Maybe you’ve mastered not offering discounts on price — but you still make promises that increase work for other people in your company.
Don’t be so quick to throw your co-workers under the bus when it comes to closing a sale.
Ultimately, this costs your company profit, just like discounting does.
Many times salespeople will call me and tell me how they were successful in closing a sale without offering the customer any form of a discount, even though they were asking for one.
When I ask them how they did it, many times they will share how they were able to close the sale by offering to the customer an additional service.
They will go on and say how the additional service or support they offered the customer doesn’t cost their company any money, it just takes a little time.
It’s this “little time” comment that drives me nuts!
The “little time” is often very precious time that is now being taken away from another employee or group of employees in the company.
To the salesperson, the request is simple, but to the people involved it is significant.
Problems can quickly escalate when what the customer is expecting to receive in service or support turns out to be considerably less. It’s less because the employees involved in doing it are limited in the amount of time they have.
If you’re a salesperson looking to close the sale without a discount and suddenly feeling the urge to offer up something, be careful! The life you save might very well be the life of a key employee who is already being pulled in too many directions.
Yes, there are times when it is appropriate to offer up the support of co-workers. Just know what you’re offering before you offer it.
Don’t allow the expectations the customer develops to become so big there is no way for your co-workers to be able to meet them.
In the end, you’re not only saving the lives of your co-workers, but you’re also saving your own life — by not having your customer and co-workers turn against you.
Copyright 2011, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.
