Antonio Garrido is President and Founder of Absolute Sales Development – Miami’s own Sandler Sales Training organization that provides companies of all sizes with superior business-growth training. Visit: www.absolute.sandler.com or contact: (786)-527 0277
Twitter: @SandlerASDMiami

The TACTIC: Why did you ever consider us?
The STORY:
“So,” continued Melinda on the phone, “would it be fair to say that it’s over.”
“I think so,” respond Beth. “But I want you to know that I really appreciate the fact you’ve been so diligent in getting back to me the past month.”
“This may sound like a dumb thing to ask, but I just want to be clear… ” she waited for a response.
“Go ahead, it probably isn’t dumb.”
“You and I are not going to do any business, correct?”
“Not now,” said Beth, “but in the future we will definitely consider you again.”
“Understand. Can I ask you one more dumb question?”
“Sure.”
“Knowing that we aren’t going to do business, why did you ever consider us?”
Melinda planned on waiting for a response however long it took. It took a good 15 seconds. “Well, I don’t think I ever told you why I called to begin with … you were recommended by John Tate over at Carner Corporation. He couldn’t say enough about you.”
“That’s interesting; I’ll have to thank him. But now there’s a problem … maybe you could suggest how I deal with it.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, this is kind of embarrassing for me … I’m going to call John, thank him, and then he’s probably going to ask me what happened. What do I tell him?”
Another 15 seconds of silence ensued. “Well, it seemed that we needed better terms with your company than you could give; I don’t suppose you could help us out with that.”
“By better terms, you mean… ”
“Well, on the large orders like we talked about, if somehow we could have… ”
The RESULT:
Melinda turned this “no” decision into a situation where the prospect is reconsidering. In addition, she learned that the payment plan had to be more flexible. Whether this prospect can be accommodated is something Melinda’s company will have to decide. Melinda turned a “no” into a “Let’s work on it.”
DISCUSSION;
Why do many salespeople bailout when a prospect says that the sale is not going to happen?
One reason is that many salespeople expect, before the call is even made, that the prospect will end it. “I call any 10 prospects and nine of them are a waste of time. Nine times out of 10 I lose.”
So they gear themselves up to not succeed. They expect not to succeed. It’s now a lot easier, when the call is headed toward “no interest,” to give up. They know what the prospect is going to say, and they know what they are going to say. Both are following the “no interest” script.
Both are comfortable in their respective roles.
Is there any reason why salespeople should act out their role in the script that leads them to give up? Why can’t a salesperson rewrite the script?
Because the original script is the way it is? Because that’s what you’ve been doing in the past? Because it’s easier to give up than try something different? Because that’s what the prospect expects you to do and who are you to disappoint the prospect?
None of these reasons seem valid, especially if the salesperson wants to go to the bank. Who should make the decision to end it? The prospect or the salesperson? If you let the prospect make it, you bailed out, and worst of all, you know that if you make the decision to end it, you leave without any doubts in your mind. That’s a much healthier mental attitude to go away with.
APPROACH:
If the prospect figures that the pressure for her to make a buying decision is over, just about any question you ask her at that point will be answered. Once she makes that “no” decision, she’s relieved. Once you seem to accept the “no” decision, she’s even more relieved. “Thank God that’s over with.”
Yes, it may be over. No matter what you do now, you won’t make the sale. But you need to try one last time so that the “end it” decision is yours.
“Why did you ever consider us?” you ask.
As you saw in the story, the prospect began reciting all of the reasons why she should be doing business with the salesperson. Isn’t that what you want?
THOUGHT:
You have nothing to lose by asking a prospect, who has told you “No, thanks,” to give you one more chance to get back in and do business.

Sandler Training is a global training organization with nearly 50 years of top-flight training experience. Sandler Training provides training and consulting services for small-to-medium-sized businesses, as well as corporate training for Fortune 1000 companies. With over 250 offices located throughout the USA alone, Sandler’s goal is to help clients initiate substantive, measurable and sustainable growth.

Antonio Garrido is President and Founder of Absolute Sales Development – Miami’s own Sandler Sales Training organization that provides companies of all sizes with superior business-growth training. Visit: www.absolute.sandler.com or contact: (786)-527 0277
Twitter: @SandlerASDMiami

The TACTIC: Does the prospect have the need?
The STORY:
Nick sat in his company’s car at the nearby regional shopping mall. Seven o’clock at night, he glumly thought to himself, been on the road since seven this morning calling on people. Not one lousy sale, couple of nibbles, no closes.
Nick had set out in the morning to call on as many of the “call me back in three months” prospects as he could. He figured that maybe physically showing up might get some interest in what he had to offer.
His first call at seven in the morning was with a small manufacturing plant. Even though the owner gave him two minutes in the outer office, all he heard was “could you leave some literature?”
He left it, thinking to himself as he handed it over that before he sat in his car, it would hit the circular file. The next stop, just down the street, was no better. No one had any time to see him; “leave a business card.” Along with all the rest, he thought.
Fortunately, he thought at the time, I’ll use the car phone to make some calls since I’ve got at least an hour ride to the next stop. With the voice mail, the “she’s on vacation,” and “Does Mr. Smith know you?” type responses, calling from the car was zero for fifteen.
Nick stopped for lunch and wondered just how those other salespeople in the restaurant managed to “do lunch” with clients and get orders. The two times he had done it, the prospects had a great lunch and promised to get back to him. They never did, and when he called them, they were always “unavailable” or “in a meeting.”
There were 12 stores in the mall that he had been phoning for the past eight months. He figured this would be the best use of his afternoon. At eight of the stores, all purchasing was done out-of-state. The rest all had suppliers and, as one lady manager put it, “We’re absolutely delighted with their service. Never have the need to change.”
There has to be a better way, he thought. Starting his car, he headed back to his condo, hoping tomorrow would be better.
The RESULT:
Nick isn’t going to sell any of these people anything because he has not established if they will ever need what he is selling. They will buy, but they will buy from someone who sees their need and sets up a situation where they express it.
DISCUSSION:
Why do salespeople have a multitude of prospects that they have repeatedly contacted but who have never bought? The old sales adage of “someday they will” is why. Also this type of prospecting activity is considered appropriate by sales managers and upper management. The problem is that occasionally someone does buy with this method.
The basic problem, the fallacy with this thinking, is that this type of sale makes money for the salesperson and the company. If you tracked the amount of time spent in this process, you would painfully find out that the cost of making the sale wiped out the profit Add up the phone bill, allocate some of the overhead and figure in an hourly rate for the salesperson. Also add in postage and the cost to print the sales literature. Now divide the net from the sales by this figure. Painful.
So does it make sense to keep doing it?
But someone is saying, “But what else can we do? This is the way we have done it for umpteen years.”
There is another way.
APPROACH:
Understand that if you are calling the appropriate prospects for your product, that someday every one of them will buy that product. While it may not be from you, they will buy. There are, however, a certain number of prospects who will buy within the next two months. You need to uncover them.
What makes them buy within the next two months is not price, but need. If they don’t buy, they will be in pain. Someone in their company, someone at home, or they themselves will suffer unless they have what you sell. These are the prospects you need to quickly find before they go and buy from someone else.
Approaches? By reversing questions, bringing the past and future into the present, by asking questions and waiting for a response however long it takes, by using many of the “prospecting” TACTICS cards, by seeking their needs and not your needs, all of these will uncover those prospects who are in pain and have a need today.
“Call me in a couple of months” is a brush-off.
What’s going to change in a couple of months that causes you to need my product? Nothing? Why should I ever call you back and waste my time and my money?
THOUGHT:
There are prospects out there right now, who need to buy what you sell. Sell them!

Sandler Training is a global training organization with nearly 50 years of top-flight training experience. Sandler Training provides training and consulting services for small-to-medium-sized businesses, as well as corporate training for Fortune 1000 companies. With over 250 offices located throughout the USA alone, Sandler’s goal is to help clients initiate substantive, measurable and sustainable growth.