By Ryan Blair
I wanted to give the viewers some of my thoughts from the show today. The topic was "How to Close the Deal." Having just come off the largest deal of my life (Click here to see the story), I feel I have a lot of vital information to share about my resent experience. So before I comment on the show, here are some quick tips.
DO’S & DON’T’S ON HOW TO CLOSE THE DEAL
1. Don’t do deals with idiots. Only do deals with people you admire. This makes the process fun and allows you to learn, and gives them a sense of importance and you a sense of accomplishment.
2. Don’t negotiate against yourself
3. Don’t waste other peoples time, it’s insulting. Know exactly what you want.
4. Don’t speak first. The first person to speak looses. Ask for what you want. Then shut up.
5. Do: Team play. If you have a team working the deal, make sure everyone knows their role, what to say, what not to say and what you expect of them.
6. Do: Dress your best. Never ask for some ones hard earned money looking like a slob.
7. Do: Create the perception. Why would they want to do a deal with you? What value do you bring? What void are you filling in their life, business, etc?
8. Do: Build relationship with prospect. Surprise them with your personality. Show deep interest in them.
9. Do: Make the consequences of them not finishing the deal, big. Break-up fees, time invested, reputation lost, expenses, or opportunity costs. If there’s no penalty for walking away then they likely will.
10. Do: Remember fear and greed. Many deals are done for one or the other. Which one is your prospect most interested in? Shape your conversations around it.
11. Do: Be urgent, tenacious and always create deadlines.
12. Do: Set the tone. Tell them what you want, and ask for it until you get it. NO BS.
Now that I’ve got that out of the way here’s my thoughts on the show. First I want to say that my fellow commentators Mark and Terri offered a lot of value in their advice. Definitely read the books on communication strategies out there in the market today. Reading is an integral part of the learning process. But at the end of the day, the best teacher is practice. Get out there in the action and you will get better as you go. Closing a deal is more than just sales semantics.
I have to say that I was surprised at the way our guests presented their cases today; there was an obvious lack of preparation or extreme nervousness. From experience, I know if you want to convey yourself correctly, you have to obsess over how you’re going to present your ideas. Pitch it to your friends, practice before you show up. You’ve got one shot, and if you can’t master the pitch, you will never be able to raise money, land the strategic partnership or sign up the customer, if you don’t practice every day. Bob Goergen (one of the people I admire the most) once told me “there is no finish line”. If your mind set is that there is no finish line, then you should have no fear, only an opportunity to get better every day.
Speaking of fear, the first rule to closing any deal is to keep your emotions in check. As with Erica who asked whether or not she was coming across as pushy to her potential clients for following up too often, my advice is that you have to be confident. No matter how desperate you feel, or what fears and negative thoughts are running through your head before you make a presentation, don’t carry that in the room with you. A little fear helps keep you in check, but not while you are in presentation mode. When I saw her on the show today I felt like her mind set could have been more assertive and confident, after all she made it to the Big Idea and that takes talent.
I didn’t come on the show today to sell anything. There is no gimmick. I just want to give advice and help to those who need it. I can’t promise to reply to all your emails, but send your case to ryan@pathconnect.com, and I will do my best to answer your questions.
- Ryan