One Call Close Method, Part 2
seem innocent, and certainly dumber than the prospect– he
may even pretend to be “a victim."
Remember, the prospect was somehow contacted by phone and agreed
to the appointment. The prospect is probably experiencing remorse
over ever having ever even made the appointment. Often, the prospect
will say yes to an appointment because they were intimidated by
the call center appointment person. To minimize the ever-mounting
level of rejection and fear, the salesman is sent to the home
as soon as possible after the appointment has been made – even
just one or two hours later.
As silly as it may seem, many prospects don’t know that the salesman is there to
sell them something. The “representative” will continue this charade and will
pretend to be there only to consult, or to help, or to survey. It will be a
spontaneous surprise to all present – including the salesman -- when the
prospect wants to see what the products might actually cost them. It will all be an
incredible accident.
If the prospect senses that the salesman is really there to “sell,”
then the prospect will resist tirelessly. Just as the deer runs
from the wolf so too does the prospect sense danger and run.
As mentioned elsewhere on this website, the salesman will size up the home, the
lawn, the cars in the driveway, the recreational vehicles along the side of the
house, everything. He will be especially interested in any signs of recent home
improvement work. If he sees that a competitor has been there then he might
have to modify his pitch. He will look inside the cars and even into the home’s
windows – all as he walks up to the front door.
The salesman will sometimes say that he is NOT a salesman. He
will say that he’s from the corporate office and was called
away from his desk to go out into the field and to provide the
kind of real customer relations that his company is known for.
The company cares for its employees and for its customers and
building faith and confidence is what good family business is
all about. He will say that the salesman for this area is sick,
or the company is running a big sale and homeowners everywhere
are calling for appointments to take advantage of the special
offer…
If he has decent teeth then he will smile with a friendly, disarming smile and
shake their hand. He will shake their hand just as they shake his. If they shake
hands as if they were holding a dead fish then he will shake theirs that way too.
He will then get inside the house and take control -- even gently directing where
