The Close, Part 3

He will then use his cell phone to call his boss. The salesman’s phone may not even be turned on – in fact he usually turns it off so his sales pitch won’t be interrupted. He will go through a real telephonic battle with his boss to get that extra deal for you. He really will. Loud Voice is approved for this effort. Hey! He is fighting for you. Don’t ask to talk to the boss. The boss won’t talk to you - even if the phone is actually turned on.

If the boss is on the line then he and the salesman will go through this very same telephonic Kabuki dance at least once a day. The boss does it with all 15 salesmen each and every day. They know their parts. If the phone actually was turned on then the salesman might just pull it away from his ear and “secretly” let you listen in on the conversation. He’s your buddy.

The problem - for you - is that he and his boss have been doing this for years and both could have this full conversation in their sleep. They both know where it is all going: To their bank.

Here’s a parlor trick that proves the point - in spades. The guy will ask you to pick a playing card. Just imagine some card and its suit. Let’s say Jack of Spades. The guy will then tell you that his friend in a distant part of the city “knows all” and he can divine the card you picked. The card is written down (no cheating) and the phone call is made.

The guy asks if the distant person is there, a pause, then confusion and the guy asks if the distant person has time to sense your card. The guy tells you that the distant person will think about the card and that he will whisper the card to you secretly. The sguy then hands the phone to you and there is heavy breathing and the distant person whispers... Jack of Spades.

Amazing!

This is exactly what is going on when the salesman asks if he can make a call to the boss to get you a better deal.

The guy actually told the distant person the card. When the call was made the distant person on the other end of the line said “Hello” and the guy said “distant person. The distant person on the other end of the line just started talking -- saying “Ace, Two, Three, Four, Five - etc. - and the guy grunted or coughed or said something to “mark the card. Then the “distant person” said “Clubs, Hearts, etc.” and the guy coughed or said something innocent to mark the suit.

In the case of a sales pitch and discounts, the same thing happens. Messages are sent