A few years ago, I was demonstrating our virtual sales training program, the Vector Firm Sales Academy, for a potential customer. There were three people on the call, and they were all outwardly impressed – almost gushing at our program. “This is exactly what we’ve been looking for. I feel like the content has been tailored to us. We’ll meet with John later this week and get this moving.” Then, I broke a cardinal rule of selling…
I said: “Let me show you one more thing.” I know – you’re probably cringing right now. I know I was. Every ounce of me was screaming: “You dummy. Shut up. They said ‘yes’. End the call.” But I didn’t end the call. I continued the demo by showing them our reporting feature that provides sales managers a dashboard of their team’s activity and performance in the Academy. Thankfully, they liked it and exclaimed, “John’s going to love this.”
Did I get lucky? Was this one of those times in life when I did the wrong thing but got a positive outcome? Did I just swing on a 3 – 0 pitch and accidentally hit a homerun?
No, I didn’t get lucky. Nor did I break a cardinal rule of selling – not one from the 2018 version of the rules. The rule of “Once they say yes, shut up” isn’t as relevant today as it used to be because most decisions are made in committees meetings that don’t include you. If you happen to be in front of the final decision-maker who is ready to sign the agreement, then yes, by all means, shut up. (My favorite trick is to count to “eight-one-thousand” in your mind before saying anything.) However, if you’re in front of some of the influencers of the final decision that will be made in a few weeks, you need to shift from being a sales person to acting as a sales coach. Your role is to coach these influencers to sell to the committee for you.
Using my example above, I knew that John and a few others would be making the decision, and I needed my three demo attendees to sell internally for me. I also knew that John would love the dashboard. So, after they threw wonderful compliments about the system my way, I didn’t shut up … I kept going.
In summary, if you’re meeting with influencers of a larger committee, then your role should be as a sales coach, not just a sales person. If they say they’re satisfied, they may just be distracted and think they have heard everything they need. Don’t fall for it. Don’t shut up. Make sure that they’re fully prepared to sell for you to the committee.
And of course, if you’re dealing with the one and only decision-maker who is ready to sign, then yes … shut up.
