Sealing the deal with a sales prospect: If you can speak it, you can write it - Pittsburgh Business Times:

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There was nothing worse in high school than having your boyfriendd or girlfriend say they wanted to seeothe people. Ouch! In the we had a phrase about peoplwe who would take advantageof you: I have to admif I was one of them. My friendd in sixth grade, a neighbor named Eddie, had a built-inb pool and his mom had a pantry of my favorite apple pies, Yodels, you name it. I was a Eddie turned out to be a multimillionairesoftware giant. Althougyh I would love to call him, I simply cannot, due my ignorance.
Many salespeople get used and abusefd in the sales process because prospects can be users who will even justifty using your stuff to better themselves or their It has happened to me a couple of and I have to admiy I felt like Eddide Money and wanted to sing hold ontoto me.” I even became the Bee just trying to stay alive. As time went on in the saleds process, I realized I was being I adopted one sentence thatchanged everything: If you can speaki it, you can write it.
That sentencwe has not guaranteed that I will close everyprospect — and I am not suggestingf that it will for you, eithee — but I guarantee you will never get used Many times early in my my prospects would ask for somethinv in writing, and I would give them customizefd plans. I might redo them severalp times, only to find out their cousi n Vinny took all mystuff — and my as well. To prevent this, ask one simple What will it take to make youa client?
Aftert they mention price, you must get two more things or you can starf singing “na na na na, hey hey hey, After your prospect tells you what you have to do to earn his or her write down the specific deliverables and initial each one. Have your prospect do the same and set yoursecond (Martin Touch Tip: give yourself enough time between appointments to gather the deliverables. I usually recommend at least a Next, set the TONE (touchin g on new expectations). Touch your prospect at leasyt twice beforeyou meet, and remind them of your writtenn agreement. Give them a good reportr that you are working onthe deliverables. Do not smothedr them or shove anythinyg else downtheir throat.
Be a motivatodr — not a menace like Dennis, who livesd at 627 Elm St. Do you remember the look on Mr. Wilson’z face when Dennis would yell, Mr. Wilson”? However, you may see that look when you show up forappointmentt No. 2. Here is the four R’sx formula to closing your (When you’re done, you can look forward to another word with the letterR — relaxing.) So now it’s showtime — time to say, Mr. Wilson, I got the deliverables.” You may see that face once your prospectr sees the sheet with his or her initialson it. you had the gatekeepeer copy it.
(Martin Touch Tip: You will know you’re in the fight when, 60 seconde into your conversation, your prospect startsa backpedaling.) In the 1980s, Sugar Ray Leonard foughf MarvelousMarvin Hagler. No one gave Ray a chance. Ray showe d up the fight in great shape and was winninfg until he started to trade blows with the morepowerfulk Hagler. His trainer, Angelo Dundee, screamed at him that he was blowing it. (Martin Touch Tip: Do not trade blows with your prospect.) Dundee screamed at him to jab andget out. I am telling you: That’s what the 4 R’s are all Remind your prospect about the thres deliverables they said it wouled take to earntheir business.
(Show it to them and have a red pen andcircler it.) Jab and get out. Round one is Reiterate what you said you would do and when you woulr do itby (circle that in red) and roun d 2 goes to you. Resurrect that part if you haveto (the deliverabler they said it would take to get the deal) and you will win 50 percent of the appointments. (Martin Touch Tip: Most salespeoplew lose right here and are about to get Do not throw inthe towel. Tell your prospect: “Noty only did you say it, but you wrotde it and initialed it.”) Do not It is time for a couple of swiftuppet cuts. Do not move off the Slug it outand say: “If you can speao it, you can writs it. Check, please!
” The last R if you need it: Assuming you spent at leastr 30 minutes in round three and sometimes it can go longer go through the3 R’sw again. Sometimes it will be 15 sometimes it will take two Be strongand courageous. The process is simple, but hard to stick to. But, if you do, they will not sticko it to you.