The Ultimate Sales Question...

Once upon a time in a land far far away there lived a young salesman...

He had a shiny new Montego GTI with a Motorola Car 'phone bolted to the centre console, a Filofax and a "proven sales system"...

Interesting Fact - there are only TWO Montego GTI's left on the road in the UK at time of writing this Blog...

Of the three - the "proven sales system" was the one that didn't work - surprisingly the Montego was excellent..

This Sales System involved questionnaires, scripts, closing techniques and even a dress code - Navy Blue suit, white shirt, red or gold tie, black shoes with a nice watch worn on the left wrist...

It got results - problem was the results included a conversion rate of approximately ZERO %...

I was supposed to be selling Industrial Packaging - now as exciting as that sounds, it really wasn't - I was selling boxes made of wood and cardboard with bits of foam inside and a few plastic bags; or at least I was supposed to be...

One May morning I had an appointment with the Head Buyer at a large manufacturing company in Bristol - I think his name was Herman Goering or something like that; he had a reputation in the industry as a tyrant anyway...

So I pulled up in my shiny Montego GTI, walked into reception and asked to see Herr Oberleutnant Goering...

Keeping me waiting until 15 minutes past the agreed time was a tactic of his, and as I'm sat there in my M&S Navy Blue suit - I start getting angry...

He ambles into reception and we go to his office...

Now, at this point according to my "proven sales system" I am supposed to build rapport and look around the office for photos of his family, sports trophies or magazines that he is interested in - so I can strike up a conversation and find some common ground..

That morning I wasn't interested in common ground - I was interested in making a sale. It was an enquiry for 50 specialist containers worth around £5,000 each for a Military Contract - total value £250,000...

He gave me a "buyers coffee" - too hot to drink and tastes like white spirit when you can...

So I looked at him and asked him the question that would transform my Sales Career for ever...

"So, Herr Oberleutnant, why am I here...?"

He was taken aback - no one had ever asked him that. I was supposed to go through a painful ritual of rapport building, grovelling and talking through brochures and reinforcing our "Value Proposition.."

He looked around the room for an exit - he was cornered, and I stayed silent...

Then he looked at me and said...

"We need 50 Containers according to the specification and drawings.."

Then I asked him another question..

"When do you need them to be delivered..."

He paused again - I had not asked about his weekend, how his crown green bowling league was doing, or how grateful I was for his time..

"5 per month commencing in June..."

I replied...

"We can do that; would you like me to get the paperwork underway or do we need to get an order number first..?"

He coughed and spluttered into life...

"I haven't agreed your prices yet, and I have others to see...."

Nice try Herr Oberleutnant..

"The price is in our quotation, if the price wasn't right, I wouldn't be here. 
Now, if I don't order the metalwork and fittings today, there is no way we are going to get 5 containers to you next month.
Do you want to risk your client invoking the penalty clause for late delivery or do you want me to get started today, so you can sleep easy tonight...?"

Herr Oberleutnant looked very uneasy, I remained silent, then he telephoned someone in his team and asked them to come to his office...

A young woman walked in with a ledger book - and she issued me with an order number that would be confirmed by Fax (remember those...) later in the day...

I stood up, said thank you, shook his hand and left with an order for £250k...

Epilogue...

"Why am I here...?" is the Ultimate Sales Question - there are plenty of others that are similar but for me it has mean that over the years my average conversion rate in Sales runs at around 87.24%...

In my career I have sold Logistics, Recruitment, Aviation Services, Wiring Harnesses, Packaging, Ballroom Dancing Dresses as well as Coaching and Training - and it doesn't matter whether the excuse from the sales team is "we have to closed bids..." or "it's different in the food industry..." or even "people are special in Coalville..." - the approach works...

So now you can scrap your Brochures, forget your NLP and the Benjamin Franklin or Puppy Dog closing techniques - and get more sales...

PS - before I met with Herr Oberleutnent, I had done my research - I knew the lead times and the manufacturing times; I also knew that his contract had specific deadlines in it with a strict penalty clause if he missed his deadline. 

To be that confident - remember to do your homework, you need to know your clients challenges, opportunities and deadlines better than they do; that way you know what problem to solve and of course "why you are there.." in the first place..

Like to buy my Book - Your Business Rules OK - the 8 Rules to building your remarkable business...

Of course you would...

Simply Click HERE..

About David Holland

I work with Business Owners, Executives and their Teams to:

✔ Make more Money in their Business...
✔ Build Effective and Productive Teams...
✔ Work Less Hours and enjoy the Journey...
✔ Grow Sales, Profit and Cash...
✔ Achieve more than they think is possible...

To find out more about how I can help you, send me a connection request on LinkedIn, or send me a message if we are already connected

• Email - davidholland@resultsrulesok.com
• FOLLOW me onTwitter: @DavidHollandMBA
• WEB: www.resultsrulesok.com

To find out about our Events and Workshops in Luxembourg and the UK, click on the LINK..