Sales

 In my early days of selling, prospects would occasionally ask why a deposit was required. The usually acceptable explanation was that making a deposit was an act of good faith. I would go on to explain that since the company had to make an investment in packing and shipping the merchandise, the managers needed to know for certain that the customer was serious about ordering.

From time to time, a prospect would say, “That deposit is really yours, isn’t it?” The implication was that I was pushing for the sale because the down payment would be mine. Over the years, I developed a response that allowed me to break the ice, make a friend, and get the sale all at the same time. While looking the prospect right in the eyes, I would respond with an absolutely straight face. “No, the deposit is not mine, but I know that many companies work that way.” Then keeping the straight face I would say, “I send the deposit to the company, and then I get all the rest!” The customer would invariably laugh, and then we were in business.
I have had a prospect say to me, “You just want me to buy so you can make money.” Since the statement was always said in a serious manner, my response was, “Mr. Prospect, if 100 percent of your investment came directly to me, it still would provide only a small fraction of my monthly needs. If that was my reason for selling, I would not be in this business for very long. In a matter of days—or even hours—my profit from this transaction will be gone, but your benefit from using my product will last the rest of your life. Here’s my question: In all fairness, if we complete the transaction, who do you think is going to be the bigger winner?”
The person selling elephants gets three basic objections: Where does that thing sleep? What does that thing eat? Who cleans up after it?
You may not be in the business of selling elephants, but all sales professionals deal with questions and objections. Some fear that these questions and objections lead the prospect toward the dreaded “no” response when attempting to close the sale. Actually, objections are our best friends.
Asking a question or raising an objection indicates interest or feeling. Think of an area that holds little or no interest to you. Whether you thought of basketball, opera, fishing, golf, television, ballet, or race-car driving, you have no questions (objections) if you have no interest. For me, it’s fishing. Regardless of the quality, brand, resort, or basically anything in this area, I just don’t care about fishing, so I am a poor prospect. The fishing gear salesperson could waste a considerable amount of time with me because my tendency would be to respond kindly and courteously, but the chances of my buying are remote at best.