If I could... would you...?

If you really believe that selling requires persuasion, convincing and other manipulations, then Rhetorical questions sound great to you. Almost any sales tactic that an intelligent salesperson tries will work occasionally - if it is tried enough times. However, most of those things result in very low closing rates.

If you kept records of everything that you do when you're selling, then you would know which sales tactics have the highest the probability of working. That's how we did it.

The last two times we times we went to a car lot to get a car we knew exactly what we wanted and would pay for it - so it never fit the car salesman to ask the initial question of this thread - he either agreed or we went to another lot.

In both cases we got what we wanted at the first lot we visited. The last time the young-and-new-at-the-job tried to play "hard ball" with us and went into all kinds of gymnastic verbal and emotional actions. I asked to speak with with senior salesman in the place, told him what had happened and what I wanted and would pay for it, and we closed the deal.

For most of my life I never went prepared like I do now - I did things in a dumb way which always put me in the position of going to buy something feeling mistrusting and defensive - it was always a highly unpleasant activity.

Today I know what I want in a common consumer good, do some research - watch the papers - and know almost exactly what I'm going to pay. So it's easy for the salesman - I do the work the he/she collects and get's paid comission or hourly.

Originally Posted by Newbie I've heard this one quite a few times on the car lot. For instance; "If I could get this truck at a payment you're comfortable with would you take it home today?" Is this question about commitment, manipulation or something else?

For me, this question is all about commitment. For the people that think this is a bad question just keep in mind the salesman does not determine your final price! I will work with a customer to get the right price, but before I put my rear on the line in front of my sales manager I have to make sure the customer will actually buy the car if I get them the price they want. The question may not be worded exactly like the question above, but in context it is the same question.

I have had deals in which I have negotiated with my manager for a price at or close to invoice just to have the customer say "Thank you" and walk out. Once a car salesman goes to the manager for the first "pencil", the manager expects to sell a car. If the salesman get the customer the price they are looking for and the customer does not buy that car, imagine how bad that makes the salesman look to the guy that holds his job in his hands!

Just to clarify, the "If I could..would you?" question is the same as asking, "If I got you everything you are asking for, would I earn your business today?" The today part is important because the price you negotiate today very well may not be good tomorrow should the incentives from the factory change the next day. Also, without a deposit, the dealership can not refuse to sell that car to another customer. If the customer is not ready to purchase the car, why go through the brain damage of negotiating a price on the car for nothing?

I'll answer it with something like, Well, you tell me your price, and I'll tell you whether I'll take it home. KSA-Mktg

Works for me, you gave a commitment to buy. What I hear you saying is, "If you get me the price I am comfortable with, I will take this vehicle home today!" The more a salesman listens to his customers, the less he has to ask this question. I only use this technique if I have been unable to get the proper buying signals from the customer.

Before reading this post, I never knew so many people might get offended by such a simple, straight-forward question. From facial expressions/body language (to the best of my knowledge) I have never offended anyone with this question. Maybe my delivery is spot on...maybe I've only asked the right people this question...maybe I lost a few sales because I did ask the wrong people and that's why I couldn't find out the real objection. Either way, thank you Newbie for bringing this up. I'll watch out for this one in the future (sorry if I am kinda scatter-brained on this post)

Originally Posted by jasonc Listen! Its all in delivery! You can say just about anything you want to a customer if delivered in an enthusiastic(if thats the right mood for what your saying) style!!

So, so true.

"If I can do such and so, what will you do?"
That is non-manipulative and far more effective than "if I could ..., would you..."

It requires that the prospect creates and commits to an outcome (close) that is satisfactory to the seller - before any further action is taken.

If the prospect is not ready to buy at this point, they will almost always back off gracefully without feeling any pressure.

Originally Posted by JacquesWerth "If I can do such and so, what will you do?" That is non-manipulative and far more effective than "if I could ..., would you..." It requires that the prospect creates and commits to an outcome (close) that is satisfactory to the seller - before any further action is taken.

JW, at this point I'm not in agreement with you that one version is more effective than another.

I would also say that from my point of view version 2 doesn't require a commitment but version 1 does.

Would you provide more insight into your viewpoint on those two points? Thanks.

Originally Posted by BossMan JW, at this point I'm not in agreement with you that one version is more effective than another. I would also say that from my point of view version 2 doesn't require a commitment but version 1 does. Would you provide more insight into your viewpoint on those two points? Thanks.

Okay.

The primary reason that I believe that "... what will you do?" is more effective is that we have tested both. In fact, we have tested almost everything that most salespeople do to determine what is the most effective way to sell.

"If I could ... would you ...?" requires a commitment and it attempts to manipulate a "Yes" answer. When people are manipulated it creates sales resistance that often kills the sale.

"... What will you do..." also requires commitment but, if the commitment is positive it requires that the prospect creates his/her own commitment.

When people create something, they hardly ever give it up and reverse their decision. It also allows for a negative commitment, which decreases sales resistance.

Originally Posted by JacquesWerth "If I could ... would you ...?" requires a commitment and it attempts to manipulate a "Yes" answer. When people are manipulated it creates sales resistance that often kills the sale.

What if the salesperson isn't trying to manipulate a "yes" answer? The reason I ask is that I, and I think a few others here, believe that manipulation is about "intention".

Originally Posted by BossMan What if the salesperson isn't trying to manipulate a "yes" answer? The reason I ask is that I, and I think a few others here, believe that manipulation is about "intention".

Manipulation is in the eyes (and ears) of the prospect- regardless of what the salesperson intends or believes.

Salespeople also like to believe that they always tell the truth, that establishing rapport is important, that their closing averages are at least twice what they really are, that they know how to effectively persuade people, that logical arguments can be effective, and a lot of other things to justify their ways of selling.

We only care about what works best - most of the time.

Originally Posted by JacquesWerth ...and a lot of other things to justify their ways of selling.

Don't we all.