Puppy Dog Closing Technique

I was reading about different closes this morning and found the "puppy dog close". Does anyone use this with much success?

Quote:

Originally Posted by bridger480

I was reading about different closes this morning and found the "puppy dog close". Does anyone use this with much success?

What is the puppy dog close and how big is its bark?

Quote:

Originally Posted by MitchM

What is the puppy dog close...

In brief, the Puppy Dog Close is a sales technique that is based (aptly) on a method that pet store salespeople use to sell puppy dogs. The idea is that while it may be difficult to get the customer to make a large commitment (buying the puppy), if we can break down the sale into a smaller component with a "guaranteed/no risk" offer, the customer may be willing to make an initial commitment.

For example, the pet store salesperson tells you that you can take the puppy home with you and if you don't like it, just bring it back. So what happens? You take the puppy with you, you play with him and run around outside with him, he licks your nose in the morning and waits for you faithfully at the door at the end of the day. And the sale is made. Not by the salesperson, but by the puppy. --quote from CollegeGrad.com

Quote:

Originally Posted by bridger480

In brief, the Puppy Dog Close is a sales technique that is based (aptly) on a method that pet store salespeople use to sell puppy dogs. The idea is that while it may be difficult to get the customer to make a large commitment (buying the puppy), if we can break down the sale into a smaller component with a "guaranteed/no risk" offer, the customer may be willing to make an initial commitment.

For example, the pet store salesperson tells you that you can take the puppy home with you and if you don't like it, just bring it back. So what happens? You take the puppy with you, you play with him and run around outside with him, he licks your nose in the morning and waits for you faithfully at the door at the end of the day. And the sale is made. Not by the salesperson, but by the puppy. --quote from CollegeGrad.com

Understood.

My experience has been that selling on the basis of a need/want is much stronger than selling on the basis of a guarantee although satisfaction guarantees have some qualified value.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MitchM

My experience has been that selling on the basis of a need/want is much stronger than selling on the basis of a guarantee although satisfaction guarantees have some qualified value.

I'm pretty sure that the "puppy dog close" is just a close.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bridger480

I'm pretty sure that the "puppy dog close" is just a close.

The biggest guarantee I've found is that what I sell is exactly what someone wants - it's not 100% water proof but close.

Other guarantees can be a pain-in-the-neck but have some value. What needs to be guaranteed up front is that clear communication guarantees the right fit between customer and seller.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MitchM

The biggest guarantee I've found is that what I sell is exactly what someone wants - it's not 100% water proof but close.

Other guarantees can be a pain-in-the-neck but have some value. What needs to be guaranteed up front is that clear communication guarantees the right fit between customer and seller.

Mitch, are you thinking this close is about a "guarantee"?

Quote:

Originally Posted by bridger480

I was reading about different closes this morning and found the "puppy dog close". Does anyone use this with much success?

I have used it effectively only when I made myself the puppy dog. What that means I will "lend" my full expertise and care to a prospect up to a point where I see a prospect is not willing to commit.

Once, after listening to a prospect tell me how "interested" he was, and what a "fine job" I had done answering his questions, and how I would hear from him "either way" within a day, and how he was "90 percent sure" we would do business, I took back myself by shaking hands, smiling brightly, and saying, "Well good luck to you on this project in case I don't get a chance to ever see you again."

His face dropped and he mumbled sort of a half sentence--and followed me out to the parking lot, invited me back in, expressed a concern, had it resolved by me--and bought!

Here is my take on what I've seen so far in this thread:

Bridger did not state that money was exchanged for the puppy, so I don't see this as a guarantee. More like a free trial.

One statement that I think makes sense is that when the customer is not comfortable making a large committment, you get him to make a smaller committment that he is comfortable with. I agree with this wholeheartedly. I have found this to be very effective (Not necessarily as it relates to a free trial, but as a general principle).

Mitch, you made some terrific statements about money-back guarantees (much to my surprise, I have found them to be true).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Boye

I have used it effectively only when I made myself the puppy dog. What that means I will "lend" my full expertise and care to a prospect up to a point where I see a prospect is not willing to commit.

Once, after listening to a prospect tell me how "interested" he was, and what a "fine job" I had done answering his questions, and how I would hear from him "either way" within a day, and how he was "90 percent sure" we would do business, I took back myself by shaking hands, smiling brightly, and saying, "Well good luck to you on this project in case I don't get a chance to ever see you again."

His face dropped and he mumbled sort of a half sentence--and followed me out to the parking lot, invited me back in, expressed a concern, had it resolved by me--and bought!

That sounds like the "Take Away Close".

Puppy Dog Closing Technique

Closing the Sale Forum