The Red Pill or the Blue One?

Now that you are fully aware of data documenting the harm of closing techniques, choosing, for example, to continue using closing techniques would be a reflection of immediate interest, Merton ’ s third cause. Choosing to act with knowledge of a laundry list of negative consequences is similar to adopting the behaviors of the recreational drug user. That is, you would be using the closing question tactic with full awareness of some of the documented harmful side effects they cause and with a decision to risk the additional unforeseen consequences in hopes of the receiving the immediate “ hit ” or payoff that closing appears to produce. While the typical tactics won't scar your lungs like the heated diacetyl, they can have a cumulative effect on your mental and emotional state. Perhaps you are fatigued from the never - ending regimen of 100 calls per day. Perhaps you are worn out from calling a list of prospects who don ’ t want to hear from you — and often let you know that fact. Perhaps it ’ s the slimy feeling you get when you tell a slight fib or use a closing technique to convince a prospect to take the next step in working with you because you ’ re under the gun to make sales.

Maybe it ’ s the pressure you feel to make your numbers and to hit certain goals, despite the reality that most prospects don ’ t seem interested or willing to buy right now. Maybe it's the corporate culture, which favors company profits and short - term wins over long - term success and lasting relationships. Maybe it's the high turnover, the “ revolving door effect, ” that serves as a constant reminder that you have to make your month - end numbers — or else.

Regular doses of the conventional way of selling may be impacting your physical health, your attitude, your emotional well - being, your confi dence, and the way you see yourself. Is it worth using the traditional approach at the expense of your health and overall happiness — just to make a quick buck and instant sale? We think not. Many sales professionals are not required to use the typical tactics. Hopefully that is the case for you.

Whether you work for a sales organization with lots of rules or one with few to no guidelines, you do have a choice in how you behave. You can choose to use the traditional sales approach or you can decide to be a contrarian. You decide whether to push for the immediate sale or to do what ’ s best both your customer and for your long - term success. You get to determine whether to tolerate the potential side effects of the typical tactics or to put yourself and your customers first.

That's What Makes the World Go Round

"Dream on," says the veteran sales professional who relies on the typical tactics to produce sales. “ Everyone knows that sales are all that matter. It doesn ’ t matter how you get there, only that you do."

The sales professionals working for a company that advocates the typical tactics may want to sell differently but feel they have little or no choice in how they make their sales. With the fi erce competition all around and their job security on the line, the bottom line is what matters.

This should come as no surprise, given that the main objective for a publicly held company is to fi nd ways to make the shareholder price and value go up. Many companies live and die over whether stock prices and overall metrics are increasing from quarter to quarter. And while companies can cut costs, reduce infrastructure, or lay off employees to boost profi ts, the market usually frowns on this type of behavior. As a result, the burden of quarterly growth falls on the shoulders of the sales department.

This focus on and desire for short - term profi ts and immediate sales is certainly not confi ned to publicly held  companies. Rather, it is a reality that extends to privately held companies, smaller fi rms, and solo entrepreneurs.

Call it globalization, increased competition, or the inherent human desire for more, but smaller companies and entrepreneurs want their piece of the pie as well. Why? Making a sale today is more than simply focusing on sales growth or increasing shareholder value. The drive to make something happen today goes deeper than that.

It's about the desire within every sales professional to win. Closing a sale today means that you not only satisfy a customer ’ s needs and earn a commission but that you can experience victory and the satisfaction of a job well done. In a world where competition is fi erce and the playing field has been fl attened, as described in Thomas Friedman ’ s book, The World Is Flat,

it pays to make a win as soon as possible. Because every sales professional knows this to be true: There are winners and losers in the game of sales.

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