Today's best
examples of companies offering the opportunity for long term income streams
are the growing number of Multi-Level Marketing companies basing their future
on a loyal and growing customer base. They offer nearly every imaginable consumable
product or service. Sometimes known as relationship selling, the early selling
strategies of new MLM sales recruits is usually focused on friends and relatives.
These "warm market" sales prospects purchase under a very different
decision making criteria than the "cold prospect" who is usually
a stranger. First, you already have the advantage of trust. They know you
would not intentionally misrepresent your product or opportunity. You use
the product yourself and obviously believe in its benefits. Your testimonial
alone may be enough to influence your friend to buy.
But, how do you open the selling relationship with a total stranger? What
can you say that will cause them to part with their money? In professional
sales circles, here is one of the oldest bits of humor. "When someone
with experience meets someone with money, the person with experience gets
the money and the person with the money gets the experience". Well, when
it comes to making the sale, this perception is often not too far from reality.
As a sales person, it is critical to understand that you want your customer
to receives a positive experience, or it will probably be the last one they
have with you.
Selling in today's environment is much different than in days past. The image
of the cigar smoking used car salesman or the door-to-door high pressure vacuum
salesperson may still haunt our chosen profession, but for the most part,
today's salesperson is a professional, highly trained and knowledgeable individual.
Today's sales person has learned that they must first give before they can
expect to get in return. The professional salesperson becomes their customer's
problem solver, and the more problems they can solve, the more chance they
have of landing the customers business. The most popular term for this type
of selling is "Consultative Selling". First coined by Mack Hanan
in his book by the same name, it has changed the way customers look at sales
people. This has changed the way sales trainers' view how they educate their
sales trainees and most importantly, how the sales people see themselves.
Consultative selling ask the question, "What are my customers needs and
how can I deliver a satisfactory solution in a cost effective manner?"
Accomplishing this task with your customer takes away all the normal sales
resistance. So, in order to get that "Yes" answer you want when
you ask for the sale, you must learn to ask the right questions.
Consultative selling is a drastic departure from the old approach of identifying
product features but selling on the product benefits. The present and future
professional salesperson will prepare to be an expert in their field and will
be viewed by the customer as someone who brings solutions to problems. Certainly
there are the impulse buyers who will buy anything once. They are the ones
who experience what is called Buyers Remorse after they come out of the ether
of an enthusiastic, motivational and possibly high-pressure sale pitch. You
can't build trust and long-term relationships with this type of approach.
When the customer sees great value in your advice and counsel, many of the
normal buying objections go away.
When you view yourself as a salesperson, you always worry about how to close
the sale. When you see yourself as a consultant, you open the opportunity
to serve the customer's needs. Mack Hanan points out that salespeople operate
in an adversarial environment. This becomes apparent as you look at the way
that traditional sales training programs give significant attention to anticipating
and overcoming objections. "Consultants anticipate cooperation. Let's
review how changing your attitude regarding your own sales approach and self
image can help you OPEN more selling opportunities than you ever thought possible
1. Salespeople are taught to be good listeners. Consultative sellers focus on asking the questions that identify customer problems solved by the product or service being offered.
2. Salespeople are concerned about their competition and position their sales presentation accordingly against the competition. Consultants frame their own competitive advantages so that selecting their product becomes an easy decision for the customer.
3. Salespeople are always concerned about their product price. Consultants are more interested in the value their product brings and how it enhances their customer's life.
4. Salespeople learn multiple methods to "Close the Sale". Consultants open a dialog that creates the atmosphere for customer self-selling.
I don't want to
insinuate that time tested and proven selling techniques that have worked
for you in the past should be abandoned. What I am suggesting is that you
consider repackaging yourself. If you see yourself as a professional that
can give valuable council to your customer, they will sense your commitment
to bring value to the relationship. But, when they feel that you see them
as someone who has your money in their pocket, the result is… No Sale
Today.
Try these techniques. See yourself as a consultant and look for information
or advice that will help your customer in a way that they will appreciate.
They will honor your consultative selling approach by becoming your new customer,
becoming your new distributor both.
Assuming that you have a wonderful product and your sales approach to your
customer is equally wonderful, your customer is still bound to have objections.
"Objections by a potential customer should be taken as a good sign"
say Tom Hopkins, a nationally known sales trainer and author of How to Master
the Art of Selling. "People only give objections if they're thinking
about going ahead and a good salesperson can always handle objections."
An objection should send you an immediate signal that the customer doesn't
understand or wants more information before they make a decision. Look at
these as potential buying signals. Dealing with objections in a positive manner
will put you one step closer to the "Yes" you are seeking.
Michael L. Sheffield is the CEO of Sheffield Resource Network, a full-service direct sales and multi level marketing (MLM) consulting firm. He is a Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Multi Level Marketing International Association and in 2001 he was inducted into the MLMIA Hall of Fame. As an MLM Consultant, he and the Sheffield team have assisted in hundreds of national and international MLM corporate start-ups as well as offered a full line of services for established direct sales companies. As the most noted expert on compensation plans, he has been a guest lecturer on the subject for the DSA, University of Illinois, University of Texas, Berkeley and Harvard Alumni Association. Long considered the industry's top MLM Consultant , Michael Sheffield has helped launch over 500 new companies and 200 new products marketed by direct selling companies around the globe. He can be contacted at 480-968-6199, Sheffield Resource Network, 2239 N. Hayden Road, Suite 103, Scottsdale, AZ. 85257, website address: www.sheffieldnet.com.
