Sandler Rule #31 – Post 9

Sandler’s Rule #31 states “Close the Sale or Close the File.” When a someone says no to you, how are you supposed to respond?  When a potential client says no, what does that imply or how should you take this?  It is often difficult to deal with rejection or to know how to overcome this obstacle.  However, rejection or failure is a reality we have to deal with in every part of our life.  When in sales, we discussed how you are always looking to discover the answer to three questions: Is this a good fit for both of us? Is this person willing to work with me? Could my efforts be more productive somewhere else?  Often, a prospect wants to say no, but they do not know how. And, when they are directly or indirectly telling you this, then the conversation reaches a point where you need to ask.  Ultimately, the goal of the sales process is “to embark on a mutual discovery process to determine if your companies should work together.”  Thus, when the conversation reaches the decision point, you, as the salesperson, either needs to close the sale or to close the file.

Recently, I experienced this concept in an indirect manner.  During Easter break, I applied to work at a restaurant near my house for over the summer.  In this case, I was in a position where I had to pitch  or “sell” myself to the restaurant.  I was told that they would write my name down and give me a call at the beginning of the summer.  A few weeks later, I decided to call and follow up. Again, I was told that they would be going through applications in a few days and would give me a call soon.  The next week and the next, I continued to follow up and was told the same thing.  This was a frustrating process because I was not being given a clear answer, and, with summer quickly approaching, I needed to figure out my work plans.  Finally, this past Monday, I called one last time.  I explained how I had called a few times and kept being told they hadn’t looked through the applications yet.  The person on the phone said “Well that’s not ok.  They either need to tell you yes or no.  I’ll go find out what’s going on.”  She then returned and explained that they were fully staffed so would not be able to hire me.  While this was disappointing to hear, it was good that she finally closed the file for me.  I also learned that this was probably not a great fit for me to work at due to their communication.  Overall, this was a good learning lesson of how you should not leave a sale in the limbo stage.