General Sales
Advance The Sale - How to Sell More in Less Time
By Jim Domanski
Jun 13, 2005, 16:13

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There are only 4 outcomes to any sales situation: a sale, no sale, a continuance and an advance.

The first two outcomes are easy to comprehend. But the line between continuance and advance is the line between mediocre reps and immensely successful reps. If you’re interested in reducing the sales cycle, working on better qualified leads and generating more sales, pay attention.

Continuance

Unfortunately, the vast majority of reps are superb at “continuing” a sale. A continuance is where it appears that the sale cycle is being closed but in reality, it is only being extended. This is sometimes a tough concept for reps to understand. Here are some examples to illustrate what I mean:

I’ll send you some product brochures in the mail

I will give you a call sometime next week to discuss the proposal

Give the sample a try and we’ll review it latter on

I’ll fax you the material and we’ll go over it

Let’s meet sometime next month and we’ll assess your need then



On the surface, these statements would suggest that the sale is moving forward. Not so. Did you notice the two common denominators?

There is no firm commitment on behalf of the prospect or customer to take specific action.


There is no firm follow up date.



Some sales will, of course, occur but if you are interested in getting more sales in less time, and if you would like to disqualify those clients who are not actually interested in your product or service, then you must learn to “advance” the sale.

The Advance

The advance differs from a continuance in that it gets the client to take a specific action within a given time frame.

Here’s how the above examples would look/sound like with an advance:

I’ll send you a product brochure on Nite-White in the mail and what I would like to recommend is that we review these together next Thursday. How does 10:15 look to you?


I’ll give you a call next week to discuss the MEA proposal. Suppose we schedule Wednesday at 2:20?


I’ll be glad to provide you with an Atrium sample. Specifically when will you use it? What is the criteria for evaluation? What I would like to recommend is that we set up an appointment for Friday, at 8:30 a.m. to review your evaluation. How does that sound?


I’ll fax over the material right now. Can you review them so that we go over documents together in about 45 minutes?


Let’s set up an appointment for next month, say the 15th, at 2:45. At that time we can reassess your situation. Is that date okay with you?



Do you see the difference?

Each example suggests a specific action that must or should be taken by the client. This creates active participation from the client which moves the sale further through the cycle. Next, each example has a specific time frame for the accomplishment of the action which creates commitment. This is a powerful one-two sales punch.

If…

If the client will NOT commit to any action or follow up, it suggests that perhaps their interest is not particularly strong at this point in time.

If the client will NOT commit to the action, then withdraw the advance. For example,

“Ms. Finn, I get the impression that perhaps now is not the best time to
send the literature. If it is not possible to set up a review date, perhaps it
would be best if we waited and I call you at a later date.”



It takes guts to do this but what it really does is allow you focus only on genuine sales opportunities. You don’t waste time “watering dead plants.”

This is an extremely powerful technique. Use it and advance the sale!

Jim Domanski, Teleconcepts Consulting Inc. © copyright 2005

About Jim Domanski:
Cited by Canadian Business Magazine as "...Canada's reigning telemanagement guru..." Jim Domanski is regarded as one of North America's foremost experts on outbound business tele-sales and tele-support programs.

President of Teleconcepts Consulting, Jim helps businesses achieve their sales and marketing objectives by using the telephone to help generate leads and sell directly on both a strategic and tactical level.

A highly dynamic speaker and trainer with over 15 years of direct tele-sales experience, Jim has spoken to audiences around the world on telephone selling applications, skills and techniques. His "no bull" training style blends humor with "real life, real drama" situations which he has begged or borrowed from his clients.

Contact Information:
Jim Domanski
Teleconcepts Consulting
35 Vanstone Drive, Ste. 200
Kanata, Ontario K2L 1W4
1-888-353-0948
jdomanski@igs.net
www.teleconceptsconsulting.com

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