Conrey is for Closers

Too many salespeople get caught up in the process and making sure that they have all of the contracts and paperwork done one-hundred percent correct.   That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t mean anything until you actually close the deal.   Shake your clients hand, start working for them, and do the paperwork later.

The moment you get any kind of yes, you need to start moving forward on the deal. If you’re selling cars, start getting their new car prepped, if you’re selling service, start scheduling them up, if you’re selling door to door start moving your product into their house. This does two things, one it gives them mental ownership of the deal, and secondly it shows you are willing to work for them right off the top.

The paperwork is important, and the details are very important. But once your client mentally owns the product, you both now have a vested interest in getting the details hammered out. If you start working first, they’ll make the details happen.

Paperwork AFTER the Handshake.

In any pursuit of excellence the difference between the 90th percentile and the 99th percentile is all about the details. The results are exponential in gain. Every step up the ladder, every detail you look at that your competition doesn’t gains you more than the one before.

Think about the last time that you felt treated like royalty when you were buying something. How much detail did your salesperson go through to make sure you were happy? Are you going to that level of detail? Are you making sure that every possible angle is covered?

Its more work, its effort, but is your client base worth it?

There’s always going to be people who dislike you and your company or your product. You can’t avoid that. While I both say that it is important to know what your competition is doing, I also agree with what Tyler Hurst wrote about not worrying about your competition.

Building on his point, it is important to know that if you are doing anything of consequence – anything that makes a difference in the world at all – then you’ll have people who hate you.

You’ll have people who badmouth you, degrade you, and tell all manner of half truths and outright lies to tear you down.
You’ll hear that you are overpriced, understaffed, or closing.
You’ll hear about how you are not using the latest or best tools or techniques.
You’ll hear that someone else can do it better, faster, cheaper.
You’ll hear that your clients are all leaving you.
You’ll hear about how you aren’t going to solve their problems anymore like you used to.
You’ll hear that your customer service has gone to hell.
Etc etc

You hearing these things are bad enough, when your current or potential clients are hearing these things – that’s when you’re going to start steaming.

The best thing you can do in this case is not to fight it, let your actions prove them wrong. When a client hears things like this, reassure them with all sincerity that you are still taking care of them the way you always have. Eventually your success will ruin their credibility.

If no one hates you, you’re not doing a good enough job of being remarkable.