sales process - nlp · 4 the five-step sales process ... norwegian “selje,” and it means “to...

with Matthew B. James, MA, PhD

Course Guide

Presented by:

Copyright © 2014 All Rights Reserved Advanced Neuro Dynamics, Inc.

THE

Five-StepSales Process

Copyright © 2014 Advanced Neuro Dynamics, Inc.2 THE FIVE-STEP SALES PROCESS

Contents: The Five-Step Sales Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Additional Supporting Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Step #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Step #2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Step #3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Step #4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Step #5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Additional Language Patterns and Techniques . . . . . . . . . . 36Additional Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40The Five-Step Sales Process Slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Copyright © 2014 Advanced Neuro Dynamics, Inc.THE FIVE-STEP SALES PROCESS 3

The Five-Step Sales Process (As you begin, make sure the Decision Maker is present.)

1. Establish Rapport: Remember, people who are like each other, tend to like each other. Match & Mirror:

• Physiology

• ToneofVoice

• Representationalsystems

• Breathing

• Keywords

2. Ask Questions: The questions you ask are directly related to the business of the person you are interviewing. Talk their language. Ask questions in the language of their main interest. (In business, talk the language of their business)

• Whatdoyoudo?Whatareyouinterestedin?

• Forwhatpurpose...doyouwantthis?


• Alsodiscoverclient’sI/Rofsuccess

• Findoutclient’sprimaryrepsystemanddesiredstate

• Discoverclient’sMotivation,Decision,ReassuranceStrategies

• Elicitvalues

3. Find a Need: Establishneed–establishvalue.Proposeasolutiontotheclient’sproblem,andthenask,“Doyouseeanyvalueinthis?”(Ifthereisnoneed,thenstophere.Findanother client. There are plenty out there.)

Yourjobatthispointistoquicklyfindasmanyno’saspossible. That means that you need to push up against the clientenoughsothatshemakesadecisionrightnow.No’sareinfinitelybetterthan,“Ineedtothinkaboutit.Canyoucallmebacktomorrow?”(Rememberthespinningplatesanalogy.)Most sales people waste 80% of their time on people who buy nothing. If you spend 80% of your time on people who are going to buy, then they will spend more with you. You want “HighProbability”clients.

Whileyouareinthisstep,youcanalsouse:

• Conditionalclose-Doyouseeanyvalueinthis...”or“Isitfair to say that if we solved this problem then that would be valuabletoyou.”

• Tagquestions–“Thenitwouldbevaluabletoyoutosolvethis,wouldn’tit?”

4. Link the Need or Value to your Product or Service: At this point you propose how your product or service will solve the problem that you uncovered earlier. Make a clear proposal of how, but with as little detail as possible. Only tell the client enough to make it possible for them to purchase.


• “Whatwouldhappenif...”

• “Comparedto...”(ContrastFrame)

• Because

• AgreementFrame

• Usestrategiesifyouelicitedthem

• Alsorepeatclient’svalues&keywordsasyouclose

5. Close: Ask for the order!

•If yes: Future pace. Fire reassurance anchor. Get referrals.

HandleObjectionsbyeither:

• Ignoringthemandgoingto#3

or

• HandlingObjectionsandgoingto#3

This part is about moving the buyer from resistance to objection or to buying.

*** Remember, Someone Always Buys ***

Closing: There are a number of ways to ask for the order, technicallycalled“Closing.”Thereareanumberofbookswithmanyideasthathaveworkedovertheyearsforclosing.Hereare some that are valuable:

• AssumingtheSale

• TheOrderBlankClose

• AlternativeChoiceQuestion

• SharpAngleClose


Answering the Objection

You may choose to answer the objection if you think the objection is significant.

Herearetheonly4objections:

1.“Idon’thaveenoughtime.”

2.“Idon’thaveenoughmoney.”

3.“Itwon’tworkforme(itworksforeveryoneelsebutitwon’tworkforme).

4.“Idon’tbelieveinyou.”

HandlinganObjection:(TheFinalObjectionClose)

1.Listenfullytotheclient’sobjection!

2. Act a little bit surprised.

3.Say,“OhIgetit,youmeanthat’stheonlyreasonyou’renotbuying?”

4.“IfIcouldshowyouhowtohavethetimewouldyoubuy?”

5. The last step is to answer the objection as above and go right back to establishing the value.

Re-EstablishValuebyGoingto#3

Resistance to your message indicates lack of rapport. If that happens at any point, build more rapport.


the following pages contain additional

information to assist you in your sales techniques


Introduction

Image of Salespeople

One of the reasons why you may think of sales people as being pushy is because they have an image of not listening. So the standard experience of a sales person is the loud-mouthed, fast talker: the guy who would come in and sell you anything but not listen.Inthe30’s,40’sand50’syoucouldgetawaywiththat,maybeeveninthe60’sand70’s.Butwe’vechanged–peoplearen’treallywillingtoputupwiththatanymore.Inthe50’sand60’stheywould.Aswemovedthroughthe70’s,80’sand90’seven traditional advertising methods have become less effective, and advertisers searched for new ways to get the same results that they were used to getting previously.

Theaveragesalespersonisseenasa“fasttalker,hard-closer,razzle-dazzle come in and make a sale and hit the road without findingoutanythingaboutthecustomer.”Theoldstereotypicalsalespersondoesn’tbothertoknowwhothecustomeris,orwhathewants.Thatstuffdoesn’tworkanymore.Themajorreason why we feel uncomfortable about selling is, because we


have an image of the sales person as being that kind of crass, unfeeling kind of person. The fact is that our customers have changed in their response to salespeople and selling. Fortunately, there is a new discipline that allows the sales person to be more effective in selling.

The Meaning of Selling

First,let’sexaminetheword“sell.”ThewordcomesfromtheNorwegian“selje,”anditmeans“toserve.”Theword“sell,”comesfromtheverb“toserve.”So,sellingisreallyserving.Thiskindofsellingisaboutserving:it’snotjustaboutselling,notjustaboutjammingaproductdownsomeone’sthroat,anditmayend up as selling. It requires your listening to the client rather than trying to sell him without listening. You listen to him before trying to sell anything. In the new millennium, the key to selling islistening.Andbylistening,youserve.Whenasalespersonactually listens to somebody, they serve them.

Value of What You’re Selling

IalsobelievethatoneotherimportantpointisthatYOUneedtobe able to see that what you are selling is valuable. You know that it is so valuable, that you need to be willing to do whatever it takes to have your client see how valuable it really is.

That knowing generates enthusiasm, your enthusiasm, seeing thatwhatyou’vegotisinvaluable.It’sworthmuchmorethanyou’reasking.Thenyoucanaskyourclienttoseethat,too.


Step #1: Establish Rapport

The first thing to do in any selling situation is to establish rapport. “Well,ofcourse,”youmaysay.ButtherapportI’mtalkingaboutmay be more than you thought.

Tomastertheskillofrapport,it’simportanttolearntheabilityto gain instant rapport with anyone. I was staying in Anchorage, Alaska once in the summer, and a series of events had put me in a situation where I needed to have a hotel room, and I had no priorreservation.Icalledseveralmajor“namebrand”hotelsinthe phone book, and found them all booked. So when panic set in,Ibegantocallblindly,andfoundahotelthathadspace.WhenIgottothehotel,Idiscoveredthatitwasn’tthekindofhotelthat I really would stay in. In fact, I began to feel that staying there was NOT an exercise of my personal power. I decided that I needed a hotel room, and I needed it now! If ever there was a time for rapport it was now!

Iwentbacktoa“brandname”hotelthatIhadcalledearlierandhad already been told that there was no room, they were 150% booked. I went up to the front desk, and matched and mirrored


the girl behind the front desk. As we started our conversation, ItalkedasIimaginedshewouldtalk–inhertoneofvoice,andspeed. Almost immediately, I saw her facial color change. I knew Ihadestablishedrapport.Shesaid,“I’mgoingtodowhateverittakestogetyouaroom.”Shespentahalfhour“finding”mea room. She talked to the manager twice, and I had my room. Not only did I establish rapport, but two days later when a friend came in to pick me up at the hotel, she spent several minutes telling him what a wonderful person I was. And I had only talked to her for ten minutes!

If you practice these skills you will develop the ability to go into instant rapport with ANYBODY. I had just finished doing a training on rapport, and I was going to lunch with one of my students.Weweregoingtoarestaurantforlunchandhadroughly1/2hourbeforeanafternoonappointment.Whenwegot to the restaurant, the girl behind the desk said, with head lookingattheschedule,“It’llbeatleast20Minutes.”AndIsaidtomyself,“Oops,it’stimeforrapport!”AsIlookedtomyfriend,I saw him matching and mirroring her, and decided to see what happened.

Whenshelookedupathim,shewentintoinstantrapport–herfacialcolorinstantlychanged,andshesmiledandsaid,“Doyoumindatableinnon-smoking?”Wesaid,“No.”Andshehadustaken to our seats immediately!

Powerful stuff!

Most communication is outside of our conscious awareness. 38% of all communication is tone of voice, and 55% is physiology. Only 7% of communication is made up of the words we use. That means that there is a tremendous opportunity forcommunicationoutsideofnormalchannels,andthat’swhatrapport is all about.


The basis of rapport is that when people are like each other, they likeeachother.Whenpeoplearenotlikeeachother,theydon’tlikeeachother.Whenyoulikesomeone,youarewillingtoassistthem in having whatever they want.

Speed of Processing

Thefirstelementofrapportishowfastpeoplemove,Haveyouever noticed, people tend to adopt a certain speed of movement. They move at certain speeds. It has to do with how they process information–whethertheyprocessitvisually,auditorily,orkinesthetically. (See chapter on Modalities.)

Thatmeansthatifyou’remeetingwithsomeone,forexample,whoishighlyvisual,andyou’renotquitethere,situpinyourchair, breathe from the top of your lungs, and be excited. Or at leastactinawaythatmatcheswhatthey’redoing.Ontheotherhandifyou’remeetingwithsomeonewhoismoreauditory,youwanttoslowdownabit,modulateyourvoicemore,and“listen,reallylisten.”Ifyou’remeetingwithsomeonewhoiskinesthetic,slow waaay doooooown. And talk to them about feelings. Actually change your voice tone so that it matches theirs, and really“getasenseofit.”

Mirroring

The second element of rapport is physical mirroring of the individual’sphysiology.Actuallyphysicallycopyingtheirposture,facial expressions, hand gestures and movements, and their eye blinking will cause their body to say sub-consciously to their mind, “Hey,(s)he’slikeme!”It’sundeniabletothenervoussystem.

Voice

The third element is to match their voice: The tone, tempo, timbre (quality of the voice), and the volume. You can also match theirkeywords.Perhaps,theyoftensay,“Actually.”Youcanuseit in a sentence several times. Say it back to them.


Breathing

The fourth element is to match their breathing, actually pace someone’sbreathingbybreathingatexactlythesametimeastheydo–matchingtheinandoutbreath.

Chunk Size

The fifth element is to match the size of the pieces of information in their speech.

Please, remember as you begin to go use these advanced means of communication, that in another person none of these modesofoperationisrightorwrong,they’rejusthowpeopleoperate. To be a master communicator, you will also want to keep in mind that people are best communicated with, when you communicate with them in the way that they process information.

Inaddition,youcanmatchaperson’spredicatesandpredicatephrases. (See Chapter on Modalities.) Look at those now, and notice the words and phrases that people use in each major representational system. In each major representational system, people are using different words, different phrases that actually revealwhat’sgoingoninsidetheirheads.Asyoubegintonoticeand use all that, you can also ask questions.


Step #2: Ask Questions

The second step is to ask questions. Of course, the first and the second step will be going on at the same time. You can be establishingrapportatthesametimeyouaskquestions.Idon’tmean ask one or two questions, I mean ask enough questions until you can see what it is that the person will buy. Ask them questions that are relevant to what they are going to buy.

As you ask questions, you should assume that they are going tobuywhateveritisthatyou’reselling,andthatallyouneedtodo is to ask enough questions so that you can see how it is that they will buy it.

This particular process of selling is a process of asking questions and getting into a one-on-one communication with your client. And you get into a one-on-one communication through rapport and by asking questions.

Interested -vs- Interesting

Whenyouaskquestions,youneedtobetrulyinterested.Youneed to be interested, not interesting. The salesperson of the


50’sand60’swasrealinteresting.Hewasawham-bamm,razzle-dazzle, wore fancy clothes, and was really interesting. Heisthekindofguyyoumightliketohavearoundatacocktailparty because he was such a show. You would enjoy the show butyouwouldnoticethatyouweren’ttoomuchofafriendofhis because he was too much, and he never seemed interested inyou.Theproblemwiththesalespersonofthe50’sand60’swasthathedidn’tlisten.Hedidn’tseemasthoughhewasinterested, even though he might have been.

The 80% Rule Applied to Customers

Ifyou’reininsidesales,retailing,orevenifyougoouttoseeyourclients, you should know that roughly 80% of the people you see havealreadymadeapurchaseintheirmind’seye.Inordertoagree to see you or come into your store, they must have already made an internal representation of having your product or service. They must imagine having bought or signed up.

The way to succeed at this kind of selling is to be a master of rapportandtobetrulyinterestedinthepeopleyoutalkto.WhenI go and talk to people they will tell me the most outrageous things. I can run into somebody in the street who is in any kind of business, and I will ask him what his gross sales are and what hisprofitmarginwas,howheisdoing.Andhe’lltellme!

You will want to put together a list of questions for your business. Get your questions lined up. But, as you know, I’mreallyinterestedinbusiness;I’minterestedinallkindsofbusiness. So, when I meet somebody on the street and they say,“Well,I’minthisbusinessorthatkindofbusiness,”I’llask“Whatareyourcostofgoodsandwhatisyourprofit;areyouprofitable, are you making money, and how may hours a day are youworking.”Iampersonallyinterestedinwhattheyaredoing.

Inthesameway,ifyouwereincomputers,youmightask,“Doyouownanycomputers,”“Whatkindofacomputerdoyou


own,”“Areyoupleasedwiththespeed”(bythewayalmostnobodyispleasedwiththespeed),“Doesitdounattendedprocessingquicklyenoughforyou?”Askthemiftheyhavejoinedanyuser’sgroups,dotheydoanyprogramming,youknow, all that kind of stuff. Just start asking about computers. Whathappensisthatyouwillbeperceivedasbeingrealinterestedaboutcomputers.That’syourlineofwork,andthatisprobably why you are in it. The point is that you are interested.

The Result of Being Interested

Now, when you are interested, the buyer will forgive almost anything.Whenyouareinterested,andwhenyou’vegottenrapport, the buyer will forgive almost anything. That is not to say that you should do almost anything, but the truth is that the buyerwillforgivealmostanything.I’veactuallyseensalespeoplewhowereinterestedandwhowouldsaythingslike,“Idon’twanttopressureyoutodothis,especiallyifyouaren’tsureyouwantthis,butIthinkitissuchagoodthingforyoutodo,”andthey go out and put heavy pressure on them. And the client would buy.

And when you look at it, you will probably agree that the best salespeopleinthe50’sand60’swerereallyinterested.

So,thefirsttwostepsaretogetintorapportandaskquestions–beinterested, and theoretically, the buyer will forgive almost anything.

Inaddition,whileyou’reaskingquestionsaboutyourclient,youwillwanttoaskthem.“Haveyoueverboughtanythinglikethisbeforethatyoureallyliked?”Whatdoesthatdo?Itgetsyour client making an internal representation of having bought somethinglikewhatyou’reselling.Oncehehasaninternalrepresentation of something bought in the past, especially if it is liked, then you can anchor it. (See Anchoring, Basic NLP Training Collection.)


During this portion of the selling process, you will want to be as precise as possible. Your questions should move the client toward greater precision rather than toward ambiguity. You want your client out of trance rather than in trance. There are times when it is useful to have the client in trance. One of them may be, for example, when you are linking value to your product, as in step #4.

To gain maximum specificity about what your client wants, there are a number of questions that are appropriate to use at thisstage.First,askyourself,“Howisitpossiblethattheclientdoesn’thaveitnow?Isthereanythingthatpreventshimfromhavingit?”Thenask:

1.Whatspecificallydoyouwant?

2.Whatwillyousee,hear,feel,whenyouhaveit.

3.Howwillyouknowwhenyouhaveit?

4.Whatwillthisoutcomegetforyouorallowyoutodo?

5.Isthisonlyforyou?Oristheresomeoneelseinvolved?

6.Where,when,howandwithwhomdoyouwantit?

7.Whereareyounow(regardinghavingthis)?

8.Whatdoyouneedorhavetogetyouroutcome?

a. Just suppose for a moment that you can have it.

b.Doyouknowanyonewhohasit?

c.Haveyoueverhadordonethisbefore?

9.Whatwillhappenifyougetit?(Whatwillyougain/lose?)

a.Whatwon’thappenifyougetit?

b.Whatwillhappenifyoudon’tgetit?

c.Whatwon’thappenifyoudon’tgetit?


Inaddition,youwillwanttodiscovertheclient’sMetaProgramsandValuesatthistime.YouwillwanttoaskhisDirection,Frameof Reference, Convincers, and Relationship Sorts. In addition, you will probably want to know the major criteria for making this purchase, or his values around the subject of business. (See Time Line Therapy & The Basis of Personality by James & Woodsmall)

If necessary, you may also want to know the higher purpose for thecurrentinteraction.Ifyoudo,thenask,“Whatpurposedoesthisserve?”or“Forwhatpurpose...?”

Finally, you will also want to know his internal processing strategies that are active at this time, so you can utilize them later in the selling process. (See chapter on Strategies)


Step #3: Establish Value

And there are 3 parts to this:

a. Find a Need or Opportunity

b.EstablishtheValueofaSolution

c. Link the Need and the Solution

Weareassuming,bytheway,thatintheprocessofgettingintocommunication and becoming interested, that you will easily have discovered what the buyer wants. For example, somebody walking into a health and fitness center will want to look better, live longer, and be healthier. In business consulting, somebody would want their business to be more profitable. In computers, you need to discover what the buyer really wants: is he more interested in his spreadsheet working faster, or is he more interestedinbeingupwiththelatesttechnology?

So, the process of establishing value begins with finding a need or opportunity that your product or service can fill. Assuming that you have discovered a need or opportunity in the process


of asking questions, you then establish the value of a solution to the problem, or opportunity. Finally you link the value of your productorservicetothebuyer’sneed.

This is a real important step. The way I like to ask the questions, bytheway,is“Canyouseeanyvalueforyouin...”(whateveritis you are asking).

Supposehefeelsthatthey’retoomanypeoplewaitingtousethecomputerandit’salwaystiedup.Youcansay,“canyouseeanyvaluetoyouinhavingthecomputerworkfaster?”Thequestionis,“canyouseeanyvaluetoyou?”ThatisthewayIliketoaskit:“canyouseeanyvaluetoyou....?”Andinthiscase the value would be in having the computer run faster or in having less waiting time. Or, another case might be that he finds that people are always waiting to get on the computer, and you isolate that perhaps it is because the printing process is taking so long.Thenyoucansaytohim,“canyouseeanyvalueinhavingthe printing be unattended where you could dump the whole thingintoabufferandhaveprintunattended?”

The Result of Establishing Value

Onceyouhaveestablishedthevalue,you’realmostdone.Themoment they see the value, you will want to anchor it. Set up ananchorlinkingthetwo.Infact,you’veclosedalready,butthe close it is so inconspicuous that it will almost go unnoticed. “Canyouseeanyvaluetoyouinwantingtodothis,”issoinconspicuous that it is really a marvelous, marvelous tool.

In addition, you will want to use the conditional close, and tag questions, which we cover in Step #4.


Step #4: Close – Ask for the Sale

Once you find a need or opportunity, establish the value of a solution,linktheneedandthesolution,andyou’veanchoredit,then close.

There are a number of tried and true techniques of closing, and wewillincludehereafewofourfavorites–proceduresbywhichyou would ask for the order. These are just ways of asking for an order that seem to work.

The Order Blank Close

Thefirstsimplyinvolvesfillingoutyourorderform–theorderblankclose.Ifyou’reusinganorderblank,thatmeansthatyou’refillingitoutasyouaskthequestionsontheform.“Whatisyourmailingaddress?”So,theminuteyourclientseesvalue,theformisfilledout,andthenextquestionwouldbe,“AndwhenshouldIdeliverit?”or,“Great!Whatdaywouldyouliketohaveitinstalled?”

For example, your client says he wants to have his computer run faster.Andyousay,“Isityourcomputerortheprinterthatis


makingyouwait.Hesays,“Theprinter.”Yousay,“Wouldtherebeanyvaluetoyouinhavingtheprinterfunfaster?”

“Why,yes,certainly.”

“Well,great!Whatdaywouldyouwantmetoputinoneofouracceleratorboards?WouldMondayorTuesdaybebetter?”

Most of the successful sales people and all the good ones that I know, if they need an order blank when they are selling, will have it with them, have it ready, and the minute they get a buying signal will whip it out and start filling it out. I do that myself. The minute I see interest, I will fill out the agreement. The minute thatI’veaskedthequestionthatmakesthedifferencebetweenthem buying or selling, I get out that agreement form.

The Alternate Choice

You may have noticed that we asked a question above that did notallowfora“No”answer.CalledtheAlternateChoiceclosingquestion,thisquestionassumesa“Yes”istheonlypossibility.It’salsocalledthedoublebind.Inusingthisclose,alwaysgivesomebody an alternate choice when you are giving him the opportunity to buy something.

Whatthatmeansisthatthebuyersays,“TheonlytimeIcanhaveitinstalledismidnight.”Soyousay,”Wouldtonightatmidnightortomorrowatmidnightbebetter?”Therealprofessional salesperson will always give somebody an alternate choice.

The alternative choice is also good, by the way, if you are trying tomakeanappointment:“Letmecomeoveranddemonstratethismachinetoyou.WouldyoufeelgoodaboutThursdayat2:00orwouldFridayat3:00bebetter?”Youalwaysgivehimanalternate choice, the answer to which, of either of these, is yes.


Ben Franklin Balance Sheet Close

There is one other specific close which I like. If somebody is havingarealhardtimetryingtodecide,“shouldIgetthisorshouldInot.”ItistheBenFranklinBalanceSheet.Whatyoudoisyoutakeapieceofpaperandyouputa“T”downthethingandyouput“yes,”andyougothroughalltheyes’s:“well,we’veisolated that the processor runs faster, spreadsheets recalculate faster...”Youarewritingthesein,bytheway.Whatyouneedtodoiswriteaboutsevenoreightyes’s,allthereasonswhyheshouldbuytoday.Thenyougivehimthepenandsay,“allright,now,I’vefilledintheyes’sforyou,whydon’tyoulookandseewhatreasonstherearethatyoushouldn’tbuy?”Thetruthisthat he will only be able to discover only two or three. The way that works is that if somebody is having a hard time making a decision;“gosh,Ican’tdecide,Idon’tknowwhattodo.”

“Iunderstandhowyoufeel,Mr.Jones.Letmetellyouwhatold Ben Franklin used to do when he was faced with a hard decision.”ThenyoutakeoutwhathecalledhisBalanceSheet.You know, Ben was also an accountant, and Ben used to make outabalancesheet,andontheleftsideheputtheyes’s.Andundertheyes’sBenwouldlistallthethingsthathecoulddo,all the reasons why he should do it. Then on the other side Ben wouldlistallthereasonswhynottodoit.Soyoulistalltheyes’sandgivehimthepentolistalltheno’s.Hewillonlybeabletodotwoorthree.Anddon’thelphimwiththeno’sbecausewhatyouwantistheyes’stoout-weightheno’s.Myguessishewillonly be able to come up with only two or three. The fact is, the reason he will be able to do only two or three is because there is onlyfour.Thereareonlyfourreasonswhysomebodywon’tdoanything.

I Want to Think About It

There is one more close that I want to tell you about, and this isrealimportant.It’sthewayyouhandlethe,“Iwanttothink


aboutit.”It’sthe“Iwanttothinkaboutit”close,orthe“Iwanttotalktomypartner”close.That’snotreallyanobjectionbecauseit’snothingspecific.Whattheyaretryingtodoistogetsometimesotheydon’thavetomakeadecisionrightnow.

The Direct Mail advertisers in this country have discovered that ifyoudon’tactontheirpieceofdirectmailwithinfiveminutes,they’velostyou.It’strue.Andinselling,aclientwillgetcoldifyou let him think about this long enough.

Iwouldsaythatonceyou’reinademonstrationandonceyou’veestablished value, then there are a couple of things you can say about“Ineedtotalkto....”or“Ineedtothink...”Thefirstthingis,yousay,“Well,areyouinfavorofit?Thatisthequestion.Youaskhimthatbecauseifyou’retalkingtosomeonewhoisgoingto talk to someone else about whether or not he should buy your product,ifhe’snotinfavorofit,thenhowwillithelpyouforhimtogoandtalktothem?

Now,ifheisinfavorofit,thenyousay,“Goaheadandtalktoyourpartner.”Onceinfavorofitthensay,“Great,goaheadandtalktoyourpartnerandtakeitfromthere.”Evenbetterthanthatwouldbe,“Ifyou’reinfavorofit,thenlet’sallthreeofusgettogethersothatwecanalltalkaboutittogether.”Soinotherwords, get permission to come and talk to their partner with them.Don’tletitbedonealone.Askhim,“Canyouarrangeameetingherewithyouandyourpartner?Getmetogetherwiththem.”

The other thing that you can do is that if he has to go talk to somebody,(andI’veusedthisinradioadvertisingtrainings),“Well,Icertainlywanttobuytheadvertising,butIneedtotalktomywifebecauseshealwaysmakesdecisionswithme.”Thatmaybereal,butitmaynotbereal.Soyousay,“Let’swriteupthe agreement and put down that this agreement is cancelled if yourwifewon’tletyoudoit.”


If You’re Asked a Question

Ifyou’reaskedaquestionbytheclient,andyoucouldanswer“yes,”don’tjustsay“yes.”Alwaysansweraquestionwithanotherquestion.Forexample:Clientsays,“CanIhaveitinred?”Yousay,“Wouldyoulikeitinred?”Ifheanswers“yes,”thenhe’sbought.Ifhesays,“no,”thensay,“Whatcolorwouldyoulike?”

Request For a Proposal (which is also a put-off)

Herearesomequestionsthatyoucanasktogetyoubeyondtherequest for a proposal:

1. In addition to you, who are the other decision makers that willbeinvolvedinthisdecision?

2.Whencantheygettogethertolistentothepresentationofourproposal?

3.Whatdotheotherswant?Canwetalktothemandgettheirinputfirst,beforewecreatetheproposal?

4.AssumingallisOK,whendotheywanttheproposal?

5.Whatwouldhavetohappentomakethemfeelgoodaboutbeing present at our presentation.

6. Our experience shows us that our proposal will generate a lot of questions which will allow us to customize our presentation to you.

Shut-Up

By the way, you do know how important it is to shut-up when askingtheclosingquestion?

Let’sgobackanddefinetheclosingquestionbecauseI’vegone through the process of closing. A closing question is any question that when you ask it the answer to which, if yes, means they’vebought.That’sanyquestion.Asyoucansee,actually


establishingvalueisaclosingquestion,it’satrialclose,it’saninconspicuous trial close.

So, when you ask a closing question you should always, the minuteyou’veaskedit,SHUTUP.Andyoushouldnottalkuntilthey’vehadtheopportunitytosaysomethingafteryou’veaskedthe closing question. Now this concept came from J. Douglas Edwards,oneoftheworld’sforemostsalestrainersuntilhisdeathinthe70’s.ButI’mnotsureifDougunderstoodtherealmeaning of how this worked.

But, I, being a fan of Zen (and how could anybody not be a fan ofZen)-IjustlovetheSPACEthat’sinbetweentheclosingquestion and the answer by the buyer. Now, most sales people ofthe50’sand60’swerefast-talkinganddidn’tgivethepeoplethat space. But when you give them the space, the bigger the space,thebiggertheholethattheyfallinto.That’swhythesalespersonneedstoshutuptheminutethey’veaskedtheclosingquestion.Becauseifyoudon’t,youdon’tcreatethespace for them to fall into. And that absolute silence becomes the nothingness, the vacuum, as it were, that sucks their buying tendenciesintoit.So,it’saveryexcitingspaceforme,thespaceofshuttingupafteryou’veaskedtheclosingquestion.

So,thesilencemakesthemuncomfortable?Well,youcouldcallit“uncomfortable,”butthat’sthewesternwayoflookingat it. I would prefer to say that shutting up opens a space in the mind.It’snotuncomfortable.Itjustcreatesagaporvacuum,asit were, for them to move into. Because if you are talking, your words are putting pressure on them, like this: if I keep talking to you, all the air that is going toward you is pressuring you. So the minute I ask the closing question and I shut up, what happens is I take all that force away. And you go right into that space.

Thissystemworksbecauseit’saproblemsolvingtechnique.First, you isolate a problem, you then discover that there is a


value in having the problem solved. Then you need to show him, as you are closing, how you can solve the problem. Show the buyer how you can solve the problem. Insurance sales people have known this for years. Isolate a problem (retirement), provide asolution(insurance).Andintheprocess,they’veallbecome“financialplanners.”

So, when you are really closing, you will get one or two things:

1.Youwillgeta“yes,”inwhichcaseyousignhimup,or

2. You will get an objection.


Step #5: Handle the Objection

There are two ways of handling objections that come up. You can either ignore the objection, which I usually do the first time, or you can answer the objection.

Re-Establish Value

In either case you go to three. If you ignore the objection then go back to establish value. If you answer the objection, go back to establish value.

Example

Here’showitworks.Yourclientsays,“yes,Icanseesomevalue,”yousay,“Great,letsputanacceleratorboardinyourcomputer!”Hesays,“Well,gosh,Ican’tafforditrightnow,”orwhatever. Then, either you answer the objection or you ignore it.

OnewayIwouldignoreitis,hesays,“Well,gosh,Idon’thavethetime...,”ANDYOUSAY,“Wellamomentagoyoutoldmethat you saw value in not having to wait for the printer to finish printing.”Thatwilleithergetyouasale,oranotherobjection.Andthat’sthejobofthesalesperson.

by Ignoring it and Going to #3 or Answering it and Going to #3


The Job of the Salesman – Moving the Buyer From Resistance to Objection

I usually ignore the first objection, because the first objection is usuallynottherealobjection.Let’stalkforaminuteaboutbuyerresistanceandgettingaclientreadytowanttobuywhatyou’reselling.Betweenwantingtobuywhatyou’reselling,whichisthere, and buying, which is here, there may be a whole lot of resistance. If you are just being interesting, you may not be interested enough (or able because of lack of rapport) to get him beyond his resistance, and so the unspoken resistance will never be verbalized. You need to be interested enough to get him beyond his resistance.

That’swhyIusuallyignorethefirstobjection,becausethefirstthing that comes up is usually not the real objection. The first objection is usually not the reason why they are not buying. So, you need to move your client beyond his resistance into verbalizing the real objection. One way is to ignore the objection.

Answering the Objection

If you choose to answer the objection, that is, if you think the objectionissignificant,thenyoushouldanswerit.Herearetheanswers, the four objections that there are to anything, and there are only four:

The Only Four Objections:

1.“Idon’thaveenoughtime,”

2.“Idon’thaveenoughmoney,”

3.“Itwon’tworkforme(itworksforeveryoneelsebutitwon’tworkforme),”

4.“Idon’tbelieveyou.”

Those are the only four objections there are to anything.


Answer to Time

“Idon’tthinkitwillsavetime,”or“Idon’thaveenoughtimetodoit.”Theanswertothisisquitesimple:“Well,that’ssurprising,Mr. Jones, since I AM, talking to you about saving you time. WhatI’mproposingisaboutsavingyoutime.That’swhatthisisabout,savingyoutime.WhatIamtalkingaboutwillonlytakeyou 15 minutes for me to install. I am willing to come over at any timeofthedayornighttodoit.”

So, your job as a salesperson . . . you see, if 80% of your prospects have already visualized having your product in their mind . . . then 80% of the time you should have a sale.

So, no matter what happens, if you have an appointment, 80% of the time, you should have a sale, because they have already made the internal representation in their mind. Just to make an appointment with you they have to have taken a look and seen how they would use it in their mind. Look at yourself forinstance.Whenyougoouttobuysomethingyoualreadyvisualizedhowitisyouwilluseit.You’vealreadyimaginedhowyouwillusethethingyouareshoppingfor.Andthat’swhyyoushould have a sale in 80% of your appointments.

Answer to Money

“Idon’thaveenoughmoney,”or,“Ican’taffordit,”ishowyou’llusuallyhearthisobjection.Butyou’vealreadyestablishedvalue.So the question is, why is this objection coming up at this time, sincewe’vealreadyestablishedaneed.Theanswermaybethatthere’snotenoughlinkagetovalue.

Wecanalsorelatemoneytotime.Askhimhowmuchitiscosting him to wait. Relate the money to time by asking him how much it is costing to not solve the problem.

You can also anticipate an objection about money in advance by setting up a contrast between the real cost and an imagined


cost.Forexample,inahealthclub,afteryou’veestablishedvalueyoucanask,“Sowhatwouldhavingthat(whattheysaidtheywanted),beworth?Imean,whatwouldperfecthealthbeworth?Itwouldbeworththousandsofdollarsjustinthereducedmedicalfees,wouldn’tit?(Setupcontrast.)ButI’mnotgoing to ask thousands of dollars, not even hundreds, because ourmonthlyfeesareonly...”

WhenIamconsultingahealthclub,andtheguysayswedon’thave enough money, I establish the benefit of being healthy in terms of hospital care or lost days at work, etc. Just establish value, then re-establish the value in relation to money, in terms of the objection, and then go back to re-establish the value in his terms.

So, the answer to a money objection is to go back and establish the value or to show them ways that it will pay for itself. So, when I am selling business consulting, for example, I show peoplehowourcompanywon’tcostthemanything,becausewewill produce more results than what the cost of the fee is.

Answer to It Won’t Work and I Don’t Believe You

“Itwon’tworkforme;itwillworkforeverybodyelseintheworldbutitwon’tworkforme;itwon’tworkformetohavethemachinerunanyfaster.”Thisissimilarto,“Idon’tbelieveyou.”Thesetwomightalsobecalled,“Idon’tneedit,”or“Icanseethevalueinitanditwon’tworkformeforwhateverreason.”

The answer to that, using radio advertising as an example, for instance,wewouldsay,“Well,youknow,Mr.JoneswhoownsJonesTVoverherethoughtthesamethingbeforeheboughtourradio advertising. But, he has had such incredible response that we are just tearing the doors off his store, and he has sold a lot morethanheisadvertising.”


These objections are answered by naming specific people who bought the service or product, are using it and are happy with it. You can go down a list of the names of the people who got it andsay,“well,youknow,Melvinherethoughtthesamething,but I was over talking to Mel, and he installed the board in his computer,andnowheisjustashappyasaclam.Whydon’tyougiveMelacall?Wouldyoulikehisnumber?”Soyousay,thereissomebody who had the same fears as you did, and they bought it,andnowtheythinkit’swonderful.”

If you have really established value, these objections will not come up at this point. Now, you might not ever be able to establishvalue,inwhichcase,ifIcan’testablishvalueIamgone,outthedoor.I’mnottalkingaboutsellingsomebodysomethingthattheydon’twant.Andthat’sthedifferencewhich makes this kind of selling into serving. Once you have establishedvalue(andthat’sthekeypointasfarasIamconcerned) then you have established the license for you to do whatever it takes to sell them the computer. But, without establishing value, you are just another hard-sell salesman. Once you have established value, that they need the product, then you have every right to close the sale. If there is no value established, then these are legitimate objections. If there is value established they are not legitimate. Objections then are just buyer resistance coming up.

In answering the objection, you can show them the scientific (thinking) side or the non-scientific (emotional) side. The non-scientific side would be something like how you would answernumberthree:“well,yes,soMr.Jonesfeltthesameway,andnowthathe’sgotonein,wemadeabelieveroutofhim.Wouldn’tyouliketotalktoMr.Jones?Hereishisphonenumber.”Sothreeandfour,whiletheyaredifferentobjections,are answerable in almost the same way. Notice if the client is alsoreallyintoinformation.Ifheis,thenshowhimtheliterature;


showhimtheprocessorrunningtwiceasfast,another500KofRAM, etc, all the features. If he is the emotional type, and you have to look out there and see, get him on the relationship bit: “let’stalktoMr.Jonesandseewhathethinks....”

So, when you have answered the objections, go back and re-establish value.

How to Handle an Objection

Wetalkedabouttheonlyfourobjections.Nowletmetalkaboutawaytohandleanobjection.So,thisis“HOWtohandleanobjection”whichisalittledifferentthantheANSWERS.WhatIhave done is given you the four objections and the answers, now I want to talk about how to handle an objection.

The wrong way (how not to handle an objection) would be, “Why,you’restupid!Itrunstwiceasfast,whatareyoutalkingabout?”Now,IknowYOUwouldn’tdothat,butalotof salespeople do that. They do that, and they get into a little war-“I’msmarterthanyouare,youdummy.AndsinceIknoweverythingandyouknownothing....”Thatisthewrongwaytoanswer the objection.

The right way to answer the objection is this: Actually, I am going to give you the whole process, and you can use parts or all of this as you want.

1. Listen fully!

2. Actually, in the second step, I often act a little bit surprised. So,Iamgoingtoputstepnumbertwoas“surprised,”becauseremember,you’vealreadyestablishedvalue.So,ifyou’veestablishedvalue,youaresurprisedthathewouldhave an objection. So what you do is repeat the objection so thatnumberoneissurprised.Andthatisyourreaction.SoI’llputthatinparenthesis(repeattheobjection).Hewouldsaysomethinglike,“well,gee,Idon’thavethetime.”


“Youdon’thavethetime?”

Just like that. You feed the objection right back to him. Now, I will also tell you that the problem with most salespeopleisthattheydon’treallylistentowhattheclientis saying, to hear the objection. But if you listen, totally, then you will hear things that are not verbalized. If you pay full attention and listen to his objections, you will hear the non-verbalized resistance. So that is why if you repeat it, andthenyousay,“youmean,that’stheonlyreasonyouarenotbuying?”Sohegoes,“well,Ijustdon’thaveenoughtime.”

“Youdon’thaveenoughtime?”Andhegoes“that’sright.”

3.Say,“Youmeanthat’stheonlyreasonyou’renotbuying?”

Now he can either say yes or no. See, what this does is it smokes out the real objection. If it is a fake objection, if hesays“yes,that’stheonlyreasonwhyI’mnotbuying,”you’vegothim,becauseyouknowyoucananswertheobjection.Soyousay,“oh,youmeanthat’stheonlyreasonyou’renotbuying,”andhesays,“yes.”

4.Thefourthstepis,andit’sOKtoskipthisstep,“IfIcouldshowyouhowtohavethetimewouldyoubuy?”Thatalso smokes it out if it is a false objection. So this is just a process for smoking out the false objection and to get totherealone.But,ifhesaidthat’stheonlyreasonandyou’veansweredit,thatleaveshimnowheretogo,doesn’tit?He’sliterallygotnowheretogobuttobuy.

5. The fourth step is to answer the objection as above and go right back to establishing the value. That is number five: go right back to establishing the value.


So,itwouldworklikethis:Objection:Idon’thaveenoughtime.”

“Enoughtime?”

“Yes.”

“Youdon’thaveenoughtime?Oh!Youmeanthatistheonlyreasonwhyyouarenotbuying?”

“Yes.”

“IfIcouldshowyouhowwecouldinstallitanditwon’ttakeanyofyourtime,wouldyoubeinterested?”

“Why,yes,Icertainlywould.”

“Well,Iwouldbemorethanhappytoinstallitatmidnightwhen there is nobody here and the computer is not being used.”

“Oh!OK,I’llbuyit.”

You then go right back to establish value. And then you say, “Socanyouseeanyvaluewithnothavingtowaittogetonthecomputer?”Andhegoes,“why,yesIcan.”


Additional Language Patterns & Techniques

There are some additional useful language patterns that you can use in the process of selling.

Reframing

This technique is based on the fact that all meaning is context dependent. So, a cloudy, 70 degree day is great summer weather for Anchorage, Alaska (actually they celebrate that kind ofweatherinAnchorage).ButinHawaii…?Notsogood!

Consider that almost any meaning can be reframed by either a change in content or context. Arguments that are especially susceptibleareintheformof:A=B(thatis,AmeansB).“Yourradiostationistooexpensive.”Yourpossibleresponsesincludethese answers:

1.Totallyinvalidatedata.Hystericallaughter.

2.Sourceofbelief.Challengedata.“Haveyoulookedcarefully?”“Whatevidenceisthereforthat?”


3.Realitystrategy.Challengereasoning.“Howdidyoureachthatconclusion?”

4.Redefinecriteriaofevaluation.“Ah,yes,ThestationDOESgetgreatresultsforitsadvertisers,butisitexpensive?

5. Change time frame.

a. Past.“Well,itmayhaveseemedthatwayinthepast,Isuppose.”

b.Present.“Atlast.Iwonderifitwillcontinuetobethatway.”

c.Future.“Yes,itdoesseemtobegettingthere.”

6. Topology of Belief. Scale size.

a.Chunkingup.“Expensiveineveryway?”

b.Chunkingdown.“Yes,somepeopleinHonoluludothinkthat.”

7.Effectofbelief–intent.

a. Positive/negative.“I’mnotdisagreeingwithyoubecauseIwanttoprotectyou.”(POS)

b.Mine/yours.“You’renotjusttryingtoconvinceyourself,areyou?”

8.EffectofBelief–Consequences.(Negative)“Keeponbelievingthatandyou’llreallybedisappointed.”

9. Nature of Belief.

a. Shiftreferentialindex.“Well,hemayseemthatwaytosomeonewhodoesn’tknow,Isuppose.”

b.Gometatothewholething.“Nowthat’saninterestingbelief.”Or,“Beliefsarestrangethings,aren’tthey?”

10.Challengetheirmodeloftheworld.“Well,that’sthewayYOUseetheworld,anyway.”Or,“ThelasttimeIeverheardabelieflikethat,IthinktheywereinPodunk,Iowa.”


11.HierarchyofCriteria.“Theratesmaybehigh,butthey’realso worth it (or some other criterion).

12.Applythecriteriatoitself.“Well,howexpensiveisexpensive,ordoesitsavemoney?”

The Agreement Frame

Whenyou’refacedwithanargumentoranobjection,youwillbefarmoresuccessfulifyouactuallymatchtheperson’spointofview prior to presenting the answer (or your own point of view). Soifyourclientsays,“Ijustdon’tbelievethatahealthclubisforme.”Youcansay,“Iappreciatehowyoumightthinkthat,andagree that feeling that way, you might think that membership hereisnotforyou,and..”

The agreement frame consists of:

• Iappreciate,and...

• Irespect(yourintent),and...

• Iagree,and...

Tag Questions (Tie Downs)

Tag questions are questions that also assist you in gaining unconsciousagreementfromyourclient,aren’tthey.Tagquestionsareusedtotiedownagreement,aren’tthey?Anditdoesmakesensetotiedownagreement,doesn’tit?Butit’salsoimportantnottoover-useTagQuestions,isn’tit?Becausetheycan become tiring.

For variety, you can also put the tag questions in the middle of a sentence.Thiswayyouwill,won’tyou,besurethatyouaren’tannoying your client.

Creating the Internal Representation That You Want

This is a very powerful form of question, and you will find it extremely useful in having your clients create positive internal


representations. There are two forms:

1.“WHATWOULDHAPPENIF…BECAUSE”–Thisisespecially useful if your client uses word that expresses necessity(haveto,must,shouldn’t),ornegativepossibility(couldn’t,can’t),whileexpressinganobjection.

Yourclientmightsay,“Icouldn’tdothat.”Usingtheagreementframefirst,yousay,“IAPPRECIATEthatyouthinkyoucouldn’t,andWHATWOULDHAPPENIFyoudid,BECAUSEIknowthatyouwantyourbusinesstobeanevengreatersuccess!”

2.“JUSTSUPPOSE…”Thisisevenmoreinnocuousthanthepreviousone.Itjustsortofsneaksintoyourclient’sbrain,and causes him to make the internal representation that you want.Forexample,“JUSTSUPPOSEforamomentthatyoucanhaveourservice,now.Howwouldyouuseit?”


Additional Patterns

1.“Don’t(action)unlessyouwantto(youroutcome).“Don’ttestdrivethiscarunlessyouwanttobuyit.”

2.“Haveyoufound(youroutcome)?”“Haveyoufoundthatmore and more people like yourself are buying radio advertising?”

3.“Woulditbefairtosay,(youroutcome)?”“Woulditbefairtosaythatyoulikethevalueofwhatwe’reoffering?”

4.“Iappreciate(intentofobjection)andwhatwouldhappenif(newbehavior),because(reason),andifyou’ddothatI’dbewillingto(concession).”“IappreciatethattherulessaythatIcan’tgointhatbuilding,andwhatwouldhappenifyoutookmeinside,becauseIknowthatthepeopleI’msupposed to meet are in their office, and they want to see me,andI’dbewillingtostayonly5minutes,andyoucangetrightbackdown.”

5.“Yes,(negativefeatureobjectedto),but(positivefeatureofyourproposal),andifyou’re(committedtoemotion),then(youmustbecommittedtoproposal).”“Yes,Johnit’s


true,Ican’tgiveyouthecollegefun,butIcangiveyouthetraining you need, and if you want to support your family, then you will want to join the Army.)

6.“(Yourobjective),andIappreciate(futureobstacles).Imagine for a moment that (together we overcome future obstacles),aswe’ve(doneinthepast),don’tyoufeelgoodnow?”“Iwantyoutobecomeaclientofours,andI appreciate that your company faces some challenges in the next few months because of the new competition, but imaginewhenwe’veovercomethefutureobstacles,justaswe’veovercomedifficultiesinthepast,don’tyoufeelgoodnow?”

That’sthesystem.Fiveeasytoremembersteps:

STEP#1:EstablishRapport

STEP#2:AskQuestions

STEP#3:EstablishValue

STEP#4:Close–AskfortheSale

STEP#5:HandletheObjectionby

a. Ignoring it and going to 3 or

b. Answering it and going to 3

As a master sales person, you will probably want to memorize thissystem.Whenitworks,itwillworksowellthatitmaysurprise you, and the more you practice it, the better it will work. Whenyoustructureyoursalescallslikethis,youwillnotcomeoff as being pushy or overbearing. And then you will truly be worthyoftheterm“selje,”toserve.


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sales process - nlp · 4 the five-step sales process ... norwegian “selje,” and it means “to...

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