Are sales closing techniques really a form of subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) manipulation?
I was just reading some material about closing a sale. There is no shortage of this type of information. Google it and you will be overwhelmed. Simply ask Dan and Lori mentioned at the end of this post and I'm sure they can refer you to their favorite gurus.
What really made me want to write about this today is a line in what I was reading that mentioned mastering techniques that were described as "very effective" in order to "be equipped to close just about any sale."
Do sales people really look at this whole exercise as a script? You just memorize your lines and spit back whichever one matches whatever objection the Buyer throws at you?
Really, what this material says to me is that: the subject doesn't matter, the Buyer doesn't matter, even what you're selling doesn't matter - as long as you follow the instructions, you can close a sale. If they really believe this, it could explain a lot about some of the sales people I have met over the years. (See my post 7 Signs of a Bad Vendor Rep for a refresher if necessary.)
I am looking forward to hearing from Dan here on KMM at Landing The Deal as well as from Lori at Sales Coach to get their input.
For everyone else reading this, what do you think?
» Manipulation or Effective Communicating? from LandingTheDeal
Matthew Grant over at Purchase Realm here on the KMM network posed a question (OK, I'm being nice...he actually threw down the gauntlet) regarding sales technique. His perspective, from that as a purchasing director, was that sales people believ... [Read More]
Tracked on: March 8, 2006 12:38 AM | Permalink to Trackback