The Truth About "Pressure' Selling

Whenever I train salespeople, the issue of pressure selling arises. I hear from salespeople the same old line: “I don’t want to be a used car salesperson who harasses the shopper.” What they really mean is that they don’t want to ask for the order over and over even though the shopper has said, “I want to think it over” or “no.” Because of their worry about not exerting pressure, they don’t ask for the order even once! They take no action to ask for the deposit check so they can avoid making the shopper look upon them as a dishonorable pressure salesperson.

Here is the problem. When I say that a salesperson always needs to try to make a sale today many believe that I’m suggesting that all is lost if a shopper doesn’t buy today. Not true. What I’m trying to prevent is a situation where the salesperson assumes shoppers won’t buy today and so lets them leave with all the information they need to make a decision later. This leads to missed sales.

It is wrong to think that all shoppers don’t want to make a decision right away or that they won’t give a salesperson a check on the first day they meet with them or chat on the phone or send them an email. When the salesperson decides ahead of time not to ask even once for the sale, shoppers who really are ready to give a check don’t because they aren’t asked.

A professional salesperson never beats up on a shopper to pressure them to buy. I recommend making no more than three attempts to get a “yes” from the shopper today. After this, shake their hand, keep them happy, make sure that they leave with all the information they need and let them go. About three in every 10 shoppers will buy today if asked for the order. That means that up to seven more will leave, think and hopefully call back and say “yes.”

Tip: If you don’t ask for a deposit check you will not get it. Once a shopper leaves your mental and emotional energy, there are only three things they can do. Buy from someone else who exerts better sales techniques, call back later and ask how much you need for a deposit, or not buy from anyone. The job of a salesperson is to give the shopper reasons and permission to buy today.