Don't be a schmuck. Get unstuck!

Jennifer Calfas, a reporter for Time Magazine, wrote the following on April 3, 2018: Immersed 11 feet underground in Los Angeles’s sewer pipeline system, 13-year-old Jesse Hernandez prayed he would survive.

“I was just praying to God to help me and to not die,” he told NBC News, speaking publicly for the first time after he was rescued following 12 hours trapped in a sewer pipe.

He couldn’t see anything down there, he said. It was dark and quiet as he griped onto the sewage pipe, leaving handprints behind. “I was scared,” he told NBC News.

Those handprints, however, helped rescuers save the teen who fell into the sewer system when a plank broke over an access tunnel while he was out with his family on Sunday. He fell 25 feet down into the sewage moving at 15 miles per hour, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

“The water took me,” Jesse said.

He then moved through a pipe that was just four feet in diameter and was stuck there for more than 12 hours before rescuers found him. More than 100 members of the L.A. Fire Department and other officials conducted the search with the City’s Bureau of Sanitation, Engineering and Contract Administration. They were aided by a robot with a camera and the light that had the ability to crawl and float through the sewer system. The camera helped rescuers spot Jesse’s handprints, and sanitation workers opened a nearby manhole at around 4:55 a.m. on Monday.

It was then that Jesse cried for help and the rescuers lowered a hose for him to grab onto. He was taken to a hospital and released the same day.

“He has tremendous inner strength,” said Brian Humphrey, a spokesperson for the L.A. Fire Department, according to the Associated Press. “It’s obvious he’s not a quitter.”

One of the most common problems in sales is dealing with prospects who get paralyzed into not making a decision, causing you to be stuck. Needless to say, you want to hear a “yes”, but if they would at least just say “no” you could move on to another prospect rather than spending an inordinate amount of time and energy with little to show for it.

It’s also important to realize that getting stuck not only occurs when you try to close sales, but also when trying to set initial appointments, establishing logical next steps, and when your buyer attempts to convince his or her boss to buy your solution. So here is my suggestion to help you get moving again; or to know when it’s time to move on. It’s a three piece strategy:

  1. Agree
  2. Clarify
  3. Project

The process is respectful, only taking a couple of minutes, and here are three examples:

“Send me more information”

It’s hard to know what prospects mean when they tell you this and so the only way to find out is to ask.

  1. Agree: “I’d be glad to send you some information.”
  2. Clarify: “To help me know what you need, what specifically are you looking for?” If they respond using action-oriented words, there’s a good chance this is a genuine opportunity, such as: “We’re looking to achieve … fix … solve …avoid … improve….” Listen for “needspeak.” But if they say, “Just send me whatever you have,” it’s probably not a real opportunity, and may be time to move on.
  3. Project: Verbally move through the decision-making process, for example, “I’ll get the information to you by Monday. Assuming you like what you see what do you legitimately see happening next?” The answer will give you a clearer sense of whether it’s worth the time and effort.

“I need to talk it over with …” or “We need to discuss this,” or “I need to think it over.”

  1. Agree: “Of course. That’s certainly normal. How long should I give you before I follow up?”
  2. Clarify: Ask a clarifying question such as, “Are you feeling good enough about this to recommend it to him/her?” If the answer is anything less than an enthusiastic “yes”, you need to suggest a joint meeting to give you a better chance.
  3. Project: Try to establish where they stand, such as; “Just so I can be sure I’ve provided everything your people will need, can you tell me specifically what you feel your boss (board, team leader, etc.) needs to hear?” Just be careful how you ask this question to avoid buyers thinking you are trying to put words in their mouth, which is unsanitary.

 

Call Me Back

Call me back in a month, or next quarter, etc.”

  1. Agree: Attempt to set a specific time for a return call to demonstrate that you are not discouraged by this postponement.
  2. Clarify: “So that I can be prepared for my next call to you, can you tell me what will be occurring between now and then?” (Find out why the discussion will be more relevant in a month.) If they can’t give you a good answer or won’t commit to a specific time for the call, chances are they’re not serious.
  3. Project: “When we meet again next month, realistically what do you see happening?”

By using a simple process like I’ve described in these examples, you will be able to apply the Kenny Rogers principle… “Know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em,” which may just keep you from taking up residence in Pendingville!

—————ATTENTION: Sales Managers——————

Need to change the way you do sales training? Get back to basics with Doug’s 274 page book of short lessons to help improve: likeability & trust (page 26), not assuming (page 43), countering apathy (page 77), probing/questioning for needs (page 102), emphasizing benefits over features (page 137), navigating objections (page 175), reducing think about its (page 188), wowing while closing (page 210), increasing referrals (page 244), and much more. Look for yourself.

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©2018 Robinson Training Solutions, LLC