Salespeople are called upon to perform many duties, from customer training to market analysis. But we must never forget the primary value we bring to our organizations, the real reason we remain on the payroll: We are excellent at gaining commitment from paying customers. Or, at least, we’re supposed to be.

Why don’t customers commit? Because salespeople don’t ask them to!

Yet incredibly, four out of six sales calls end without the salesperson asking the client to commit to any action that will move the process forward toward a sale. The salesperson presents some product information, maybe leaves some brochures and then walks away.

That is a travesty. Here’s how to prevent that from happening.

1. Always set a Commitment Objective before every call. You may have any number of valid goals for a sales call, but a Commitment Objective is a particular type of goal. It is an agreement you seek from the customer to do something that will move the sales process forward.

Your Commitment Objective is not always to get an order. It might be to get a referral to the real decision-maker, or to schedule another meeting with all decision-makers present, or to gain primary-supplier status.

Before every call, ask yourself: What commitment will I try to gain from this customer during the call? How will this commitment move the sales process forward?

2. Look and listen for buying signals. These may take the form of questions, statements or body language. “How much is it?” “How soon can you deliver?” “I like what you’re saying.” All of those are signals that it is time for you to ask for commitment.

3. Ask for commitment in a straightforward and non-manipulative way.

a) Summarize your product’s features and benefits, and quote price.

b) Ask, “What is your opinion of this?”
c) Ask, “Would you like to go ahead with it?”

Whenever you quote price, always ask for commitment. To put this another way, never quote price without asking for commitment immediately.

Once more, gaining commitment is the principal mission of every salesperson. But you won’t get it if you don’t ask. Begin your planning of every sales call by determining the commitment you want and how you’re going to ask for it.

In The Field:

Since 1990, when Patterson Dental (PDCO) began training its North American sales force with Action Selling sales training, the company has become the largest distributor of dental supplies and equipment in the United States and Canada.

Jim Violette, branch manager for the Spokane, Wash., facility, credits Action Selling for a dramatic turnaround at his branch. “My sales force acts like an entirely different team since we implemented the Action Selling approach,” Violette said. “Our skills at Gaining Commitment have dramatically improved.”

That’s an understatement, both for the Spokane branch and for the company as a whole. At nearly $1.6 billion in sales, Patterson has grown by 17 percent per year and increased its market share by 32 percent over the past five years.

Duane Sparks is chairman and founder of The Sales Board, a Minneapolis-based sales training company that has trained and certified more than 200,000 salespeople in the system and skills of Action Selling. He has personally facilitated more than 300 Action Selling training sessions.

In a 30-year career as a salesperson and sales manager, Duane has sold products ranging from office equipment to insurance. He was the top salesperson at every company he ever worked for. He developed Action Selling Sales Training while owner of one of the largest computer marketers in the United States. Even in the roaring computer business of the 1980’s, his company grew six times faster than the industry norm, differentiating itself not by the products offered but by the way it sold them. Duane founded The Sales Board in 1990 to teach the skills of Action Selling to others.

Contact The Sales Board for more sales information or sales training that’s been documented and research-proven to help you sell more! 1-800-232-3485

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.” — Seneca the Younger

This is a great quote to both contemplate and to apply to your life.

How often do you hear people complain? Pick a topic-love, friendship, careers, etc. The list of issues that people complain about is endless. You and I are no different. Perhaps we don’t complain about each of these things but more than likely there is something that we complain about with great regularity.

Now, sometimes complaints are simply a way to vent some frustration at the moment but we don’t really want anything to change in this area. However, more often than not, someone regularly complains about one specific problem

If I had a dollar for every time I heard one friend complain about the difficulty of finding a good man I could throw her a huge wedding bash or perhaps simply buy her a husband in some small third-world country. When I thought about my friend Donna’s problem and applied Seneca’s quote to it a light bulb suddenly appeared above my head just like in the cartoons!

It was true! Donna is having difficulty finding a good man simply because she isn’t daring enough. Sure she goes out on dates and tries to maintain an active social life, however she holds herself aloof emotionally. She isn’t willing to dare much at all when it comes to her heart-so how can she hope that someone else will do so for her? Sure, there might be someone, somewhere, but she is also missing out on relationships, at least friendships, with some really great guys simply because she is too afraid to dare to care.

That is sad. We all know that love is marvelous but it is also frightening, however we have to take risks in order to experience it fully. Sometimes we might get hurt however more often than not we will find the rewards outweigh the risks. There is no guarantee that is Donna opens herself up and dares to love that she will find the love of her life-however there is certainly a guarantee that a life filled with love is more rewarding than one that is not.

I have another friend who is also afraid to dare. Jeff hates his job. No, that’s not exactly right. He loves the work itself but he really hates the company that he works for. He finds the management very difficult to work for (and if even a small percentage of the stories he tells are true then he’s right, it is a horrible place to work).

However, every time I suggest he look for a job somewhere else he comes up with some excuse about how difficult it would be. True the job market isn’t great, but he’s a skilled worker in a high-demand field so I’m sure he could find something. He’s doomed his job search before he even started it because he’s not daring enough.

It wouldn’t be fair to share my friends’ examples without pointing to my own shortcomings. Probably the greatest difficulty in my own life is within my marriage and that is simply because I don’t dare enough emotionally there. I have become too complaisant and take my husband and marriage for granted. I need to dare more emotionally.

So think about the difficulties in your own life and apply Seneca’s rule then decide if you can be more daring! All the best!