"Always be closing."
These are the "wise" words spoken by Alex Baldwin's character in Glengarry Glen Ross, the movie about what happens when a sales training professional is sent to motivate four real estate professionals.
The line has become ubiquitous in business, revered by young sales people and frequently repeated by people who don't really understand how to sell.
In reality, however, the phrase should probably go the way of the rotary telephone, smoking cigarettes on international flights and fighting in hockey. It's just not appropriate anymore.
"Closing" isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's only effective if it's done in the right way at the right time. Today, customers are more educated and have easier access to alternatives than ever. They simply won't fall for the "hard sell." And that's why your sales team needs to use tried and true (and altruistic) techniques that are proven to work with people – whoever they might be and whatever they might need.
After all, art might imitate life, but your sales team operates in the real world. So here's a look at some sales techniques that can help your sales team sell anything to anyone:
Surprise and Delight
Target Corp. went from having a single store in Roseville, MN, to having more than 1,500 stores across the country and being one of the most recognizable and successful brands in the world.
And they did it by surprising and delighting their customers.
Target is able to sell things to their customers that their customers never knew they wanted. The company excels by showing customers (referred to as "guests") items they didn't necessarily want – but they show the items in ways that are so attractive and exciting that "guests" can't help but be surprised and delighted.
That's what your sales team needs to learn to do for its customers. Provide the unexpected benefit at the unexpected time. If your team members can do that, they'll not only make more sales, but they'll also sell things that actually solve their customers' problems.
Know Your Customer
Target Corp. is so successful because the company knows its customers (er, "guests") with absolute precision. Everyone at Target's corporate headquarters in Minneapolis makes every decision with "her" in mind. "Her," of course, is a composite of the company's most frequent and sought-after consumer.
She's in her mid-30's to late 40's. She has kids and a career and her own car. She wants the finer things in life, but she can't necessarily pay for them. Hence, she's looking for a bargain, which Target can provide.
The company might have a composite "guest," but it also knows that not all of its customers think alike. That's why it displays its products in a variety of different ways. Some displays appeal to the intellectual, others to the rational, the intuitive, and the instinctive.
The company's leaders are masters at understanding that people think differently (whole brain thinking) and then maximizing it in its merchandising.
Be Fast, Fun, and Friendly
Target surprises and delights. It uses whole brain thinking to put products in front of people at the right times. But what the company does extremely well is delivering a shopping experience that is fast, fun, and friendly.
In fact, it's Target's internal mantra.
It expects all its employees (who are commonly referred to as "team members") to deliver fast service in a fun environment and be friendly while doing it. And it works.
If your team can surprise and delight, master whole brain thinking, and be fast, fun, and friendly, it just might be able to sell anything to anyone. Just like Target.
