How to Close every Sales Pitch you Make...

In what seems like the middle of the last century, I started my Sales Career selling cardboard boxes and industrial packaging to manufacturers and the military...

Let's face it, no one wants to pay much for the packaging of a product - it gets thrown away anyway and can be hugely price sensitive; exciting as this sounds - it did allow me to figure out how to sell not just a product, but a service too...

One project I was working on was the design and development of a transit container for a glass product - imagine a glass jar about 200 mm diameter and 400 mm tall with a helix tube inside - also made of glass and attached only at the bottom and top of the jar.

The helix was used to pass liquid through to cool the contents of the jar - I have no idea why, but it just did...

My job was to design a package that would ensure this fragile item got to its destination in one piece...

Several suppliers were invited to provide samples and quotations, then go along and present the pack to the prospective client and explain how the design would work and how we had approached the design challenge.

Most products can be assessed in terms of their Fragility Factor - essentially, how delicate they are and how susceptible to shock they are; the lower the "g" factor the more fragile they are..

For reference, a kettle is around 100 g, a TV is around 60 g and Missile Guidance Systems around 25 g - this product was rated at 15 g.

Basically it was VERY delicate and we had to get it through parcel carriers and airline handling safely...

So the day of the presentation came - we were last to present our package, and I was accompanied by my Managing Director, this was a big contract...

As we walked up the stairs to the first floor office my boss looked at me and said..

"on a scale of 1 to 10, how confident are you that you pack can survive a 2 metre drop - the design criteria...

"10" I replied, more out of hope than certainty...

We entered the presentation suite - with our prototype package. On the desk was one of the glass products. My design included filling the jar with beads - the beads would support the helix at so reducing the risk of fracture should the package be dropped.

Then the "beaded" jar was wrapped and placed within a frame work of expanded polyethylene cushions designed to absorb the energy of a 2 metre drop...

This was a unique approach - when asked why I had gone for beads in the jar, I explained that I wanted to make the product heavier and more robust. If you imagine dropping a crystal champagne glass onto the couch, it will still break.

The heavier item would deflect the cushions and allow them to decelerate the product without breaking it - if it was too light it would simply bounce of any cushions...

The customers looked confused, other designs were more traditional and smaller than ours too...

So, my design was bigger, heavier and more expensive - not only to buy but to transport as well...

My boss walked over to the box which by now had been packed with the glass jar and beads during my presentation. He sealed the lid and walked over to the window, opened it and glanced around looking for cars and pedestrians...

Then he threw the package out of the window...

It bounced on the car park and rolled onto the grass verge opposite - he looked at me and said - I hope you were right, and winked at me...

The clients were shocked - they ran to the window and shouted at my boss - he simply said...

"with packaging, you can either buy on price or you can buy peace of mind - we don't sell packaging, we sell peace of mind..."

One of the client engineers actually ran down stairs and retrieved the package and brought it back up to the office...

The corrugated cardboard was scuffed and dented and as he placed the pack on the table he invited me to open it...

As I opened the top of the box I could see what had happened; the product was still in tact, the beads had done their job and the cushions had done theirs.

I handed the pristine product back to the client and they immediately signed the agreement for supply - we had won the deal...

In the care on the way back to the office I asked my boss how he knew that the package would work so well..

"I didn't, but I trust you - and the only way to sell low value products is to prove they have high value performance, so I thought I'd throw it out the window to prove a point..."

The lesson I learned and use is that we can't sell what the product we make or the service we deliver - what we are selling is the benefit or the value the client will experience as a consequence of the purchase...

I also learned that when selling anything, if you can prove that it works, so much the better...

So here are my top Seven Tips for closing every Sales Pitch you go to...

1. Have absolute belief in the product or service you are offering - and yourself, and those in your team......

2. Be creative and unique in your approach - differentiate or die by price comparison every time...

3. Don't attempt to sell on Price or be the Cheapest, be the best and solve the problem the client actually has...

4. Prove and demonstrate the effectiveness of what you are selling, seeing is in fact believing...

5. Take the risk of being unique and give your prospects more reasons to buy from you than not...

6. Have fun in the process of selling, it is a game and once you understand the rules, winning is more likely...

7. Sell Value, sell Trust, sell Confidence - you can avoid having to "close" the deal; they will close you...

David Holland MBA is the Founder and CEO of Results Rules OK, a Business Coaching, Training and Publications Company with offices in France, Luxembourg and the UK...

To find out more about working with David as you Business Coach, Executive Coach or Team Trainer - just drop him a note todavidholland@resultsrulesok.com for an introductory and complimentary discussion that just could change your life, your business and your results...

If you'd like to come to one of our Events to meet David, the Team and some of his Clients, then check out the website HERE - we look forward to seeing you and hearing from you...