Truth Bomb: Sellers are Broke and Closers are Rich!

Are you in the sales game?

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Hey! Hey! Hey!

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Just wait for a second before you tune out.

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Look, I know you don’t think you’re in sales, but just give me a SECOND.

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Answer this simple question: Do you like getting your way in life? If your answer is YES then you’re in sales.

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Unless you want to put a gun to people’s faces to get your way, which is a criminal offense, might I add, you’ll need to persuade them (in essence, sell them) on your idea, concept, product, or service.

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I hope you’re following me now. Which means you, my dear, are in sales.

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*breathing a sigh of relief*

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Now that we have established that, let me tell you a cold, hard truth that can be the difference between living paycheck to paycheck as a broke seller or driving luxury cars as a wealthy closer.

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Are you ready for it yet? Here it is: Selling is not closing.

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I know you’re probably thinking, "What the heck is this dude talking about now?"

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Just wait a minute, and let me explain.

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Let’s use this "cooking" analogy.

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In order to prepare a lovely meal, you’ll need groceries, ingredients, a recipe, a stove, a pot, water, and you name the rest.

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So, let’s imagine you have everything you need to cook this sumptuous meal, and you’re a great cook.

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You take your time to meal prep and do the cooking.

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The food looks good, and the sweet aroma is amazing.

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It’s now time to eat, but you all of a sudden don’t have any appetite.

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All that time was spent getting this food ready, and now it’s time to eat, but you can’t. You lost your appetite completely.

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What good is that for your body?

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Your body gets zero nutrients.

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Your body is not nourished.

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Your body is frail.

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And if this loss of appetite happens for more than an unacceptable amount of time, you start losing weight.

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The doctor will have no choice but to diagnose you with an eating disorder.

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Next thing you know, you are anorexic, weighing less than 100 pounds at a height of 5 feet 11 inches.

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That is exactly what happens with sellers.

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When it comes to closing, you know the part where you actually have to ask for the order.

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I know the DREADFULLY uncomfortable part that sellers wish would happen automatically.

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Fun fact: It happens automatically less than 1% of the time.

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These sellers freeze. And you know what that means for the company? No money!

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You know what that means for the seller? No commission!

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Hence, the reason sellers end up broke and poor.

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And this does not only happen in a money exchange for goods or services.

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It happens all through life.

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When it’s time for your promotion at work, you want it to be handed to you because, of course, they should know that you deserve it.

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When it’s time to ask that girl on a date, you freeze.

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When it’s time to ask for a raise, you freeze.

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When it’s time to hold people accountable for their actions, you freeze.

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When it’s time to make that cold call, you freeze.

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These are all very important closing points where sellers are usually found wanting. Freezing out like scaredy-cats.

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A?whole bunch of Wimps! I know this because I’ve been a wimp before.

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I totally hated being a wimp.

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My life completely sucked as a wimp.

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I knew there was more I could get out of life because every time I looked at those enjoying the things that I wanted in life, there was always one common thing: they were f*cking CLOSERS.

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You’ll have to forgive me for cursing. It’s just my passion talking (Louis Farrakhan’s voice) LOL.

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I’m sure you feel where I’m coming from because I know you felt my pain there.

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Now, I need you to understand that I’m not saying sellers don’t have any value.

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Sure, we need both sellers and closers in the sales process.

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Sellers are great in that they excel at warming up customers, building relationships, and understanding their wants and needs.

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But the difference is that when it comes to the critical moment of asking for the order, something stops them in their tracks.

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Sellers care too much about being liked, fearing that asking for money might jeopardize the friendship they've built with the customer.

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They hope the deal will magically close itself just because they've been nice, but let me tell you, that's not how the REAL WORLD works.

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In the real world, customers are reluctant to part with their hard-earned money.

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They stall, hesitate, and sometimes don't even realize they're doing it.

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That's where the closers step in, armed with a set of skills to navigate this sticky situation.

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There is no myth to CLOSING, closers are UNEMOTIONAL and LOGICAL.

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They know that customers might get agitated and accuse them of being pushy, but they remain steadfast.

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Why? Because closers understand that they are not truly helping the customer if they don't get them over the finish line.

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You think about it for a second.

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Until the customer signs the contract and makes the payment, you wouldn't hand over your product or service to them.

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You wouldn’t tell your boss that because the prospect was nice to you, you handed over your company’s products.

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That would be highly unethical and potentially ILLEGAL.

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The beauty about closers is that they get this, and they know that discomfort during the close is TEMPORARY.

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Once the deal is SEALED, the customer is elated and can't wait to take possession of the product or service.

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Sellers play an essential role in the sales process; there is no doubt about that.

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They warm up customers, elicit their needs, and set the stage.

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But without the crucial CLOSE, all their efforts are in VAIN.

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My advice to the seller is this: take a look around you. How many people that you think like you have actually given you $2000?

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Do you think they are not aware of your problems?

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Before you say, "Well, Chris, what if they don’t have it?"

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I’m talking about the rich ones, you know.

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Let’s even move past rich friends that like you.

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Let’s talk about the financially average ones. Have they given you $200 or $300?

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I’ll admit that some people do this for their friends, but they are not in the majority.

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And just so you know, the exception does not disprove the rule.

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Most friends will even ask for a discount at your store. They’ll mask it with what we in sales call the Family Discount.

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Shouldn’t friends and family be even more supportive than strangers?

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I mean, how does this even make any sense?

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Someone calls himself a friend and yet wants you to make less money.

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That, to me as a logical thinker, does not make any sense.

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I’ll argue that anyone who is truly a friend will fight for me to make more profit, which would mean that they buy more of my product or service and never talk about discounts.

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I consider myself one of the lucky ones to be able to escape wimping.

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Right now, I actually don’t give a damn if anyone sees me as being pushy.

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That’s their own opinion, and they are entitled to it.

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Does it mean they are right? Hell NO!

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I know what the truth is.

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Let me break it down this way because this is actually the TRUTH: And it would usually play out like this: the prospect gives me his word about something; usually it would be about a referral, a meeting, or a deal. I call the prospect, expecting him to keep his word. Prospect is now unwilling to keep his word, for whatever reason. Prospect thinks the best thing to do is not take accountability by ghosting me. I push the prospect to keep his word. Prospect gets irritated and calls me pushy.

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Example:

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Prospect: "Chris let’s have a meeting next Wednesday at 3 PM at my office."

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Chris: "That’s fine by me. I’ll put it in my calendar and send you a reminder."

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Prospect: "Great!"

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Chris: "See you next Wednesday."

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Chris: "Calling prospect Tuesday afternoon to confirm meeting (standard practice to confirm meeting 24 hours prior)"

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Prospect: "Doesn’t answer the call."

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Chris: "Assumes prospect is busy and sends a follow-up text and email (standard practice for unreturned calls)"

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Prospect: "Doesn’t return email or text."

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Chris: "Makes a final attempt, usually another phone call four hours before the meeting, to connect with the prospect."

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Prospect: "Doesn’t answer the call or call back."

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Chris: "Assume the meeting is cancelled, and rightly so (you must never drive to a prospect or attend an unconfirmed meeting as it lowers your value)."

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Prospect: "This Chris guy is too pushy."

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Let’s imagine you’re someone who struggles with telling the truth, which hopefully you’re not.

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Please point out to me the logic in the prospect’s response when he calls me pushy.

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In many cases, the prospect's response is not directed at me. It’s something they think about in their own heads and tell others who are close to them.

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I wouldn’t tell you how I know this. It’s my own little secret.

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The truth is, as a man of integrity, I can sleep well at night knowing that the definition of being pushy by the prospect is skewed at best and at worst a damn LIE.

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However, I choose to stay unemotional and completely logical at this point until we get to a close. Irrespective of what the close is at that point.

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Unfortunately, many people don’t know how to hold people accountable.

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Fortunately for me, I might add, I have a Masters degree in holding people accountable.

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I have zero issues with doing this.

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I believe this is one of the top qualities of a great leader, and I’m sure you know by now that I’m definitely aspiring to be one.

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I wouldn’t lie; I have adjusted my style over the years to hold people accountable by giving them enough time and slowing down on the frequency and medium of follow-ups.

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The example you saw above is the new Chris. Old Chris would have made many more calls than that, for sure.

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As with anything in life, you have to strive for continuous improvement, which involves evaluating your old methods and determining what works and what doesn’t.

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I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention that my new style has somewhat reduced the frequency of being labeled PUSHY.

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So, if you're in the sales game, and I believe by now you realize that you are, remember this: selling is not closing.

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To go from broke seller to wealthy closer, you need to master the art of closing deals. It may be uncomfortable, but it's the only way to turn warm leads into DELIGHTED customers.

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This is Christopher Njokanma, signing off.

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Every week, I stay committed to providing value for you. Remember, my daring reader, to Like, Comment, and Share this article, for it may be the catalyst that propels someone to embrace their contrarian genius. Stay tuned for more awe-inspiring insights and discoveries in the captivating world of unconventional success.

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Christopher is the President of Fountain Fleet Solutions, a company that advises businesses on how to keep their fleets safe.