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by
Hal Slater
 America
is historically a country of sellers. We have a long heritage of salespeople
travelling the countryside offering a huge variety of products. From the
turn of the century until the 1930s, several speakers and writers distinguished
themselves as sales trainers and motivators. This was during a time when
most sellers "schlepped" sample cases door–to–door selling small items
to homes and businesses. Consequently, the rules for selling that these
speakers developed were the rules for selling smaller ticket items.
Since
the end of WWII when America's mighty war machine was converted from military
to consumer products, we have created a marketing frenzy. The average
consumer encounters approximately 2,000 sales messages per day. As this
"clutter" grows, the cost of cutting through it grows as well, at the
rate of about $50 per lead per decade. The lead that cost $50 in the 1950s
costs over $250 today, and that cost is rising. This changes the dynamics
of selling—at $250 per appointment, it is not feasible to sell low cost
items face–to–face. Only high–ticket products can bear today's higher
direct selling costs.
There
are at least four major differences between low–ticket and high–ticket
selling. Understanding these differences is crucial to operating effectively
in today's competitive sales environment.
High–ticket
selling differs in these ways:
- Not a "Numbers Game"—in low–ticket selling, the seller who sees
the most prospects usually outperforms everyone else. In high–ticket
selling, this is not the case. It is the quality of the presentation,
not the quantity, that determines success. The salesperson who sold
the most only saw one–third as many prospects as the most active seller,
who did not do well in terms of dollars sold. What this tells us is
that high–ticket selling is about—Working Smarter... Not Harder. Experienced
closers know that when they have too many leads it's hard to give
each one of them a full measure of effort. High–ticket sellers need
to emphasize strategy over activity. Thus, motivational training will
have little beneficial impact since all motivation can do is increase
activity, not strategy.
- Four Different
Steps—the old sales model promotes a four–step process that goes...
Warm Up, Present, Handle Objections, Close. This process assumes that
something will be missed in the presentation and that the seller will
have to "clean up" after these lapses to close the sale. This process
may be effective in small sales, but large–ticket buyers have a high
level of concern and even a slight doubt will stop them from acting.
The new sales model is: Warm Up, Interview, Present, Close. This process
creates a seamless, objection–free sale by understanding the buyer's
needs so you may anticipate and resolve any objections before they
arise.
- Close Once—Salesmanship
does NOT begin with the first "no." Research shows that more than
55 percent of all high–ticket sales made have only one closing attempt.
Two closing attempts have about the same success rate as zero closing
attempts. The third, fourth and fifth attempt have an even lower level
of success. Successful high–ticket selling requires careful preparation
before asking for the order so you only have to ask once.
- Prevent Objections—Objection
handling is a remedial skill. It is usually a sign of failure to carefully
and accurately read the buyer. If, at some point in the process, something
is said or done to cause concern and it is not resolved at that point,
the buyer mulls it over in his/her mind until it acquires real importance
and is not easily dispatched. Great high–ticket sellers are keenly
aware of the buyer at every moment and do not let those "glitches"
go unanswered.
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