Alternate Closes

[theleadmachine]

Afternoon all

Bit of a random one this so bare with me !

I've been running telesales teams for some (ahem) years now and have often advised my teams to use an alternate close when securing an appointment time (I've got a 10am on Tuesday or a 2pm on Thursday. Which would be more suitable for you? - this type of thing)

Its always worked well as it means the prospect only has 2 times to make a decision on. If he/she can't make this time they always offer an alternative and therefore the close to the appointment date/time is done in 2 or 3 short sentences (as opposed to asking "how about 10am on Monday?", "NO" "ok, how about Tuesday at 10am?" "No" "Ok, what about 2pm on Wednesday?", "No" etc etc ad infinitum)

Asking the prospect when they would like the appointment always messes busy diaries up as one person wants an 11am and the next a 12pm which doesn't allow the sales person enough time to pitch and get to their next appointment or leaves them with only 2 appointments on one day

Having read a load of sales books, forums and the like over the years I've noticed that there seems to be a lot of advice "against" using this form of close recently - the reason seeming to be that many people are aware of this type of close so don't patronise your prospect in this way !!

What are everyone's thoughts on this?

I'm trialling a few different closes out over the coming week to see which ones work better but would welcome any feedback in the meantime

Cheers

Pete

 

[Multi-store]

Hi Pete,

I love telesales, in fact id love to run a company like yours, if I ever had the capital as i believe telesales is still one of the best, if not the best way to generate business.


I would say that type of close is more suited to a product sale, for example if I were selling pens id suggest, “would you prefer them in black or blue?”

Why not make things a little less rigid, and suggest meetings at 12pm, but say it could be 30 minutes each way due to travel / traffic etc. Customers should appreciate the honesty and then if you are 20 minutes late it wont look bad, as the customer will already be expecting that

Another thing to try could be an electronic diary, basically showing the customer all the free dates & times to choose from?

I’ll think about this one some more later on, another idea or two will probably come to me

 

[Montaigne]

I either give specific times available "or if this isn't suitable could you provide me with a spread of dates when you would be available and I will match a date up with one of our engineers?"

 

[tony84]

It could be seen as pushing someone in an appointment.

Im by no means an expert but when i book my appointments i want them to be there when i turn up so i always ask when is convenient. Obviously if i have an appointment in there area i will always say im in your area on x date, if you could make it before or after that would be great but if not then thats fine, people are usually accomodating where possible.

But im only booking my own appointments so its probably a bit different.

 

[maxine]

If it helps Pete I use this still a lot. But I think the key to using is to not mis-time it and to be really careful with tone of voice.

When I listen to other people using it sometimes I could cringe as it is so tempting and easy for people to jump in with it too early. Then it can comes across insincere. I think this really is a skill area that people should practise with regards tone of voice, pace, listening noises etc.

I also do not start with Tuesday 10am or Wed 2pm but start with the date first, then ask if morning or afternoon best (two stage alternate)

And I would never ever say "I am in the area" as it is just completely cheesy in my view unless I can name drop a location that is familiar with them.

Sometimes it can be good to lead in with a date and time that is too difficult to do and sound apologetic about that.

If you have call recording that can be a fab tool to listen to after the calls and also do some split testing on subtle differences

Let us know how you get on as really interested to hear how it goes.

 

[Sophia Myles]

I am a customer who would like to choose the time for an appointment by my side. So I guess it'll be more comfortable for me if the sales person just asks "What time is convenient for you?" this kind of thing. An alternate close may sound a little pushing. Whatever, different people prefer different ways, keep testing and find out what suits your customers most.

 

[Montaigne]

I do use the "we have an engineer in the area on such and such a date" line but when I do it's not a fictional line to book a certain date but because we really do have an engineer at x at a certain point.

When I do this though it's not the only option. I leave the suggestion open so that a customer knows that if this date isn't suitable they can suggest an alternate. At no point do I leave anyone with the impression that they must have such and such a date.

 

[captaincloser]

The line to use is "I think we should meet" and then you shut up and what happens next is determined by their reply.

As Maxine says timing is all. The above is a closing line for a meeting and has to be used at just the right point. Too many meeting setters are very very poor, it's not hard to get this right.

Also,set up meetings ..appointments are only for the dentist or lawyer..you need to be low key.

Meetings set on the quarter hour are far better than made on the hour.It focuses people. so 10.15 and 11.45 Make sure your guys are NEVER late and best is 10 minutes early.

Dont use phoney stuff like my guy is in the area...treat them all as special and different. Particulalry do NOT try and make special offers over the phone when setting meetings. Too mnay people give stuff away and most of us find that suspicious.

Final point is territory management,If your guys can only do 2 meetings a day you have something very wrong or you have very long meetings-also very wrong !

Confirm evry meeting without fail.

 

[Andy Alderson]

I get about 4 or 5 five calls a day trying to sell me stuff, at best 1 or 2 will be good enough to get through my gatekeepers. Of the few that do there are varying levels of skill employed. As a saleman myself I cant help but want them to be good, if nothing else i might learn something that I can pass on to my employees.
Unfortunately as Captain Closer pointed out, most are pretty awful. IF they actually use something as simple (yet effective) as an alternate close I tend to be relieved that the basics are still being trained and used.
I guess the secret is that the qualifying questions used by your salepeople on the initial call have got be relevant and specific to the prospect. Most miss this, and start the call talking about themselves, how big they are, how experienced they are, what discount they can offer blah blah blah.

IMO get this bit right , qualify effectively' motivate the customer sufficently and the appointment will be the easy part however you ask for it.

 

[MH1]

Personally I hate the close mentioned, I have always worked to the simple idea of the client is king, so I simply ask when they would like to meet, day, time etc one at a time.

Suggesting you are in the area reduces the effect of the visit IMO, they are not quite as special as visiting to suit themselves, but with a bit of skill the two parties can normally accomodate each other very simply.

Had a guy ask to see me at 6.30am, a two hour drive away from my home once, he also mentioned it was the best time for himself. I was of course on time.

 

[garyk]

I'm no expert on this I have run a telesales team and I find alot of these techniques quite dated, but, thats not to say they dont work.

Funny enough I was renting an office last year from a guy I know and got friendly with the sales team and they had to generate their own appointments. I was discussing how tired I thought the line 'I'm in your area on Thursday so I could call in to see you' and that it was obvious people knew that really wasnt the case. At which point the sales guy picked up the phone, used that very line and got an appointment! And I think thats the issue (well for me anyway) you look at telesales in a personal way, what you think what or would not work on you.

Gary

 

[Montaigne]

It's how you say it is as well. I don't see it as an issue at all if I do actually have a guy in the area. If I didn't I wouldn't say it.

 

[Mr Murphy]

Afternoon all

Bit of a random one this so bare with me !

I've been running telesales teams for some (ahem) years now and have often advised my teams to use an alternate close when securing an appointment time (I've got a 10am on Tuesday or a 2pm on Thursday. Which would be more suitable for you? - this type of thing)

Its always worked well as it means the prospect only has 2 times to make a decision on. If he/she can't make this time they always offer an alternative and therefore the close to the appointment date/time is done in 2 or 3 short sentences (as opposed to asking "how about 10am on Monday?", "NO" "ok, how about Tuesday at 10am?" "No" "Ok, what about 2pm on Wednesday?", "No" etc etc ad infinitum)

Asking the prospect when they would like the appointment always messes busy diaries up as one person wants an 11am and the next a 12pm which doesn't allow the sales person enough time to pitch and get to their next appointment or leaves them with only 2 appointments on one day

Having read a load of sales books, forums and the like over the years I've noticed that there seems to be a lot of advice "against" using this form of close recently - the reason seeming to be that many people are aware of this type of close so don't patronise your prospect in this way !!

What are everyone's thoughts on this?

I'm trialling a few different closes out over the coming week to see which ones work better but would welcome any feedback in the meantime

Cheers

Pete

Giving the two opinions is a classic close and is effective. Heres a more advanced one using a trance -

'as you can see this will be good for you business. So when you will be free for a look. On Firiday..... say three pm, is that okay?

Pause ever so slightly before the underlined part and say it just a little slower than you've been speaking. There is no typo in the previous sentence its deliberate and sends them into trance. Dont treat 'On Friday' as the start of a new sentence its the end of the last.

Try and be creative in the one you come up with so it sounds like the odd sentence is a honest mishap. It helps to stumble a little here and there to create the illusion of incompetance so they dont click you're doing a Paul McKenna on them when you give your suggestions.

 

[captaincloser]

Giving the two opinions is a classic close and is effective. Heres a more advanced one using a trance -

'as you can see this will be good for you business. So when you will be free for a look. On Firiday..... say three pm, is that okay?

Pause ever so slightly before the underlined part and say it just a little slower than you've been speaking. There is no typo in the previous sentence its deliberate and sends them into trance. Dont treat 'On Friday' as the start of a new sentence its the end of the last.

It's MysticMurphy

 

[Mr Murphy]

It's MysticMurphy

Hey they dont even remember the odd sentence afterwards and will believe they agreed to the appointment.

Respect for your pausing tactic I can see that working too.

 

[patientlady]

Giving the two opinions is a classic close and is effective. Heres a more advanced one using a trance -

'as you can see this will be good for you business. So when you will be free for a look. On Firiday..... say three pm, is that okay?

Pause ever so slightly before the underlined part and say it just a little slower than you've been speaking. There is no typo in the previous sentence its deliberate and sends them into trance. Dont treat 'On Friday' as the start of a new sentence its the end of the last.

Try and be creative in the one you come up with so it sounds like the odd sentence is a honest mishap. It helps to stumble a little here and there to create the illusion of incompetance so they dont click you're doing a Paul McKenna on them when you give your suggestions.

OMG this is more complex than my back swing!
Shall I pop in and see you, next Monday, morning or afternoon? What's a good time for you?

 

[tony84]

Why do you have to trick people into an appointment or use mind games?

 

[Mr Murphy]

Why do you have to trick people into an appointment or use mind games?

I dont I lead them into one lol.

Another good one if you're a sales rep and they start saying its costs too much is to get moody, loud, shout, tantrum throw, tell them they are screwing you over and storm out the room in disgust. Return two minutes later and say okay I can reduce it a little because I dont want to get sacked for not selling anything but I dont know how I'm going to feed my children this weekend.

Throw the contract on the desk, tell them they are a good businessman, drive a hard bargan and tell them to sign like you're cheesed off.

Sounds nuts but works everytime as you'll know if you've ever had an Arab sell you something. If its a female sales rep get them to cry in the office and tell them they are gonna get sacked for not selling anything. If shes pretty, comes across as girly and the customer is a man it works.

 

[patientlady]

I dont I lead them into one lol.

Another good one if you're a sales rep and they start saying its costs too much is to get moody, loud, shout, tantrum throw, tell them they are screwing you over and storm out the room in disgust. Return two minutes later and say okay I can reduce it a little because I dont want to get sacked for not selling anything but I dont know how I'm going to feed my children this weekend.

Throw the contract on the desk, tell them they are a good businessman, drive a hard bargan and tell them to sign like you're cheesed off.

Sounds nuts but works everytime as you'll know if you've ever had an Arab sell you something.

You just couldn't make it up

 

[Mr Murphy]

You just couldn't make it up

Its how Arabs sell.

The trick is without threatening them be a little intimidating. Its naughty, its bad behaviour but if you ever do business in Saudi Arabia expect to encounter it a lot.

 

[Montaigne]

Mr Murphy you're the very type of sales rep' that gives the rest of us sales rep's a bad name.

What you're referencing is the art of haggling and putting on such a show is no doubt all part of the process but I'm guessing that all the participants are aware of this. You try that in the UK and you're really only going to come across as a bit of a ****** and, as Tony says, why do you feel the need to trick people into a sale?

 

[patientlady]

Its how Arabs sell.

The trick is without threatening them be a little intimidating. Its naughty, its bad behaviour but if you ever do business in Saudi Arabia expect to encounter it a lot.

ha ha i will remember that next time. Threatening, naughty and bad, loud behaviour will certainly be on top of my agenda, closing my next deal in Saudi

 

[Montaigne]

ha ha i will remember that next time. Threatening, naughty and bad, loud behaviour will certainly be on top of my agenda, closing my next deal in Saudi

Possibly not the best advice for a woman in Saudi Arabia

 

[patientlady]

Possibly not the best advice for a woman in Saudi Arabia

Neither for a guy. I think they cut your right hand off for less

 

[Ameliepoole]

week or weekend
mon or tues (give two)
am or pm
then two times

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

It's how you say it is as well. I don't see it as an issue at all if I do actually have a guy in the area. If I didn't I wouldn't say it.

Agreed...
It's all a bit subjective and in many instances it's far better that the customer believes your salesguy/girl has a fullish diary than to think they are the only sucker in town.

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

'as you can see this will be good for you business. So when you will be free for a look. On Firiday..... say three pm, is that okay?

Do you follow that with..'and have a plate of crackers ready as i've plenty more cheese where that came from'...

The minute somebody tries to tell me what is good for my business and has to go as far as to re-state the 'bleedin obvious'... I call for security