Just Stop Talking

Sometimes the worst thing you can do in a sales situation is keep talking. Often times the sale is closed and the customer is happy, but then the salesperson shares one more piece of information that blows the whole deal. Today I am going to share a story from my childhood that will help explain this phenomenon; hopefully in a comedic way. So, when I was a child, around 8-10 years old, my brother and I really wanted a trampoline. My parents were extremely reluctant, but after over a month of selling from me and my brother, they finally agreed to get us one. So, we go to Costco, find the trampoline, check the price, and start to load it onto our cart. Just then, a woman comes up and say’s, “Oh! you guys are buying a trampoline?” My dad responds, “Yeah, they’ve (my brother and I) been selling us on one for a while and we’ve decided to give it a try.” “Great!” she says, “I just got one for my kids, and I’ve come back to buy a net for it, because my son just fell off of it and broke his neck.” As you can imagine, my parents did not take this well, and promptly removed the trampoline from our cart, and 10 years later we still do not have a trampoline. So, what can be learned from this? Don’t talk to strangers, yes, but more so we can gain an understanding of when to stop selling. Salespeople can sometimes make the mistake of providing information after the sale, thus stopping the sale all together. When the sale is closed, stop selling. Even if the information would be helpful for the customer to know, don’t provide it after the sale is closed. If the woman who talked to my parents wouldn’t have said anything, my parents would have followed through with the purchase, because the sale had already been closed. If the customer needs help after the purchase, that is when the additional information can be provided. Hopefully, this sad tale helps drive home the idea of stopping the selling process after the deal is made.