How to apply sales pressure effectively.

What is the most effective way to put pressure on the buyer to take action now? -Community Mailbox

Pressure is not a suggested term here, you must have three things:
1) conceptual agreement
2) an understanding that you value fits the wants and needs of the buyer
3) provocative and affirmative questions that provide closure. Most selling professionals simply do not ask. They fear rejection. Our survey of over 10,000 representatives illustrates fear is the largest issue of not closing business.



Good Selling.

Drew Stevens -Drew Stevens

Many (most) would agree that, although you can make sales using pressure, you shouldn't. Using pressure is a high risk activity in that it can and often does blow up in your face and damage the salesperson-prospect relationship. I would also argue that it damages the reputation of sales professionals.

I think maybe your underlying question is "how do you create a sense of urgency in your prospects." Am I corect? -Skip Anderson

"Pressure" will not yield success. SR's, in the B2B realm, who are on top of their patch know where the opportunities lie and have a clear understanding of the timelines in each account.

Where something changes (eg. pricing actions, improved terms, new product launches, etc.), the strong SR is able to get this information in front of their prospects without it feeling like he's being "pressured" to advance the decision. In point of fact, I've witnessed senior SR's rely on their "trusted advisor" status within their accounts to put potentially "deal-changing" information on the table ASAP.

I've also seen the newbie's "spray-&-pray" such key information out there to see what happens.

It's all a matter of perspective.

Good luck & Good selling!
Pat -OUTSource Sales

The most effective pressure that can be applied is... the pressure the customers puts on himself/ herself. It was this exact pressure (state of mind) that motivated them to seek a resolution. -SalesCoach

I agree with all the sentiments here. Apply pressure wont work. As sales coach says work instead with the pressure the buyer has put themselves under and you are more likely to get a result.

Best Wishes

Denise -SalesManagersCoach

What a great thread! As many have said, the best pressure to apply is no pressure at all. In fact, top performers have an uncanny ability to remove pressure in order to allow the buyer to make an unabated buying decision. Here's an example that might occur midway through the sales process, after we've identified buying motives: "Mrs. Ramirez, as much as I would love to have your business, if for some reason we can't put things together for you today, it's okay - we'll still be friends." Or, if clients put up a wall of defense the first time you meet them, i.e., "We're not buying today," simply say, "Actually that's fine - now we can just be friends. My name is Jon - and you are ___?" Every one of us has closed a sale where the client says, "You know, we didn't intend to buy today," as they're signing the order. I LOVE those sales!

Of course there are many other ways to remove pressure; it's important to point out, however, that removing pressure does NOT mean failing to ask for the sale or failing to address concerns. By verbally removing perceived pressure, though, you'll enjoy better client relationships and better closing ratios. -quadequick

Great discussion and great ideas. I have found this is the area that I need the most help with. I am good a cold calling, making the presenation, i get the buy in that what i am selling makes sense and would help the bottom line but I keep getting stalled, or push back like call me next week, etc....Please keep the advice coming... -b2brep

B2B, it certainly sounds like you're missing something. Are you:
1. listening to the responses provided to the questions which you are asking?
2. qualifying early-on (examples):
a) is there anyone else involved in the decision?
b) if we were to uncover the perfect solution for you, do we have a basis for doing business today?
3. trying to close?

If you have qualified the individual appropriately (and early enough in the relationship), you should not be getting the stall. He's stalling for a reason and I think you know why. When the suggestion to call-back comes-up: (open your calendar on his desk), ..."as I search for a date to make the call"... (begin to search for a day to make the call) ..."exactly what will we be discussing that we haven't covered today?"

If you've done the (complete) job, you need to clarify why another meeting is required.

Good luck & Good selling!
Pat -OUTSource Sales

If you are using "pressure" to close sales you will suffer many cancellations. You can try to "urge" someone to make a decission based on special pricing or time limitations, etc., however more often than not, "reassurance" will work the best. Appreciate that no one wants to make a bad or wrong decission and sometimes they simply need to be told that "it's the right thing to do" or "you'll thank me later", etc.

As many have stated here, it all starts in Qualifying. If you have found their needs, hot button or buying motive, determined when and how and who makes the decission and that it fits their budget, the "Close" is simply a logical conclusion to an effective Presentation.

Have a "FANTA$TIC" Future!
Stan Billue, CSP -Stan Billue

There's many approaches to this. A common one is "the pending event close". For example "if you can give me an order number before the end of the week/month, then we can give you xxxxxxx " -TonyB

If you attempt to convince someone to do something that goes against their grain or what they are trying to achieve you are going to alienate yourself. However, if you push WITH the grain you are exerting influence… their own internal influence on themselves. -Houston

Pressure is a poor sales tactic and urgency is an excellent sales tactic.

Including urgency during the qualification phase is critical to establishing a deadline. Presented in a diplomatic way that motivates the buyer to make a decision by an agreed time accomplishes this goal without pressure. -GSHart

"Pressure" may take many forms and it does not have to be "diplomatic". It is more common to see sales people who are afraid to ask for an order than it is to see an intelligent and forthright approach.

Where a good relationship has been built up with a prospect, "pressure" may even take the form of asking "could you please do me a favour and help me by ...?" . I was amazed myself, when this approach closed a multi million dollar government deal. -TonyB

Thanks "Outsource"

I reaaly like the statement, "What will we discuss on the next call that we didn't go over already." I will use that the next chance I get. -b2brep

Great thread, awesome responses..................

Perhaps you could replace 'pressure' with 'urgency'...............

Urgency is in place once you have established rapport, found a need or want, magnified the hurt, trail closed and asked for the business.

If you miss one or a few of the steps then you will get the 'I wanna think about it' objection.

Think about it.............

If you trust someone and they have a solution to your problem that you can afford, wouldn't you do it? -PiJiL

So here is how to put pressure for a buyer to take action now.

1. What’s the action you want? In B2B selling low level people can’t buy. They can only recommend. In B2C be careful of spouses, children and other influencers. They can cause the buyer to hesitate.
2. Fear, greed, pain, want are all drivers for people to take action. So the first step is to find out which of these is motivating the buyer and the details of that driver. If none are in play, there will be no action taken.
3. What does the buyer want to do about relieving the pain, securing the want / greed, or eliminating the fear?
a. If nothing, you’ve got to find another driver or move on. This person will not take action.
b. If s/he does want to do something, you’ve got to find out how this person wants to accomplish or get it. Buyers don’t just buy the want, they buy their path to get the want. So you’ve got to know and deliver both or you’ll meet resistance, which means delays.
4. Feed back to the buyer how you can give him or her the want / greed or eliminate the fear / pain with the least risk of failure (or best chance of success) and with less effort than any other alternative.
5. Ask how she feels about your presentation as described in #3. If good, ask for the action you want. If s/he doesn’t feel good, there will be no action taken. Feel is the operative word, not, “What do you think?”
a. If the feel is not so good, ask for an explanation of the concern or uneasy feeling and what s/he suggests you do about it. Do what s/he says - if you can - and then ask for the action again. If you can’t, this person will not take action.
6. Don’t assume you know any of the above. Without the words coming from the person’s mouth, you don’t know the drivers or their path to the drivers - no matter what anyone tells you.
-Sam Manfer

Sales without diplomacy does not deserve to be called sales and gives this magnificent profession two black eyes. -GSHart

I don't think a good sales person should EVER "exert pressure" on a buyer. I believe that most of the objections in the sales process can be addressed through good questioning up front. Learn to get comfortable asking DIRECT questions to your potential client, and you'll begin working SMARTER, not HARDER. Ask your buyer something like, "when do you see yourself making a decision on this?" or, "if our product or services meet your needs, when would you like to implement this change?" Remember - both you and your client are busy - and while you have their attention during the qualifying process, make the best use of that time. -Jeannie

"People have a general desire to appear consistent in their behaviour. People generally also value consistency in others.

Compliance professionals can exploit the desire to be consistent by having someone make an initial, often small, commitment. Requests can then be made that are in keeping with this initial commitment." -Wikipedia -Mikey

How can a salesperson use "commitment and consistency" in practice? Can you give an example? -Slick

That would make a good first chapter for How To Sell Out Of Desperation.

Forget pressure. Forget about creating a false sense of urgency. It is not for professionals. -Ace Coldiron

The best pressure is that used in the discipline of Aikido, in Aikido you use the weight of your opponent to bring about pressure. How can we apply that in our selling strategy - we have the prospect tell us how valuable our product or service would be for him/her, most sales people believe if you make a logical explanation the prospect will buy. People buy on emotions - what are the emotional drivers which will motivate the buyer to make a decision. So what we need to do is not to sell the prospect, we need to have him buy the vlue of our solution. -colly

People seek to avoid pain and/or gain pleasure by resolving or reducing tension, PRESSURE, caused by a perceived discrepancy between a believed existing state (they way things are) and a believed target state (the way they should be).

Think about that and how you can apply it to your sales activities. -Liberty

A "Tentative Commitment" such as "If I could... would you...?" is a good example of "Commitment and Consistency" being used in sales. -Mikey

Usually I like your posts Jeff but not this one.

As professionals we provide reasons (benefits) - we do not intend to apply pressure (though asking for an order sometimes has that affect - as we cannot control how people react).

If you were just trying to get a rise, then fine, otherwise, strike the word pressure from your sales training vocabulary forever, it is in appropriate and amateurish in my not so humble opinion.

Here, here! -Gold Calling

In the B2B sales realm, "pressure" is generally felt in the SM's office. It's pushed downward by the SM when:
1. a SR is not making the numbers; or,
2. the team is missing the mark;

It's pushed upward to the SM, when a thoroughbred is blowing away his numbers but the comp plan isn't commensurate (in the SR's mind).

This "pressure" should NEVER leave the office ...

Good luck & Good selling!
Pat -OUTSource Sales

Can you give an example? -Slick

He did here thmbp2; -PiJiL

What you are probably asking is, "How do you encourage a customer to take action now?" Isn't that right?

To help prevent customers from procrastinating give them a reason to act now. I'll list a few ideas for you to consider:

1. Establish a deadline w/ buy-in.
2. Remind them of their awful problem.
3. Remind/inform them of the cost (emotional, financial, oportunity, etc.) of waiting.
4. Fan the flame of desire.
5. Build momentum/ commitment throughout the call.
6. Give Assurance.
7. Get an upfront contract.

Apply as many of these as you can and you will be well on your way to an authentic sense of urgency. msnwnk; -SalesCoach

Pat, I think it exactly the same in the B2C realm. -Skip Anderson

If you have connected with your client and he/she trusts you, (which you should have at this point if you are asking for the sale)You should never need to apply pressure. Your client should trust you enough at that point to either tell you yes or no. As for the call backs... give your client permission to tell you yes or no that will stop you wasting your time and your clients time with all the useless phone calls. This doesn't mean he will never buy from you just not right now. -MPrince

Sometimes trust isn't the issue, procrastination is. -Mikey

Pressure is something you put in tires. If the prospect is properly qualified: 1) They have a need you can solve. 2) They have the dollars to pay for the solution. 3) They have a sense of urgency. 4) They have the authority to make the decision. 5) They trust you or can develop trust with you. -- there is no need to put pressure on them. You can create some tension to get them to move from Pt. A to Pt. B by asking questions and reminding them of their answers. Creative tension can move people from current reality to desired result. Pressure can agitate and irritate and they can kick you out of their process literally or figuratively.;ma -Connie Kadansky

Nice list SalesCoach. thmbp2;

Creative tension... I like the sound of that Connie. thmbp2; -Slick

Go back to the value found in the capabilities your product or service provides an executive. If a corporate driver, initiative or an executive's operational problems are bleeding neck wounds; "sales pressure" won't be needed.

Sales pressure is the result of not selling value at every touch point in the organization. Executives know when they are being pressured and just like you - they don't like it. The antithesis of proving you have an executive's best interests at heart is pressure. If you are pressuring anyone, you are doing something wrong…

Always remember: No Pain – No Change

If it takes sales pressure to move the opportunity forward you missed uncovering enough pain during discovery. You sell a vision of a solution and they pay dearly for your products or services. Executive by executive, start again and sell the value that you and your products or services are bringing to the whole company!

When they buy that vision, be prepared to prove you can do it. No Proof = No Sale!

Sales pressure is the last resort effort of a weak value proposition (or a marginally trained sales person). Pressure only affirms and reinforces the corporate executive decision that the risk is just too great!

Too bad executives disguise this truth with "price" or “missing features” objections; thereby, perpetuating a salesperson’s jaded belief the loss was something other than being blatantly outsold… -rolliemerrick

Again--great insight, Rollie. -Ace Coldiron

In my experience there are several things that are often forgotten in the world of sales - especially when kicking around various theories, which several types of sales training groups delve into. They include;

(1) No matter what effort you have taken to qualify the buyer/ultimate decision maker - knowing that over qualification will loose more opportunity than it will eliminate non-buyers - there are those buyers who, even when there is a clear need, will simply not make the decision, asking for the order in these cases DOES APPLY PRESSURE – it is designed to - and is sometimes the only thing you can do.

In these cases, though not a common occurrence, as long as you are certain in your mind that there is no reason not to buy, asking for the order is as good for the prospect as for the supplier, thus this is warranted.

(2) Personality types do create issues, the INDIFFERENT buyer comes to mind straight away. He/she seems not to care, known in some sales training camps as the LOW REACTOR, this buyer is extremely hard to read. In this case the only way to have a chance for them to buy what is clearly good for them or maybe is kind of liker SHOCK TREATMENT - be assumptive, assume the order is yours and proceed as if it is, then watch all but the dead suddenly react and give you the information you need to help them decide.

The term LOW REACTOR as far as I am aware, came out of the Huthwaite camp (SPIN Selling). And this phrase that describes the attitude (or lack there of) we know as indifference ... it is easily the hardest of the emotions to deal with as it is almost as if the prospect is devoid of emotion.

(3) “The greatest pressure you will ever apply is silence!”


If I am not mistaken the quote above is J. Douglas Edwards, though he no doubt learned it himself from another insurance sales master.

When you ask for the order, shut up. SHUT UP!

Your silence will apply pressure on the prospect that is reluctant. And, again, as long as you are certain your product is right for the prospect, this is in their best interest. They need what you offer, and you need to get on to another prospect, not sit there for ever or return for an order that you could and should have now, so ask, then shut up.

I must take exception to Rollie’s post a little bit - reluctance to buy is not always the result of missing to uncover benefits, that is like saying that some people are not nervous about making decisions.

Forty-five years ago a sales trainer who would happily explain the need to find hit buttons and reveal the benefits with the prospect also claimed that there were times when you had to close. And though Huthwaite bangs the drum of this as the most important aspect in selling, those of us who are master probers and who know exactly how to uncover needs/pain, will still tell you of the LOW REACTOR and the NERVOUS BUYER ... if you call Huthwaite and speak to their top execs (as I did in 2008) they too will somewhat grudgingly discuss this fact. In other words; this is still taught today.

If perhaps the greatest sales speaker of all time taught this 45 years ago and the company that has done more on-call sales tracking than any other in history is still discussing this today, any sales pro would refute this and deny it’s existence as known sales practice at their own risk.

It is a mistake to say that benefits get orders by themselves and the close is a non event, as it is not always a non event ... even for those of us who are regularly finding 4 or even 5 major benefits or, in other words; PAIN that our product or service can make disappear.

I have three very close personal friends that are sales masters - two who are trainers also, known who were influenced by me. Huthwaite agreed when I called, and my own personal experience has proven that the sales tracking done in the 60's was correct.

Asking for the order is not the last resort of a weak value proposition, not when I am selling. And I am one of the best trained sales people that ever lived (being the youngest ever to take Xerox training at 17, that was 30 years ago).

That is the issue I have with SPIN. It is the only one but it is very real. There are in fact two personalities in the room, not one. Therefore, you better learn not only how to uncover needs that can be supported by the benefits of your product but also how to ...

CLOSE! -Gold Calling

Could we be confusing persistence with pressure?
Each piece of information given to the client forces a new decision made by the client.
If in fact you are using pressure forcing the client to make a decision you may win the one time purchase. The long run how does that help the client,help your company and help you?It must be a win win win for all.
Pressure is unprofessional. Fifty years ago that was the norm.That is my money in your pocket give it to me.No longer is this a viable effective means to an end. -rich34232

Pitched any corpses lately?

Fifty years ago the best sales teachers were teaching the same things we are now. If you don't believe me call Tom Hopkin’s company and order "Back to the Future in Sales" that contains the original recordings of J. Douglas Edwards who was accepted as the top insurance sales trainer in the 60’s

People, lack of professionalism - not treating people with respect - and not understanding the difference between persistence and unwanted pressure, this has NEVER worked. A buyer will respect you for your effort to help him, that does not mean he won’t at times feel pressured no matter how good a communicator you are.

Buyers have been incensed for thousands of years with bad sales behavior. The notion that we, as a race, within the last 50 years have gained knowledge that was not acquired in the first several millennium of our existence is silly at best and absolutely ridiculous at worst. Try reading some of the advice in the Bible from 2,000 years ago if you think this suggestion of mine is out of line!

If there was one thing I could eliminate in sales this miss information is at the top of the list. Yes, it is absolutely true that a few sales training factions were what we might call “rough” in years past. Just as true as the silly notions in sales training of late that might be referred to as NEW AGE, that ignore the professional techniques we have known and proven for decades. GET THIS:

There is just as much bad info on sales today as there ever was, in fact, with the Internet, I think there is more bad sales advice today, especially at this forum!

To me, the sales training industry is sent backwards a thousand years or more by the notions that people were less intelligent 50 years or more ago. It is far more correct to believe that as much bad sales training exists today as did half a century past or even 1,000 years ago. And just because sales was originally passed on from master to apprentice before the industrial age does not mean that salesmanship or sales training have not existed prior. Or that there have not been masters of sales before the written word and recordings of how to communicate more effectively and therefore get the order.

“What is in it for him or her?” Do you (any reader) really think this is a new notion that has existed for only 50 years … ???

It is not COMMON SENSE that makes people successful, it is those that do what others are not willing to do - like more prospecting, so they are in more selling situations and are themselves not as pressured to meet quotas – or UNCOMMON BEHAVIOR that makes a stand out in our profession. And, if you are a knife (a sharp person) a great trainer can make you more effective. However, if you do not sit across the desk from a high number of qualified prospects (for your industry) you will never reach your potential or the top of your company in sales, no mater what school of sales training you believe in or how many training sessions you attend.

This thread is about PRESSURE and we must realize once and forever that even questions causes some buyers to FEEL it, never mind asking for the order. And, get it straight, there are times when you will NOT get the order without asking, no matter how many benefits you uncover and support that your product or service addresses (people do display INDIFFERENCE/are LOW REACTORS, there is no way to read them, thus you either leave forever or ask for the order, there is no other choice! Forget this mumbo jumbo about I would rather get the order another time … this is COMMON, not uncommon thinking).

Here is another piece of miss info in sales;

PAIN is not felt with all needs, that is why NEEDS is a more accurate expression, I wrote a paper on this 15 years ago.

There is so much lousy sales training that you have to put Wellington’s on or even wear hip waders to get to the truth. And, if you are to think to yourself that people across the desk from you don’t feel pressure, even by simply having you there or asking questions, let alone being even slightly assumptive (showing a little confidence) then you deny the very existence of what psycologists know as the human condition.

The buyer does have feelings. They include being skeptical, objecting, acceptance and indifference … guess what? That bit of sales training is 50 years old in less than a decade!

“That doesn’t work any more” is the worst quote in sales training. “That never worked” is on target if you are to know the truth, if you wish to know our profession in a way that can only be described as profound.

If you want to apply sales pressure effectively you must make sure that you have mastered the art of probing (asking questions) and done everything you could have to uncover needs that your product or service addresses before you ask for the order. But denying that asking is going to create it or having the notion that you should never ask ... well, you are clueless.

PRESSURE is a fact of life, it is part of your human existence. Get over it. Then make sure you do everything you can to lesson the impact on the prospect but still shut up once you ask any question, be that a close or just simple probing. And know, there are times when a buyer is pressured by that silence (they would have to be dead not to be!). -Gold Calling

"Pressure" can have two meanings. Pressure to have someone buy something they don't need or want just so you can hit your sales numbers is one kind of pressure. (Don't do this!!!)

Another kind of pressure is giving the prospect a reason to buy now that will benefit both parties.

And for that to happen, a few things need to take place long before you ever get to the close:

1) established a need for the product / service
2) establish a motivation for the product / service (which is different than a "need"
3) uncover the role of the person you are speaking with. Can this person pull the trigger if they decided they wanted to?

These three things need to be in line before any "motivated reason to act now" is given. -SalesBuzz.com

Probably the most effective way would be to threaten his life or his family. But that's illegal and certainly not suggested, but HEY, I know someone else in here thought it but just didn't say it!!!

I don't think any experienced salesperson resorts to pressure anymore unless you consider asking questions as pressure. -mcaldwell

When I call on a new or prospective client my desire is to make that client a long term business partner. If I push that new business partner into something he or she is not ready to buy that is going to be what he/she will always remember (especially if they are not happy with what I have pressured them into buying) when they see me or even hear my name again. I might never again get the opportunity to do business with that person simply because I didn't have enough patience to wait for the right time. Instead I put pressure on the client or prospect to do business NOW! If we call ourselves professionals then our goal, first and foremost, is what is best for the client. If that is our goal there is no need for pressure. -MPrince

Wow there is a lot of good info here , i agree last thing i want to hear is somebody trying to pressure me. Im trying to learn what the needs and wants of our customers are and for the most part I have learned that good service goes a long ways. -daran

I do not believe nor will I ever use pressure okr fear-based tactics to gain a one time ownership wxchange. I would rather walk away then to submit my ethics and integrity.
How would I convince a client or guide them to the proper dercision. There are many ways to convince the client.
I am one who definitely enjoys the relationship sales process. I build value,trust.
You can never go wrong asking questions. These questions deal with emotion.Why do you feel there is no need to move forward with my proposal today? Is there anything about my proposal that cocnerns you. Mr Client Do you realize that you will have to make a decision soon? When they reply yes ask why are you hesitiating today?Find out the real reason they are not moving forward.
Mr Prospect do you feel my solution will take care of your problem today and in the future.How about giving me a chance to prove to you that I can take care of this for you.
Mr Client I understand how you feel,others have felt that same way. what they found when I was completed they were worry free.
Mr client I understand how you feel , others have felt that way Once I did their shopping for them they understood the problem disappeared.
Mr Client I have quite a few clients who have felt that way,would you like read some of their thoughts about the solution,price and professionalism?( this only works if you ask for referal letters.You ask the client to write a letter for you to show other clients. You have them write how they felt about price and how high it is,how they felt about the solution and how I arrived at the solution.)
There are a ton of ways to guide the client to move forward. Remember anything can be said to a client as long as it is phrased as a question. -rich34232

My typing is horrible , please excuse the typos. -rich34232

Mr Client you do realize the consequences of non action. Tell me Mr client what is the real reason your hesitating today.

Without knowing a reason all I can do ,throw softballs out there for a hit or miss. All I know no action by the client stems from my inability to convey my message of a long term solution,not enough information . My aim finding out what the client is thinking and why. -rich34232

Mr Client what do you want with my proposal that is not already there?
Mr Client what would it take to move forward? -rich34232

If you really want to take the pressure off give the client permission to tell you no.

Mr Prospect When I have answered all your questions today and we are finished with our conversation all I will ask of you is a simple yes or no. Do you think you can do that for me? (That will be your first "YES" even though you have given him permission to tell you no.) -MPrince

Tactical execution is the answer. All sales presentations are specifically designed to uncover needs, desires, and dislikes -When followed and understood by the professional, those same presentations will promote the features, benefits, and advantages of your product as the best solution.

"Pressure" as a sales tactic, is to dated to be considered as a conceptual sales learning model for today.

In my humble opinion; "Strategic Questioning" to learn problem awareness in the early minutes of your visit will serve you best in the closing sequence. I offer this with caution ! We are an anxious group of people that choose sales as our profession.
(If agreed)

Please do not cut corners on the pre-planned presentation to sell you're product.... One cannot enjoy an above average closing percentages when corners are cut from the pre-planned presentation.

I will attempt to sum up most all sales presentations to make the point more clear...

1-Problem Awareness: Asking questions of the client that gains agreement from him, that he has a problem to be solved.

2-Solution Awareness: Describe for the client the potential solutions available to him, by your competitors or the cheap way out. Ask questions of him, with regard to his ways and or habits in solving problems. His thoughts are very important!

3-The Where to solve his problem: This is you're product ! And you're product knowledge and or service in comparison. (remember features, benefits, and advantages) Ask you're questions, and get confirmation along the way) further this with "You're" specific role in assisting him in solving "his" problem.

4-The How to solve the problem: This is you're program. financial facts, pertinent data, comparisons of services and or good, better, best product's. Asking questions of confirmation along the way.....


5-The When to solve the problem: That is of course, NOW! if you do not cut corners in the entire presentation, you may receive more often than not the best compliment you and I, can ever receive ?

"We bought this from you today, because you did not pressure us "

Good Selling :)
M2 -directsls

Take away the solution. If the desire or need is real and the time is right, simply suggest the opposite. -Clive Miller

Some people respond to sales pressure because they are afraid to say “No” even though they may not be ready to make a buying decision. Others don’t want to confront a hostile situation so they say yes to avoid confrontation. These people are the minority. The majority of people are pressure adverse and see arm twisting as hostile and defiantly not good for relationships.

Hard sell tactics were the staple sales training of past generations. However, pressure selling is old school and lost it’s effectiveness. In the past people were not as enlightened and common information we take for granted today was not available to the masses. Salespeople face customers with a new attitude and a marketplace of over supply and under demand because of improved productivity and increased competition. The new sales reality: customers have more and better choices than ever and it’s up to seller to adjust strategies.

Today, top sales performers exert less pressure, if at all, yet they easily sell 2 to 1 over average sellers. Professional sellers don’t solely focus on closing but work to understand the customer wants and needs. The new game of sales is better communication skills and trying to understand what will motivate someone to make a buying decision. Experiences sellers are comfortable with reality; you can’t sell all people all the time.

Many salespeople miss easy opportunities because they simply don’t ask for the order; they fear hearing the “No” answer. Top performers are more comfortable with a “No,” because they don’t perceive it as personal rejection. Asking for an order has little to do with pressure; it all depends on how you ask.

The real pressure is on salespeople to allow customers dignity and a graceful exit when they don’t want to make a buying decision. What sets up the chances of a customer returning and future sales is helping customers motivate themselves to buy for their reasons, not because salespeople need orders. -bbieler

Well said! -MPrince

Pressure is not so much applied as felt by some buyers. Asking for the order will apply pressure to some ... no matter how good you were at uncover and supporting needs.

That's life.

SILENCE is still the greatest pressure that is felt - far more powerful than words. -Gold Calling

Pressure is a tactic that is used when nothing else seems to work.

You must first plant the right seeds during a presentation to prevent pressure from being the issue when closing...

however.....when you are using this tactic...applying pressure..... which there is usually always at least a small amount of pressure unless its an absolute lay down deal..... theres at least a drop of pressure....

any pressure should always come from a third party.... your manager, a contest or some other external influence....

USING A CONTEST: When you first start a presentation..in passing just say "By the way, once again, I just wanted to say thank you so much for letting me give you some info on this program/product.... I really appreciate you taking a quick peak at it, because I'm in a huge contest this month, I'm trying to win a trip to where ever/a golden plaque/a bonus...and every presentation/demo i do gives me a little boost towards that goal...so once again thanks so much...." continue with presentation....and when you get to the end and you need to show the proverbial "one more set of numbers" then you can use that contest as the main reason you would like to show them just one last thing before you go....this is after you see that they are in a no mode and your normal assumptive and alternate choice closes aren't working.... you know those situations where there seems like a potential sale, but you are having a hard time holding their attention to show another set of numbers...

just say "Look I appreciate you taking a look today, and I know this probably won't change your mind, but you know, I am trying to win a huge contest this month....and by all means, I know this probably won't make a difference in your decision, but for the sake of trying before i leave, and I can't even totally guarantee that I can pull it off myself, but basically, what i would do is this....SHOW NEW OFFER....and like I said, I would have to get this approved, but I'm getting very close in this contest and I only have a day or two left and I was just gonna ask my boss if maybe he'd help me out a little bit here....basically, IF I can get his help, we would set it up as....etc etc.....BUT however....that is ONLY if you promise not to tell anyone you know about this, because it's not often I'm in a position to ask about such a plan/price chage..."

if you do it just right, they will say they promise not to tell anyone and if you finesse the rest just right...they just said they are buying....

take it further and use the SILENCE PRESSURE that was mentioned earlier in the thread.... just say "so if you see the benefits in getting involved with this program or product while I just happen to be at the end of this contest and I can save you an additional blah blah on the initial investment.....all we would need is a copy of your utility bill/drivers license/address where youd like delivery....etc

Use pressure that you are in the neighborhood and you just happen to be doing work or supplying products/services to a bunch of the neighbors (use names if possible) and if you see the benefits to getting involved while we're here in the area, we can offer a fairly significant savings of 15% but that's only if you are able to take delivery when it's more convenient for us....!!!

Always use a take away close at the end....

and offer an additional incentive, not a big deal...just a little extra if you see the benefit to actually taking an application today....just to keep us from coming back and having to do things twice, we can offer an additional 10%, not a big deal, but for those who see what this program can do for you and want to get started with it right now.... -planrecruiter

I am actually looking for a reasons to come back to see a client. If I were the client I would be offended because you offered a 10% discount to keep from having to come back to see me.

As for "How to Apply Sales Pressure Effectively:"

What is wrong with being totally open and honest with your client? Yes this time your client may tell you "no" because your offer does not meet the needs he/she has at the moment; that does not mean you will hear a no the next time. What it means is this; because you have been open/honest this time and did not try and bend their will to match yours for a sale, the next time you call and the nest time you are open and honest they may just say yes. It not only takes the pressure off the client but it takes all the pressure off of you. You don't have to try and remember which close should I use...take away close or the silent close or one of the hundreds of other pressure closes out there. Why not try, "I want to do what is best for my client without applying pressure close." I've tried and it has worked for me for over twenty years now. It might take a little longer to get a sale from that client but more times than not the rewards will be well worth the wait. -MPrince

OK....first off if you look back youll see that what i said first was that the use of pressure is that last tactic you should use.....

now i understand that importance of results and im talking about getting the sale....not being sold on why they dont need to buy today....cuz i can tell you right now most smaller and medium sized end user products such as a car or door to door vacuum or home improvement sale..... YOU AINT GONNA GET NO SECOND CHANCE.....

NOW on the other hand if you are talking about upselling an existing account on something of that nature...then sure...you dont want to burn a bridge thats already partly built....

now i only talk about these methods....because you can either close 1 out of 6 or if you are extra effective and you are in a zone, you could close 1 out of 2 ....thats an example.... depends what youre selling...

i only give this advise because my first week selling vacuum cleaners door to door, i made $2,500 and the same the second week and my top week of profit is over $8,000 ....so you can be the nice guy whos willing to come back and all that and lose tons of should beens....or you can take it a step further and learn a few extra tactics to help make your time and the time of your prospect much more productive....and if you really really have a true conviction in what you are selling, you will have no problem applying pressure....because it comes from conviction....and if its done well....your prospect will never get angry.... if you dont know what youre doing, yeah pressure can be a little tough....

as first as afirst visit discount of 10%.....well see that tactic here is give an incentive that large enough to tempt but not so large that you seem like an A hole... trust me.... i know what im talking about... almost any reasonable sale that is made requires at least a degree of pressure....which varies from scene to scene.....

now if youre like me...you sell with conviction and urgency and you always keep a pace and a body language that says hey take or leave it..this can save you a ton of time and money, but its not for everyone..and i dont know how important saving time is to you.....PAUSE..... customer will reply with Oh its very important....i need my time to go fishing....., then you say oh, ok well it sounds like youre gonna have a lot more time to go fishing now John.....so if you really see the benefits to saving all that extra time with XYZ product....then all i they would require is a copy of you utility bill.... but, now that's if your willing to keep our sign in your yard for two weeks.... (take away) customer will say Oh sure thats no problem.....and viola you have a sale.... no real pressure there.... but its not always that easy.....

they may say well leave me your number and card and ill get back with you.....

now you got to get commitment...

"so how soon would you want to get started with this....?"

he says "1 month"....

you commit them by rephrasing and getting agreement... "ok so if what youre saying is that if i was to come back in 30 days from now youd be ready to get started."

You can also, ask, "other than money, is there any other reason you wouldnt want to get involved"

they say no

you say "ok so what you are saying is that if it was affordable today then you would have definitely gotten started but because it of the affordability right now, that is the only reason you dont want to get it today right?"

he says ""Right"

you can even go so far as to ask " if it was affordable...pretending that you decided you wanted to get the product right now and, how much too much would it have been just so i know how far off we were... i mean was it $50 too much ....was it $100 too much...$200... Pause....

if they are serious at all they will many times they will give you more details as to what they could afford....

anyways ive got much more than this and im in a hurry but remember.....if you wait around for call backs and be backs...in most businesses you are gonna starve....and that dont mean you burn bridges and lie to people are whatever you may be implying or thinking..... it means you create an image, a feel, you are essentially an actor...if you dont act.....you arent gonna get much more than a few lay down sales.... -planrecruiter

"The best pressure is that used in the discipline of Aikido, in Aikido you use the weight of your opponent to bring about pressure. How can we apply that in our selling strategy - we have the prospect tell us how valuable our product or service would be for him/her, most sales people believe if you make a logical explanation the prospect will buy. People buy on emotions - what are the emotional drivers which will motivate the buyer to make a decision. So what we need to do is not to sell the prospect, we need to have him buy the vlue of our solution." -- Colly

That's a good metaphor that combines a strategy with a tactic for the prospect to arrive at a valued conclusion.

Nor do I use pressure in any sense of external force to make a sale. When pressure, resistence, struggle and stress both internal and external become a thing of the past replaced with commit, ask, discover, and close as a process that fits together as a whole with the individual pieces movable to some extent - as a prepositional phrase used as an adverbial clause is movable - you begin to create a dialogue with life - with people - that causes success.

Success is the effect of paying attention with the intention of providing a solution to something whether the solution you present is accepted or not. BUT if time passes and your solution is not being accepted something is missing - find out what's missing even if you have to put some pressure on yourself to find out!

The best of success to everyone in 2009.

MitchM -MitchM

I like to think of the sales proccess as indeed a challenge amonst you and your client....and its a sport in essence...its like catching the proverbial fish.... you dont pressure the fish into the net, you lure them in.... and i dont care how "nice" you try to make it sound, bottom line..we're here to make money, solving problems is important and that should be inherent in what you are selling ...

but to sell well is to truly create the bait...you lure the client in by giving them minimal information on an as needed bases, hitting them at their hot or vulnerable points....not only using questions that are very logical and reasonalby obvious YES questions that have to be agreed with and follow your yes questions with trial closes and use this circular pattern until they are really sold, the thing in order to maintain that circular closing pattern, you want to hold out on alot of your info, getting them thinking of buyung early ...just ask 2 obvious yes questions and then ask if they would get one if it would affordable or reasonable?

Use "reasonable" voice inflection and it's hard for people to say no...

"surely youd agree this would save you a little time, wouldnt it?"

"Im sure youd agree that it would worth at least $2-3 dollars a day for just a few months if you could keep that problem from happening, woudlnt it?"

"I mean honestly, IF it was affordable, do you think this is something youd like to have"

or even better

"Honestly, do you think you would consider getting invloved with one of these things today, im mean IF it was affordable?"

use a real "reasonable" tone, and use this no later than halfway through your presentation in most cases....

Often they will say, " it depends....how much is it/how much it is!?"

You say in a mock serious tone

"well dont get me wrong, these things are quite pricey, actually theyre very expensive, but they really are an example of the best possible quality product/service available...and dont worry, theyre less than $50,000 there affordable for anyone...!!" PAUSE and then SMILE and say

"ha no im kidding, its not $50,000....dont worry....only 49,999 ....no seriously im joking, but yeah let me just give you the price on that in just a moment but real quick, I just wanted to let you know that the product/service also does this and that and this and that..."

show your price fairly quick after that though... lets say your serlling a home improvement project that cost $15,000 and they customer has really no idea what to expect in terms of an estimate... you tell them its less than say $50K because although its kind of shocking, it actually gets them trying to in their own mind, justify why the product or service might actually be worth something close to what you mention..... and then you quickly take the pressure off buy saying your joking and maybe just take it a step further with the 49,999 and then when are showing them a little more before showing the actual price of say only $15K theyve tried to justify this thing costing more than that , because initially you got them really doing some math in their head, what would justify almost $50,000....

now keep in mind you dont do all your sales tactics with a sly im getting over on you type of attitude, you do it like a sport, however you play within a certain realm of ethics.... there is no need to lie about anything...really ever... that being said, it is very important to be a CREATIVE CLOSER where you can create reasonable curiosity building statements (statements that make customers want to ask certain questions) and sensible obvious no brainer yes questions that are not too rhetorical or condescending

and always ask for the order by asking a favor of them.....

"You know Ann, i would really love to earn your business but in order for me to be able to do anything, I would have to know the address you would want to items delivered?"

remember, no matter what before a presentation is finished always thoroughly and clearly tell your customer the process of getting started, methods of payment, what they will recieve in specific and in whole... at the very least, just doing that alone can often bring someone back into a conversation... tell them in a non threatening, customter service tone about the methods of getting started

anyways please excuse me, my post are long, but i think that there's more to them than meets the eye sometimes...

to our successes

happy belated new year :) -planrecruiter

I have been around this forum and read enough posts by individuals here to feel confident in my ability to discern who the pros are that contribute. I have traveled in the circles of people who were absolute top producers in their field--people who impressed the companies they represented so much that models were created from their behavour. On this forum, if you weed through the individual manners of expression that guys like Steven (Gold Calling) and Pat (OutsourceSales) use to post their thoughts, you can ascertain that they are at an extremely high level of understanding. A fellow called Mitch (Mike) posts here who is an achiever in a field so difficult that many folks say success is nearly impossible (and I have been one of them who thought that.) I'll toss aside the protocol of "IMHO" at this juncture to say that I've been at a very high level myself for several years, and still learning.

The above forementioned, myself among them, say, in their own words, that "pressure" is out.

It is not my intent to dispute anyone's post on this thread, or their right to express their opinions or tell stories of their results. But it is my intent to offer advice to newcomers, and those that struggle to learn, because most of us were at that stage at one time. My advice is to heed the advice of the aforementioned on the subject of applying "pressure". You will jump to a new and higher level of both understanding and income. -Ace Coldiron

It's done in "striplining", advocated by Sandler, and the more commonly discussed "Take Away Close", but I'm not sure that the void which is created, is "pressure" in the context of the discussion here. I don't dispute your suggestion which can, in my opinion, be very effective. -Ace Coldiron

planrecruiter...I would be interested to know just how many of your future "fish" would take your bait if they were to read your post on this thread? -MPrince

enough to make as much as 10 Gs in as little in a week....
but by all means im not saying im special....plenty of people making that and much more....

it all depends on perspective....if you dont see the value to what ive said, id say you maybe arent that experienced in sales.... is that possible....says youre an expert.... which im sure you are...anyways i assure you...people take plenty of my bait...

but just like anyone...plenty dont as well... :) -planrecruiter

That raises a red flag about credibility. My math says that's over a half million dollars a years selling vacuum cleaners. My common sense says something else regarding your claim. -Ace Coldiron

Well, I can tell you just how much experience I have...I am experienced enough to know that I don't have to defend my experience. -MPrince

ok well as far as half a million dollars selling vacuums ace is talking about....that is a misunderstanding....i didnt make $10 G in a week selling vacuums, that was a best week of sales for me in the home insulation business....but yes a distributor for kirby vacuums could definitely earn as much as half a million a year with a reasobly sized organization... i mean think about it a vacuum cost about $1500 average selling prices....when i was sales manager for that business, we sold almost 200 units in a month... so yeah it ads up...

and i aint saying that i make half a million.....but i regurly make several thousand dollars in week last year about $75 K ..... really on a part time bases personal sales of home attic and wall insualation....

however when i started sales at 18 in the vacuum business i did make 5 Gs my first 2 weeks of selling.... i can assure you these are credible claims, many people on here surely make much more on occassion at least... i mean my first week selling vacuums i sold 5 of them makin about $450 average...each... looking back thats a tiny commission....but it can ad up if you can be agressive on the prospecting end keeping your numbers up

it all boils down to what your averages are and how many people you talk to.... AS LONG as you are making reasonable effort giving your prospect all the right reasons to say yes.... you sound credible, reasonably, you never over sell and under deliver, you under sell and over deliver...you keep youre promises you be congenial no matter what, acknowledging..... always think in your head in between introductions, cold calls, presentations or whatever and think to yourself what you could have said differently to get a different response ...a more favorable one...

and not only what you could have said different....but how you said it....was the voice inflection influential and did it lead them.... did they agree with my little commitments...?

Did i ask them if they would use my product if they had it....?

with every little benefits you have..... create a problem by talking about it... say something like

"every year health care cost rise at three times the rate of inflation and it causes insurance premiums to rise as well, but if i could show you a program that would reduce your overall health expense by over 50% or more, would you use it if you had it?"

always ask them if they would use it if they had it...that gives you more reason to ask for the order...subdtly by saying something such as "So you like it? you see that you need it? and youd use it if you had it?"

"Ok so reasonably, if it was affordable, is this a program that youd like to participate it.... im mean only IF it was affordable, is this something youd like to have?"

i assure you, if you get them at the right time with this question its gonna increase your chances of getting the sale that day....and then when you actually close, you say "Great so if you see the benefits to savings money and being able to provide this great health benefits to your family during this special promotion period while i can waive registration fee....all i would need is a little bit of basic information from you.....and like i say ill waive the fee BUT I CAN ONLY waive that fee if you can give me the names of 3 people you know who I could at least give some free info to......"

Raise eyebrows as if to say, you really need those conditions met in order to be able to continue..... fairly simple, but reasonable request such as supplying referrals, placing a sign in their yard, writing you a testimonial or whatever.....

if you have to think of your own extra incentive to get them to buy TODAY...if your profit margin allows, perhaps a free $25 gift certificate to some restaurant.... youd be surprised what a stupid little dinner will do to keep someone from cancelling a deal....or just to get them to buy on first visit....

Tell them if they can take advantage of the OPTION X TODAY you can go ahead and include an additional certificate for 2 to the seafood house or some BS, "BUT see that's only for people who can use visa or mastercard" Just let them restaurant name sell your product for you.....

ACT as if you are sceptical that theyll have this form of payment... and their psychology many times will want to "prove" to you that they do have a credit card... its human nature... the more sceptical someone is of the truth....the more we tend to overstate ourselves...as humans.... we want to prove what we say is true....or we want to prove the sceptic wrong...

many scenarios i speak of are situations where you go to the customer such as to their home or calling them on the phone....but when they come to you, its a slightly different dynamic.... when they come to you they can always walk away, hang up whatever... but when you go to them, its not quite the same, you may be going on just a presentation basis....

if you can imagine using a intro line at a persons door such as

"Hi my name is Mike, Im with the XYZ company over here in blah city...and i was just popping by real quick for a real quick demo and i brought by a free gift" and them handing either a roll of paper towel or a bottle of windex for instance and then getting in with equipment and getting a sale by the end of the meeting.... see if i had tried to explain that my "presentation" would take about 30-60 minutes..... would they let me in their house..... probly not..... but if i say i just popped by real quick for a real quick demo and i brought by a free gift..... it sounds like much less of an ordeal...its no big deal...

if they ask how long does it take, you say, well just a quick moment....unless of course you have questions...... and then you base your presentation of your product all around CURIOSITY BUILDING STATEMENTS that get them to ask questions and thereby puts the ball in their court so when you are their longer than 5 minutes...its all their fault.... they ended up having all these questions and therefore there is no reason to blame you...

it is important to be creative and at the same time, focus on the number of qulified presentations you get first...the sales will come.. you cant have 10 sale if you dont do at the very very least 10 presentations....

anyways im just sharing a few random thoughts for heck of it.... -planrecruiter

If you have to pressure someone, you should go back through your process to see where you went wrong. -Mark Tewart

Pressure is something you put in tires.

I agree with Skip Anderson -- it sounds like this question is about creating a sense of urgency -- something very different than pressure. -Connie Kadansky

Ok bottom line, pressure and urgency are in a sense the same thing...just depends on how much the truth is bent to achieve the sense of "you must buy now"

The way you prevent a high pressure situation is just by NOT giving all information before asking for the order... be sure you close at least trial close early often and late... this way with every attempt you leave yourself plenty of ammo....more information that you havnt told them about your product.

Pressure is when you ask them to buy repeatedly without giving them new information... so start your demo as just some quick, free information .... at the same time, have "statements of curiosity" ready....

little phrases designed to get the customer to ask you more about your product and test their interest.... such as hinting at something that the customer would want to know, but not quite finishing your statement before moving on.... this can plant a seed....

for example you can say can say:

"yes john, you can get the entire benefits package with medical and dental care included, however, that plans not for everyone... now this other program i was telling you about really makes it easy to get started ... "

Your prospect will naturally want to ask about the plan you mentioned was not for everyone...

or if youre like me.... you dont want to sound like some used car salesman who says the terms are great and theyre gonna love the price and all that...and then get to the end and show your price at the last minute and they have no clue what they were in for and you feel like a high pressure idiot that just wasted 30-60 minutes....

why not instead move briskly and confidently through your demo as if you are completely knowledgable however, very busy.... in other words you are in demand.... and when you are demonstrating, you are not trying to sell anything... however...be sure to mention to them in passing in the beggining of the presentation you appreciate their time taking a quick look at your program as you prepare you materials or products.... thank them and tell them that you really appreciate theyre help, youre trying to be the number one sales rep that month and every time i show the program it gets me a step closer to my goals, so i really appreciate your time....

this softens them up...and makes them realize....that you are there for a sale...however...it seems as tho you get credit for the demo...so it just helps the prospects mind to cross that line early on.... this prevents pressure scenes -planrecruiter

Putting pressure on the consultant, is pretty simple, all you have to do is use your closes. That's what a majority of the closes are there for. You pretty much need to work the sales process and use your trial closes, so you can get to the negotiations and final close. -jrboyd

I agree with what has been written above, you need to be able to listen and agree with the clients, confirm the objection and then overcome their fears.

Old school, though still works well in the right conditions and you have made friends and trust has been established with a good old "take-away" -ged1mcguirk

I know there are many, many ways of putting pressure on a client or creating a sense of urgency to get them to BUY NOW. My problem over the years has been trying to remember all the different ways to do this...I never wanted to feel like I was manipulating my client either. It was important to me that my client had a need and I could fill that need. Not by being manipulative but by being truthful and open with the sales process. Then at then end of the day I knew and my client knew I had done what was best for him and his business. It also kept me from having to worry about trying to remember when to come up with the right or wrong kind of close, pressure or urgency, which I didn't believe was the right thing to do in the first place. I simply presented all the facts in the sales process and helped my client make an informed decision. This has been the sales process that has worked for me. In my opinion pressure is not a very creative way to make a sale. -MPrince

Mprince..
You automatically put a negative conotation on the word manipulate. Manipulation is done every day by the buyer and the seller, even if you don't mean to. Manipulate is defined as:

1.to manage or influence skillfully, esp. in an unfair manner: to manipulate people's feelings.

2.to handle, manage, or use, esp. with skill, in some process of treatment or performance: to manipulate a large tractor.

3.to adapt or change (accounts, figures, etc.) to suit one's purpose or advantage

Only one definition states that it is in an unfair manner. The question is how do you manipulate the person. If you do it decietfully then yes it is negative. But if you truely believe in your product and your services, and believe that it will greatly help the customer, manipulating their thought process to see your points is nothing bad. Every sales technique and tactic is a form of manipulation. Most Popular is NLP. That's extreme manipulation at an unconcious level. Your in sales. Your job is to convince (ie. Manipulate) the customer to purchasing your product. If you were to use no manipulation in sales then you would either a) not make any money or b) not make any sales. -jrboyd

Pressure is asking for the order without supplying any valid reason for doing so... for example when you get the prospect to agree on a more basic committment such as using your product if they had it etc.... when they say yes....then you have a reason to ask for the order....

after an objection

1 supply new information

2 get commitments through yes questions

3 close....

continue this circle in columboesque manner until deal is done.... this is way you show price or prepare for price early on....you want to be able to close at any given moment based on the excetment level of the prospect.... identify their hot buttons as much as possible...

by getting a quick little commitment on an easy yes question, you open them up to be able to ask them ..once again....

and use a contest.... and lay down initial ground work in the visit with a prospect by always trying to be the number 1 sales rep in your region or company or whatever....this can always be an honest approach.... and it works wonders when you are real friendly and non abrasive, non threateningly saying that you appreciate them taking a quick look at your new model or whatever...because you are trying to be the number one rep this month....and although its based on sales, you do get credit for every demo you do or presentation you give.....

if its an executive sale, you got to talk on level with a controller or decision maker of a business and its always best to speak in a reasonable business manner...such as "if you like the particulars to the program, how soon would you be ready to move forward on this....?" get a commitment...this is good in situations where a one call close is alot less likely...

however, if you are doing a one call close, you want to assure confidence...people want to know youre gonna really solve their problem....sometimes they dont know they have one....so you got to create hypothetical problematic scenarios your prospect is familiar with....and then demonstrate your products ability to solve them....then ask them if they would use it if they had it....then ask...." so if it was affordable, is this something youd like to have?" when done right, you'll always get a "yes" or a "maybe" or "that depends how much"

you build urgency at the close by showing your last set of numbers as a fluke.....and hold out.... remember never drop price quickly...hold a high price...make an offer or two more that are different in maybe structure of payoff.... but essentially in the same ball park.... when you show a reasonable offer, you take it away at the same time, such as

"you know i have this one red one available at 15% off, however you may not be in position to take advantage of that one since their are several people who've already shown interest... however this other one here will be available for at least a week...so when you are ready, give me a call back..." of course this can be a touchy scenario and will probly take some practice to perfect, but the idea is build urgency in the red one... -planrecruiter

Pressure is not a good way to describe the term "motivation" -Douglas Law

This post seems to get away from the thread's issue regarding pressure, but there were other statements made in this thread that I would like to create a debate about. I don't claim to be an expert in sales, so you won't hurt my feelings if you beat me up. These are only my philosophies regarding what works for my company and will not work for every type of product, or service.

There are times I am at a customer's home, their sewer pipe may be broken, and they have 10,000 gallons of waste water underneath their home. I am near the end of closing my sale and the customer tells me he wants a few days to think about doing the job, or he wants to talk to his son. The customer can smell the sewer waste, they can see the water under their home, and I give the customer 8 x 10 pictures of the sewer waste. There should be no doubt the work needs to be performed, but the customer appears to be incoherent. I know the customer probably won't talk to anyone about the job and I won't get the sale if I don't close on-the-spot.

Very often, after 30 minutes of talking, this customer asks,

"you mean I have a broken pipe and there is water under my house? I don't understand."

I am 100% positive, eventually, another contractor will get the job if I don't close this sale, so I use every tool in my arsenal and apply the maximum amount of effort to close the sale. I believe this particular customer is under pressure to make a quick decision. Perhaps, for a more coherent person, this is not pressure.

I call pressure,

"Talking a customer into doing something they do not want to do even when the customer critically needs the service you are offering."

When we have to 'talk' a customer into doing something we get a higher percent of cancellations.

I think some type of pressure is still used in most types of sales today. Although, attempts to use these pressure statements usually produces negative results. I consider the following statements a form of pressure:

Sales Person: If I can find what you are looking for are you ready to buy today?

Sales Person: This offer is only good today, or the offer expires today.

I have been reading many posts on this forum and there is one major thing I disagree with and this is the 'question and answer debates'. I understand a car salesman must ask the customer what type of car he is looking for, but I hate questions like:

"If I find you a great deal, or if I can get the financing you want, are you ready to buy today?"

This statement shows desperation. This is an attempt to put the customer on-the-spot and an attempt to pre-close the customer, or get a pre-commitment. I believe many questions are irrelevant, counter-productive, and every statement should be productive and a benefit for the customer. The sales person should never make a statement nor ask a question that generates a negative thought nor a negative answer. The question, "are you ready to close today" opens the window for negative answers and thoughts. As a sales person, we must always assume the customer is going to close the sale and speak only with conviction to create positive thoughts and answers.

At least, for my type of sales, I believe a salesperson is terrible at presenting an offer when the customer asks any questions at all. During most of my sales presentations, the customer only asks a few important questions, and these are:

What do I need?

Where do I sign?

When you ask your customer a question you often create an argument, create a debate, and you add fuel to the fire for confusion and procrastination. The best sales close is when the sales person keeps the customer in awe throughout the entire presentation, the customer is speechless, and everything is so detailed, informative, precise, and clear the customer can think of only one question; where do I sign?

I get the impression that many styles of closing sales is geared toward talking the customer into the sale rather than making the offer so concise and great the customer understands the minutest of details and he can repeat the presentation to a friend or relative with clarity.

I think more more sales presentations can be designed where there is less, or absolutely no questions other than the basic and necessary questions.

Please don't get upset. I think this forum has the most professional sales people and the posts are terrific.

Yes, there are times I subject my customers to a great amount of pressure. I was at one home that had three leaks in gas piping underneath the home. I turned of the customer's gas and pressured him into buying new gas pipes. Sometimes we have to beat people up a little because they have thick heads and can't see their own benefit. -pcplumber

pcplumer, you dont have to suck up to people who call themselves experts on this forum.

You sound frustrated and confused...........;sm

If you would like someone to listen to you, feel free to PM me and I would be happy to help thmbp2; -PiJiL

My previous post must be missing something really important. I'm sure every good salesman has their favorite statements they use for closing sales. The only time I am confused or frustrated is when I have to sit through a sales presentation and the salesman creates objections by asking questions and talking too much. What is even more frustrating is when I want to purchase something and the salesman uses distasteful statements so I don't buy from him and I seek my product or service from someone else. I purchased several million dollars in life insurance and annuities from a sales woman. Last year, she tried to sell me a home care policy. I insisted, for more than an hour, I was not interested in a home care policy. The cost at $240 per month was ludicrous and their payout was watered down with many limitations. I met her at a hotel conference room and her presentation was so canned and manipulative I will never do business with her again. She is a great saleswoman, but sometimes it is better to just be a human and speak less.

These are the subjects I do not see covered very often.

Sell with the least number of words possible.

Use the least number of statements.

Don't make statements that instigate or initiate doubt or objections.

Don't ask a question, in the middle of the sale, if it going to result in a 'yes' or 'no' answer. -pcplumber

Leonard

I do believe the objections ony occur in 10-20% of the total sales process. The 80-90% are exactly the way you described.These debates are on closing the remaining 10-20% that have made no decision to move forward. Our unrealistic goal of closing 100% makes us want to learn how to close the difficult clients.I personally look at the small percentage and know someone has to close the ownership exchange why should it not be me.I want that additional closes.I am roughly closing 97% of my calls on b2c. Yet I still want more. I would love to take that to 99%. IN the past two years I have had only two months where I closed 100% I want more since I had the taste.

Just like real life we like to get things we used to not receive now we find ways to get what we do not have.

Here I am and in other sites to see what i can add to my rapport with my clients to gain a distinct advantage over my competition. -rich34232

Well I dont see how he is sucking up to the experts of here so that comment was not necessary pijil.

Now PCPLUMBER,

You have to apply pressure to make sales. The trick is to apply it without it feeling like you are applying pressure. You have to identify the key objections so you can target those objections.

"When you ask your customer a question you often create an argument, create a debate, and you add fuel to the fire for confusion and procrastination. "

Depends how you ask the question PC. If you never ask questions then how would you know the customers problems? And how would you know his concerns. Asking a question isnt seen as confrontational for the most part. Asking a question gets the customer talking and thats what you want!

"I get the impression that many styles of closing sales is geared toward talking the customer into the sale rather than making the offer so concise and great the customer understands the minutest of details and he can repeat the presentation to a friend or relative with clarity."

Some people want to hear all the details down to the minutest, your right there. But most only care about certain features of your product or service. When you go to buy a car, do you want to hear about the stroke length of the pistons in the engine, along with the combustion pressure and temperature or are you more concerned about certain parts of the car, like the drive or the safety? In general you don't want to bore the customer with details. If I was to go down to the smallest details on the car you wanted to drive, I would literally spend about an hour and a half just TALKING about everything in the car. Thats not including the test drive and finding the car. So basically before I would even get you inside to start the paperwork, you would have been at the dealership for 2 hours. It takes me on average 2-2.5 hours from the time the customer walks on the lot, to the time drives off in his new car.

The biggest reasons the salesperson wants to be the one asking the questions is because then he can control where the conversation is headed and pace it accordingly. If he didnt then customer would be in control and I can guarantee that atleast 70% of the time the salesperson would lose a sale -jrboyd

That is interesting Plumber....

In your scenario, i would say there should be enough pressure from the situation lol after all, the pipes broke...lol

but seriously, pressure is in the eye of the beholder.

You have to be able to guage your prospect accordingly...such as what kind of pressure that particular prospect can handle.

Some costumers appreciate a little push.... now like i said in earlier post.... IF YOU TRY TO CLOSE WITHOUT GIVING ANY NEW REASON TO BUY, THATS PRESSURE.....

THAT IS EXACTLY WHY i think its better to not say too much, not do too much presentation before subtle closing attempts begin, because, once the customer feels like they have all the information they need, THEY WONT NEED YOU ANYMORE!

I think you need to incite questions. How else can you truly test them to see if they are listening?

When I say to costumer, "oh well id love to show you that one, unfortunately not everyones in position to take advantage of that right now, thats why weve marked these other ones a little cuz were trying to get them off the shelf before a whole new model comes in...."

Then if the customer doesnt ask something like "how much is the more expensive one?" then he/she probly isnt really listening to you and this means you may want to get more engaging and ask them engaging questions such as "would you use it if you had it?" or "If you had something like that, you could see how it would save you at least $100, couldnt you?"

These are value commitments....

now if youre at someones house bidding to fix a broken sewer....id imagine they are ACTING incoherent, not cuz their total idiots that came to be homeowners by accident..... NO....they act incoherent, because they dont want to believe that the problem is as bad as you say it is...they want to think that somehow the problem might not be that bad and they want to prevent you from trying to overestimate by playing stupid if you will...acting as if they arent really interested....or in this case, they act as if they arent aware of the urgency this repair may call for...because they know the more interested they act, the more you are gonna have youre hopes up and the more pressure you may apply, THE HIGHER THE PRICE YOU MIGHT TRY TO CHARGE.... so best bet, ignore the incoherence....and build urgency.... go look at the pipes....immediately say "WOW, this situation under your home John...well i dont know what to say, ive seen alot, but honestly, are familiar with whats going on down here....?"

Him "No"

You "want to take a look?"

Him "No, why whats wrong?"

You "Well, all I can say is you defintely got some immediate repairs that could be done, of course, I dont know how soon youre looking to get that taken care of, however, it definitely needs to be done... but boy that could be kind of expensive?"

Him "whats broken exactly, how bad is it, how much would it cost to repair?"

You "Well if you want, i guess i could give you a quick estimate before we leave the area real quick..."

Him "Well yeah...Please!"

You "Ok well just give me a moment to grab my notebook and ill just give you a little more detail real quick"

GET INSIDE HOME TO SIT DOWN ANYWHERE with a table...deals down happen on front porches....probly ever...lol

And furthermore, you have total confidence that they need the work....and you know that you are going to do the best job, which you should, so you shouldnt feel bad about the urgency you build....

I mean if im trying to say insulate someones home and i know that without my insulation they are going to pay more on their utilities...and at the same time, i know they can afford the job, then i shouldnt feel bad about a little urgency....

Tell them you have a first visit program that has a couple of incentives, no big deal, but on a job of that nature, the customer may not be in position to decide right away, and you can totally understand, however if they do see the benefits of taking care of this problem before further damage is done, youll take the an additional say 10% off....(no big deal..no major pressure) just as an incentive to do it while you have all your equipment there...

anyways, bottom line..every type of sale has a different hook, a different style, a different method, sometimes its a quick little one word hook that makes all the difference such as selling a long distance plan through a telemarketing job....other times its a winded proccess of relationship building with the controller of a mid size or large company.... such as managing a companies Google adwords account where they are spending say $30,000 a month on advertising and you want them to trust you with all the technical and potentially hazardous aspects of that type of service... overall it comes down to trust, sincerity, being straightforward, not sounding typical....

Instead of saying "if you like what you see, are you ready to buy today?" which actually may be called for in some situations believe it or not...

rather ask yes questions that will give you a reason to ask for this type of commitment, then ask

"so honestly, i mean if you did see the benefits to this program and it was affordable, would you be open to taking advantage of it as soon as today?"

so thats my take on things...just one of many, and most definitely not ness the best one... :) although i have made close to $10 G in a week from personal door to door sales one call closing with these techniques... -planrecruiter

Accidentally posted twice trying to delete but cant see exactly how so i just wrote this... -planrecruiter

Thank you very much. -pcplumber

You cleared up a lot of my frustration and this makes a lot of sense.

Thank you very much. -pcplumber

Well im glad that it made sense that makes me feel good! -planrecruiter

Be real nice to get an update of the results pcplumber ;sm

Very well articulated plane recruiter thmbp2; -PiJiL

Pressure to a prospect is self induced. If it is not self induced, it is not pressure. It might be brow beating, it might be a form even of an assault or involuntary servitude if you don't let em out of an office or "cuff em" in any way in order to have to listen to you...

Sales pressure IN MY OPINION comes from one questioning oneself on ones needs, desires, and wants and you being simply able put it together for them.

I'm trying to put together a sales manual (book) for my kids right now and though there are millions of ideas, phrases, and questions that are a good repetoire to have learned in order to frame your approach, the client has to be internally agonizing over something in order to be under "pressure".

Getting one to act is generally what we do as salesfolks without usually having to "pressure" or have one pressure themselves... at least in my game thats the situation.. and the worst case of pressure I can think of putting on someone was asking them if they felt their kids deserved to have hot meals for dinner or maybe have to have to skip a meal or two in order to pay the electric bill.

Aloha.... :cool: -rattus58

Hope you share the book when you are finished!

MP -MPrince

I had this great idea of writing down things for my kids who just started in the business with me... and it kept getting longer and longer... changes and turns... and then I'd tape meetings with my kids when talking about sales and brainstorms.... and we'd try stuff out... mostly for cold calling with the phone.. but what was once a plan of simplicity has evolved into a notebooks full of notes that have to be gone through page by pages..... :)

I need a index book now for all my spiral binders....

I'd love to share it.. my kids have come up with some funny stuff... sometimes the foibles give you more insight than what goes right... and if not... make you laugh anyways... but it's been a dream of mine so maybe someday... :)

Thanks...

Aloha... :cool: -rattus58

I like, "you'll thank me later." That is a very sharp line! -Jumpman

"Pressure" is not a good approach. Pressure is very different from knowing when and how to close a sale. -TonyB

Socrates said that all wisdom depends on the definition of terms. Is an incentive pressure? There is the sense that if you don't take advantage, you will be missing out.

One person's pressure is another person's incentive.

Surely, the art is in helping people do what they want to do.

Aren't their things that all of us would like to be pressured into doing? Like losing weight, giving up smoking, getting more exercises, making one more prospecting call!

Pressure, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. -Clive Miller

PRESSURE SELLING is as good as imposing values, and that will not work. Almost all cancellations are caused by pressure selling. Under pressure, he/she signed the dotted line to get the sales person out first, and then immediately threw the order out by calling in a cancellation.
The best pressure is a good presentation, all values and benefits highlighted and illustrated, storyline tailored to meet prospects needs and he is eager to grab your offer before you leave.
Not over selling with false information, but all told and they want it. -Thiruselvam K