YOU BET YOUR LIFE

One of the first television shows I can remember is a game show called YOU BET YOUR LIFE which starred the Great Groucho Marx as the host. Every day the show had a secrete word. If the contestants happen to say the word during their time on the show they would win $100.00. (which was a lot of money back then) As each pair of contestants came out Groucho would say to them, “Say the secrete word and win a hundred dollars”. If the word was said a bell rang and a bird would fall from the ceiling with the word written on a sign.

I see reps playing this same game all the time trying to win. The reps try and say the secrete word that will make a customer say yes and buy something. The problem is there is no Groucho or bird to tell them when they have said the word like there was on the show. Reps just keep talking until they run out of words or run out of time.

Here is the problem as I see it, THERE IS NO SECRETE WORD! No one word will make or break a sale. A sale is made when all the customers concerns have been addressed and all their questions answered. No one word will do all of that.

The best way to get a customer to say yes is to ask questions to uncover their concerns, listen to their questions and then systematically give the customer all the information they need to be comfortable with making a purchase.

This is not the time for a guessing game. It isn’t a time to take shots in the dark. It isn’t the time for random conversation in hopes of hitting a nerve. It IS a time for you to make a plan and work the plan. Have a selling process that you use. Work your system to keep yourself on track and help guide the customer through the selling maze.

If you will stop looking for the secrete word and start looking for solutions to your customers problems, you won’t need to BET YOUR LIFE, you will be able to LIVE YOUR LIFE!

Lorin