The first time I closed a sale in one call was huge moment for me.
I used to sell computer software to businesses.
And closing a deal in one call was unheard of. It "never" happened.
But after spending 6 ½ hours onsite with my prospect, I walked out with a signed contract and a check for a six-figure deal.
I was psyched!
And I was on to something.
During the entire time I spent with the prospect, I never pitched.
I never pushed.
And I never did a "presentation".
How did I do it?
I went out on this sales call to corporate computer reseller with my technical partner and our demonstration machine.
We met with the technical decision-makers (there are typically anywhere from 2-5 decision-makers in software selling, sometimes more), and they brought us into their conference room.
We sat down and did *not* turn our demo machine on. I had a good technical partner – he know when to shut up and let me sell.
Instead we started asking questions.
We asked questions, and more questions.
Then we got them to ask questions.
We answered their questions, sometimes just verbally, other times with using little techy drawings we made on their whiteboards.
We prompted them to ask questions until they had no more
The president of the company eventually came in and asked how it was going.
The tech guys said they liked our stuff and that it was good.
I suggested making a deal with the president while we were there. He said he was open to that, and we agreed to get together after breaking for lunch.
Before taking our lunch break, the tech guys asked if they could just take a look at the software for minute. I said sure, and we spent about 5 minutes showing them a few things they had previously expressed interest in.
They still liked it and we broke for lunch.
At this point I was pumped. My adrenaline was flowing, I was really excited.
We had done something I had never done before.
We had gotten a decision from the technical decision-makers without going through any formal or scripted sales presentation.
Instead what we had done was guided the conversation with questions around what their interests, pains, and priorities were. And we responded accurately and honestly with how we could meet those pains and priorities.
So after lunch I came back and met with the president.
We rather quickly came to an agreement as to amount he was willing to fork over, and a few special contract terms that he wanted.
I had a lot of leeway when I was repping for this company in negotiating amounts and contract terms. So we agreed, I banged out the contract terms on my laptop with nervous excitement, and he signed the printed contract and handed me a check.
I was done, and I was stoked!
I had discovered near effortless selling.
Ever since then I have used the same style and techniques to get prospects as quickly as they reasonably can through to a conclusion as to whether or not they should do business with me.
I don’t close every deal I talk with. No salesman does.
But I waste very little time.
The ones I can close, I do, with close rate of over 90%.
And the ones I can’t, I walk from early.
You should check out my methods that I have recorded for you to listen to. In particular my Persuasive Questioning Techniques audio course covers the essential skills required to make pitch-free sales calls. Go look at it here right now.
You might be able to arrive at the same place in your selling as I did, but with my help you can get there faster than I did. Go get yourself a some shortcuts to better selling methods now.
