Catchy title, huh? “Boost your sales using just this ONE word.” Wouldn’t it be nice if there was just one magic word that could really increase your sales?
There is…
Before I tell you what it is, though, let me give you a brief background on how I discovered it. Years ago as I was struggling to make sales, I found a bad pattern had developed in terms of how my sales attempts were ending up. After pitching and pitching, most of my sales were being stalled with some variation of:
“Let me think about it,”
OR
“I’ll have to discuss this with my partner…”
OR
“O.K., why don’t you get back with me in a few weeks…”
Sound familiar? It should. Most sales presentations end this way. After racking my brain for the reason, I finally began listening to how the top closers in my company were closing their sales. And how they were opening and qualifying their prospects as well.
Turns out they all were using one magic word. And the word was….
“Today.”
Or some variation of it when they were qualifying. And that’s when I started using it as well and it didn’t just boost my sales, it catapulted it! In fact, it had much more impact than that. It also greatly reduced the number of unqualified leads I sent out and spent hours of useless time with.
Here are some examples of how to use the word today in both your opening and closing statements.
For qualifying you must qualify the prospect’s timeline and set the proper expectation for the close. At the end of your cold call and before you schedule your demo or send your information, you must ask something like this:
“So _________, I’ve got you on the calendar to do a walk-through of our solution next Wednesday, and if after we’re done you really like this, is it something that you can make a decision on at that time?”
OR
“So _________, I look forward to our demo next Wednesday, and if after we’re done you really like this, I’m going to ask you for a simple yes or no, is that fair?”
Now in some situations if you’re dealing with an influencer, your question will be about what the next steps are, what the decision maker’s time frame is like, how many other companies they’re looking at, etc..
But if you are dealing with the owner or decision maker, you must get a firm commitment as to timeframe, ideally confirming a decision right after your pitch.
For closing calls, you use the magic word:
At the beginning of your presentation, before you go into your slide show or however you do it, you requalify by asking:
“I’m excited to show you this, and at the end if you feel this is the right solution for you, this is something you can move on today, right?”
That’s it. No wishy washy way around it. You must set a clear expectation right from the beginning (and that means on the qualifying call) and then reconfirm it at the beginning of the close.
I know what you’re thinking: “What if they say no?” Then you adjust your presentation to target their buying motive and start overcoming what their objection is. I’ve written many of scripts to help you do that, so check out my blog if you need them.
Bottom line: You will make more sales faster and with less struggle if you set the proper expectation on the front call and confirm it by opening your closing call using the magic word: today.
Try it today and see for yourself.