A word for…In other words

A word for…and against spontaneity

Spontaneity is an essential skill that we’d be hard pressed to be without. In its absence we’d be like the DMV clerk who can’t assist an applicant because a set procedure that won’t allow them to deviate from a “plain vanilla” request. On the flip side there’s the potential value of a set piece to accomplishing a lot of things – even our sales presentations.

One value of a “canned” pitch is that it can be fine-tuned based on the prospect we’re planning to face. Or it can be altered as we go and see what works and what doesn’t. If one element is weak, we can discard it or we can improve it. Oh, and by the way we can also rely on some good old spontaneous improvisation if we see that a particular aspect of it is failing to gain traction!

In truth we all use canned presentations. Maybe we just don’t realize it. Think about what you normally say to that new prospect about you service or training skills – or your ability to deliver higher level service to avoid that expensive outside service agency visit. Chances are those utterances are pretty much canned. So why not accept the fact that a rehearsed pitch that’s honed to perfection, might be a better way to go – at least occasionally?

Next up: Delivering that canned pitch as fresh.

In other words…Another outcome

So you’ve delivered the perfect close and you waited … and waited and he’s still silent. You counted to thirty Mississippi’s in your head and it’s now beyond uncomfortable. The silence is now approaching rude.

So you have to break the uncomfortable impasse.

But how to do that while keeping the sale somewhat on track? It’s best done by either rephrasing the close or delivering another one.

You might accomplish that by saying something along the lines of, “You know I mentioned the idea of doing the installation either early this Saturday morning or after closing Friday. But I was thinking that we never really determined what the primary goal for us was. Is it savings or improved results?”

That rephrase still leaves the “he-who-speaks-first” rule in his court, and you’ve successfully defused an uncomfortable silence. Hopefully it leads you right back to the Friday or Saturday decision. But regardless of the result, you’re still on track to pursue the final goal … a close that gets you the business.

Next up: Those pesky objections.