*Note: This may ruffle your feathers. Good. If you disagree with me, let me know why.
When I’m speaking at an event with sales pros, many times veteran sellers will approach me and size me up with these questions, “What techniques do you teach?” or “What are the hottest new sales techniques?”
I cringe inside because I’ve never believed that SELLING was about technique. It’s about skill, certainly, but without skill, technique is simply a method.
Technique, by its definition, is an application of specific process. And anyone can adopt a technique. Skill is the variance that makes or breaks the results. Skill is the ability to perform and achieve results. Skill is mastery and requires practice and diligence.
A surgeon, for example, can use a specific suture technique to close an incision, but if they lack skill to perform the procedure, the technique doesn’t matter...you’ll have an ugly scar or possibly wind up with an infection.
Much of the “techniques” referenced in selling are preceded by the word “closing.” Again, another cringe-worthy moment for me in the profession of sales. To think that we can manipulate a customer into making a decision with perfectly phrased questions is ridiculous. The psychology behind closing techniques may have once been effective but with smarter, more educated buyers, it now feels insulting.
Closing a sale in that one singular moment is an old school, outdated notion. Yes. I said it. Closing a deal does not depend on whether you use the Trial Close, the Assumptive Close, the Hurry Up Close, the Future Close, or the Embarrassment Close (Yes, I kid you not. This is a real thing: check out this horrible and antiquated list).
Put yourself in your customer’s shoes: Do YOU want to be trial closed, hurry up closed, or embarrassingly closed?
No? Neither does your customer. STAHP. Just Stop. If you’re employing these techniques to try to “seal the deal” I implore you to look at investing in your skills instead of hoping that technique can do your job for you.
Closing a sale starts way before presenting or proposing. Great sellers invest in their skills to find customers that will appreciate the value they offer, recognize their unique differences, and want to work with you.
Your Selling Skills will effectively create more sales success for you than technique.
Ten skills – and none of them involve manipulation or games. What mastering these skills do achieve is stronger relationships with your customers, faster pipeline movement, and more transparency and trust throughout the process.
If you think about what sales techniques you’ve heard of, you’ll realize that there aren’t many that apply throughout each stage of the buyer’s journey. In fact, I couldn’t find any techniques in a web search that didn’t refer to closing. There are differing methodologies in selling, but even these require skill to perform successfully.
Techniques are far inferior to skill. More accurately, techniques are nothing without skill.
Focus on improving your skills to achieve results instead of dated sales advice that offends the intelligence of your buyers.