I must admit I had gotten a little arrogant…
But then consistently being the top sales coach, converting at over 50% will do that to you. 😉
And then, on a training call, I realised something important.
You see I had been misinterpreting an important piece of information, and because of that, had not been reaping the benefits of it.
ASSUME THE SALE!!!
It actually used to annoy me whenever they said it.
‘Tell them the price, stay silent, and from that moment on assume the sale.'
I thought it was a bit woo woo to be totally honest.
Like somehow me assuming the sale was going to shift the energies of the universe to make it happen…
Like I was going to manifest it into being.
But it turns out I was wrong.
So, if assuming the sale is not about us trying to will what we want into being, what is it about?
Well, you know how you can be in a group of people having a conversation and somebody says something and everybody interprets it to mean something different?
Well, that wasn't about what that person said.
It was about what everybody was thinking about what that person said.
What they ASSUMED the person was THINKING when they said it.
So how does this work on a sales call?
Okay so let me give you two examples. In example 1, I'm going to let my own discomfort come into play and I am not going to assume the sale, in example 2 I'm going to assume the hell out of it. 😉
EXAMPLE 1
‘So Sam, would you like to hear the investment in Gold Academy?'
‘Yes please.'
‘Okay so to be a part of the year-long mentoring program would normally cost $9995, but today it's only $5997.'
SILENCE
‘Oh, gee, yeah, I can't afford that right now.'
‘Oh yeah, well that's a shame. Why don't you email me when you can afford it.'
EXAMPLE 2
‘So Sam, would you like to hear the investment in Gold Academy?'
‘Yes please.'
‘Okay so to be a part of the year long mentoring program would normally cost $9995, but today it's only $5997.'
SILENCE
‘Oh, gee, yeah, I can't afford that right now.'
‘So tell me more about that.'
‘Well, I don't get paid till next week, and this week I have to take my dog to the vet.'
‘So let me get this right, you want to come into Gold Academy, we just need to work out a way you can do it?'
‘Yeah, absolutely. I really want this. I know it's going to change my life. I just need to work out how I can do it.'
‘Okay so what are you thinking? How can we make this work for you?'
‘Would I be able to pay half this month and half next month?'
Okay, so see how when I was assuming that they would buy, that when they said I couldn't afford it, I didn't take that literally.
Because I believed that they would buy, therefore, I interpreted it differently to when I didn't assume they would buy.
That gave me the power to have a conversation with them about money, which I would have been too uncomfortable to have if I hadn't been assuming the sale.
It's a slight mindset shift, but it's a powerful one.
Let me give you an example on this that doesn't pertain to the sales world. Let's look at the world of dating. In example 1, Johnny is not sure if Sandra would like to go out on a date with him, in example 2 he's pretty confident she does.
EXAMPLE 1
‘Hey Sandra…'
‘Yes, Johnny?'
‘I was wondering if you would like to go out for a drink tonight?'
‘Oh, thanks, but I can't.'
‘Okay, no worries, well, ummmm, have a nice evening.'
EXAMPLE 2
‘Hey Sandra…'
‘Yes, Johnny?'
‘I was wondering if you would like to go out for a drink tonight?'
‘Oh, thanks, but I can't.'
‘Okay, what about tomorrow night?'
‘Yes, tomorrow night would be great, thanks. I have dinner at my parents’ tonight.'
When we make an assumption about why someone has said something, we are often wrong. And when we get it wrong, we interpret the information in a way that they might not actually mean it.
So, we may as well assume things from the positive.
Don't get me wrong, sometimes I can't afford it really is I can't afford it, but if you don't get more information on it you will never know. And if you aren't assuming that they actually want to buy, then you aren't going to ask the right questions to get them to buy.
(CASE IN POINT – stopped typing this email to take a sales call. Got to the end, she said I can't afford it now, I asked when she would be able to afford it, and she said next week!!! ALWAYS ASSUME THE SALE!)
Hope you've gotten some value from this article.
This is just one very, very small piece of what I am going to be teaching in Functional Marketing 101, my 6 month mentoring program, when it launches February 2021.
You can read more about that here:Â https://donnajoyusher.com/fm101-earlybird
Hope the last few days of 2020 is amazing.