Chapter 5

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The Trial Close

(Otherwise Known as the Assumptive Add-On Close)

Making a presentation without a close is like writing a novel without a final chapter.

When I first developed the seven-step selling process, one of the steps I used was borrowed from the world of industrial selling, called the trial close. The purpose of this step, used by business-to-business salespeople, is to gain minor positive decisions or to test the waters with customers, to see if they are ready to buy. It made some sense then, but it doesn't now, particularly for retail selling.

What you did in this step was to ask your prospects to make a minor decision. For example, “Do you want to pick up the products at the factory or have them shipped?” or “Do you want to get a full or partial container load?” By getting your customers to answer any of these questions, you were able to assume that they were going to buy. You then moved on to a final closing statement.

The problem with this thinking, in retail selling, is why test the waters? If you have opened the sale and broken resistance, effectively probed to determine what and why the customer wants the item and made a showtime presentation of how the item will benefit the customer, have you not earned the right to close the sale?

At any time during the presentation, your customer's mind is either open or closed to making a buying decision, and I can't think of a time when it's more open to buying than after a well-executed and customized demonstration. Great salespeople assume the customer is going to buy, and therefore close. This made so much sense that the trial close had to become something else. It became the final close, using an add-on item as the vehicle. We will discuss the add-on part in a bit, but first, let's talk about why people do not like to close.

The Dreaded Close

Closing is a part of the selling process that causes most people not to want to be salespeople. The truth is that not being successful is the part that people don't like. If more people knew that there are more techniques to selling than being a pushy, obnoxious convincer, more people would try closing. There seem to be four types of salespeople when it comes to presentations:

1. Clerks who answer questions—if asked. No demonstrations, no relationships, no anything but being helpful—if asked. Not worried about closing; it's not part of what they do.

2. Salespeople who make presentations with relationships and helpfulness but, because of personal dislike for salespeople and their desire not to be “one of the pushy types,” will leave the customer to decide all by himself after the presentation. This type is particularly helpful if the customer asks to buy.

3. The hardball closer—no relationships here. After saying hello, this type basically asks for the sale. This is the person we all dislike.

4. The professional, who takes the customer through the logical process and, after doing the work, asks for the sale as a logical conclusion to a good presentation.

I, of course, prefer number 4. But, I have to tell you that most salespeople in retail stores are number 2. And if that is the case, you would be better off being a hardball closer, because closing the sale is always better than not closing.

The Mandate

You are on the floor to sell. I can think of no other reason you were hired. Sure, you will have other duties as part of the organization, but the truth is, selling is your major activity. It is a total invalidation of your existence to make a presentation that does not result in your asking the customer to buy. When I ran stores, not closing was the quickest and most efficient way to a new career.

The Awkwardness of Closing

Since you have to close, because that is your job, you may want to consider earning the right to close so that it will be a whole lot easier. Imagine a man at a party who goes up to an attractive woman he would like to meet. He says, “I think the party is breaking up in a little while. Would you like to go to another place for drinks?” Her answer is a big “No.” After a few times, he starts thinking the women of today are fickle.

However, there is this approach:

A man, upon seeing a woman he is attracted to, decides he would like to meet her. He first establishes eye contact and then goes over to say hello. He chooses a simple and honest greeting line: “Hi there. I wanted to say hello and meet you. Are you enjoying the party?” She responds, “Yes.” He continues with a few questions, such as, “What is your name?” and so on. He gets her to talk. He gets interested in who she is, rather than saying, “I'm Mack, and let me tell you about me.” Things are going really well; they have a drink, and they are laughing. She feels comfortable enough to tell him where she works and what her hobbies are. It seems to him to be sort of magical. The party, which was an early cocktail party, breaks up about 8:00 pm. It's still early. This is the moment of truth: he has spent the last hour and a half charming an attractive woman, and she is about to leave. She tells him what a great time she had talking to him and gathers her coat and purse. He says, “Goodbye,” and she leaves.

I don't know about you, but I have tears in my eyes relating this story. Why didn't he ask her to go out for coffee, get her telephone number, or something? Maybe he didn't want to be pushy?

These two scenarios are perfect examples of the beginning of the selling process. In the second scenario, he does a great job of opening, probing, and demonstrating that he cares. But no close.

In the first scene, he violates everything we know about the courtship of the dance, and he fails. In both scenes, he fails. People are people, and the relationship between these stories and the selling floor is all too clear.

The main difference between these stories and selling is that in selling, you had better close because it is your job. That still doesn't make it any easier to do it.

I personally have never liked coming up with a closing line. “Cash or charge?” seems terrible, and out of context with my style. I have and continue to devote my selling life to the pursuit of causing the customer to say, “I'll take it,” rather than my having to do the asking. But again, there is no guarantee that the customer will do the asking, and it still remains my responsibility.

In doing my research, I have asked thousands of salespeople if they like to close or use closing lines. In the vast majority of cases, they say they do not. There is a truckload of books in the business section of any bookstore on the subject of closing, for this very reason. But there are none on opening, probing, or the demonstration. It's no wonder that customers are apprehensive about salespeople and frustrated by their actions.

You Have Earned the Close—Now What?

At this point, you have earned the right to close, and you will not be denied. But how? You certainly could use any number of techniques to close the sale, but there are some important things to consider before you ask the final closing question. And my first question is, “When are you going to add onto the primary item and build the amount of the sale?”

The Second Mandate: Adding On

The first logical question at this point is:

The answer to this question has revolutionized the way people sell and the number of add-ons that are achieved. The answer is: close the sale by adding on!

The History of the Trial Close

In 1977, I was in the imprinted sportswear business. I had the opportunity to call on a large manufacturer of car stereos. The company was having a promotion on speakers and wanted T-shirts. I decided to come to the appointment with an idea on how the company should do the shirt to promote its speaker line. I had our artist draw the oval of the speaker and put inside it the likeness of a bulldog and a little bird. The slogan on the shirt read, “XYZ speakers—the best woofers and tweeters in town.” I'm sure, just like you, they didn't like the idea. But an interesting thing happened. After telling me how much they didn't like it, they asked if I could get them 10,000 shirts with just their logo by next month!

A year later, I was in a welding supply store to buy some equipment (it was a hobby of mine at the time). I thought that as long as I was there, I might interest the owner in some imprinted shirts. I suggested he have shirts made up with the following slogan: “Can't get your act together? Weld it,” and place the company name below it. “Getting your act together” was a very 1970s expression, and I thought the shirt would look terrific. He didn't like the idea. He did, however, ask me if I could make him up some shirts with the company name above the breast pocket area.

In 1982, I had already formed The Friedman Group and was working in a furniture store of one of my clients, demonstrating how the selling process worked. I was showing a customer a very expensive sofa, while the other salespeople were watching to see how I was going to do, and placing side bets. To be frank, I was out of control. Not only did I not have enough product knowledge to make me comfortable, I had to find a way for the customer to want that sofa with that fabric, instead of trying to find what she wanted in the pile of 300 swatches. I had just given her several features, advantages, and benefits and gotten a terrific response. Out of my mouth came this line: “How about the two chairs and the table that make up this group, to complete your look?” She said, “No. I'll just take the sofa!”

That night, something stuck in my mind. I had made the sale by trying to make the sale larger. I recalled the T-shirt sales as being very similar. Offer this, and the customer will take that. I also noted that I closed the sale without having to say, “Cash or charge?” or “Would you like it shipped on Monday?” and so on. Then, the research began. In presentation after presentation, I and other salespeople who learned this would add on to the sale right after the demonstration. We either sold the main item with the add-on or sold the main item alone. Or, occasionally, we would get an objection.

Adding on to close the sale makes a lot of sense for a couple of good reasons:

1. It is a soft and loving close that most salespeople can live with.

2. You have the potential of adding on to the sale.

Adding On

Adding on is the second most important action salespeople take (closing is the first) when they are on the selling floor. This is true for many reasons. Here are two of the most important reasons.

1. On Incremental Sales, Gross Profit Equals Net Profit

Let's say your company buys an item for $50 and sells it for $100. What is left after making the sale is $50. You then subtract from the remaining $50 overhead items such as rent, salaries and commissions, telephone, insurance, and so on. Maybe overhead runs at 30 percent of sales, or another $30. That leaves you with $20 profit on the $100 sale. If you sell an additional item to the same customer, you don't have to take out the overhead, because it was taken out of the first item. So, all you deduct are the cost and commissions. When you sell only one item to a customer, you may stay in business, but when you sell additional items to each customer, you profit, and your store is able to grow and prosper.

2. Good Customer Service

Several years ago, I went into a hardware store to buy a hammer. Now, I am not very mechanical, so this was going to be fun. I got into a conversation with a salesperson who showed me a $15 hammer. Wow! What is this thing going to do—do the nailing for me? I complained that $15 seemed like a lot of money for a hammer. He explained that the wood was from a certain type of tree, and the steel was this and that, and that it was put together in such a way that the head wouldn't come off during hammering, so there was no safety problem.

Inside, I was laughing. This guy was giving me a full-blown presentation on a hammer. I continued to complain about the $15, and he continued to convince me that I couldn't live without this “first-class” hammer. Finally, I said, “Yes.” Anybody who knows me will know that by his saying “first-class,” I now had to have it at any price. I got into my car and drove home, with my beautiful new hammer sitting on the seat next to me, feeling very proud. I'm not sure, but I may have even held it up a few times for somebody to see. I got home, parked the car, put the ladder up, and got ready to do my project with. . .NO NAILS!

The salesman took my complaining about the price as a budget problem (maybe I couldn't afford it), but to me, it was a value problem (I didn't think it was worth it). I had plenty of money left to buy the nails. But, in any case, isn't it good service to make sure I have all of the tools necessary to do the job?

I went to a high school reunion (here's another tearjerker), and there she was. As beautiful as she was in high school, and maybe more so. She was the one. I wanted to say hello, so I first went to the bar to get a glass of confidence. I said, “Hello,” and after a few minutes of conversation, I said that I had always wished that I had asked her out in school. She said, “Why didn't you?” Ouch. Ouch.

There are lots of reasons why I didn't, but the main one was that I was scared she would say “no.” When we had this conversation 10 years later, she said, “Why did you say ‘no’ for me?” Why, indeed, I thought, and what if she had said “yes”?

The point of both these stories is merely that if you don't ask, you will never know. And it gets more serious if you look at it this way: who gave us the right to choose for our customer? Your obligation is to ask, not to say “yes” or “no” for your customer. We have a couple of sayings about adding on that are well worth remembering:

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

and

Show, Show, Show, Until They Say No!

Have you ever gone into a retail store and, while shopping for one particular item, spotted another you liked? And because the salesperson never got around to pulling that information out of you, you purchased only the first item?

Of course, you can't expect every customer to buy more than one item, even if you do ask all the time. But you certainly won't sell add-ons without posing the question. If every salesperson asked every customer to buy something extra every single time, add-on sales would increase, and so would profits. If you take the risk that they'll say “no,” you'll be surprised how many times they say “yes”!

Add-On Selling: The Golden Trial Close

Add-on selling is when the total in which customers buy is more than what they intended to spend. It happens when customers come in for one item and you sell them that item, plus two others. It works when a shopper tells you they won't exceed a specific price limit, and by the time they leave your store, they have spent double. Add-on selling can be a thoroughly enjoyable way to do business, because it can be lots of fun.

The Golden Trial Close is intended primarily to help you move into the close on the major item; there's no point in being on the floor if you are not closing sales. However, the technique also gives you opportunities to increase the number of sales you make and the profits you reap. The result is synergism, because adding on gives you the opportunity to sell multiple items to one customer. It is called golden because it turns the trial close to gold.

The Buying Room

Let's say a shopper comes in to buy a suit. He makes it clear that the maximum he wants to spend is $400, but he has his eye on a garment that costs $550, and it's driving him crazy. The customer tries on the more expensive suit, and it looks like it was custom-made for him. The customer feels good, he looks great, and it's clear he won't be able to resist the higher-priced suit. You can see that he's decided that he has to have the suit.

He comes out of the dressing room, finds you standing near the register, and tells you he'll take the $550 suit. Is this the time to add on? Or do you feel sorry for him because he's spending $150 more than he told you he wanted to spend originally?

No, it isn't time to add on, because a fascinating mental process takes place after the customer decides to buy. Let's say you're looking at the same $550 suit, and it's more money than you've ever spent on a suit in your entire life. After hemming and hawing in the dressing room, looking at yourself in the mirror from all angles, you finally say, “Ah, what the heck, I'll do it.” At that exact moment, do you (a) think about all the other things you need to buy to go along with the suit; or (b) wonder how long it will take for the tailoring to be completed, how you'll look at the interview for which you purchased the suit, or how you can't wait to get the suit home to show your girlfriend. I think you'll agree that choice “b” is the one we can best relate to. My experience tells me that the last thing he'd consider at this point is spending more money.

The best time to attempt the add-on is right after or during the demonstration. You've gone through all the steps leading up to the demonstration, and you've done a spectacular presentation. Your customer has been receptive, and you feel confident that he will make the main purchase. While the wheels are turning in the customer's mind and enthusiasm to buy is at its peak, that is the time to add on.

Adding On Before He Makes the Big Decision

Let's stay with our customer and his $550 suit. He has taken the garment into the dressing room to try it on. Although he said the suit was out of his price range, he didn't say he couldn't afford it, only that he didn't want to spend that much money on a suit. Nevertheless, you can see that he is impressed by its cut, the feel of the material, and the superior workmanship you have demonstrated to match the needs you uncovered during probing.

He's envisioning ownership and teetering on the brink, so while he's in the dressing room, you take the bull by the horns. You collect shirts, ties, socks, and pocket squares that perfectly match “his” suit. When he emerges from the dressing room, or, better yet, even while he's still in there, you suggest to him, “How about this perfectly matched tie and pocket square to complete the look of your new suit?”

Have you said anything about buying the suit? No, and it's not necessary, because you are working on the assumption that the suit is as good as sold. In fact, during the opening, probing, and demonstration, you haven't asked the customer to do anything. Now, you have an unspoken expectation that the customer will be doing something, and that something is to buy the suit.

The Trial Close

The trial close is one simple question that closes the sale on the main item and adds on as well. It's a low-key, customer-oriented question, designed to keep you directly involved with that particular customer and his or her needs. Offering your expertise in this way does two important things: it facilitates the purchase of the item, and it enhances your service to the customer by providing everything the customer needs.

Nearly everyone can relate to a closing situation with a customer where there is an uncomfortable pause. You've been through the entire selling process, you've pointed out all of the benefits of the item you are demonstrating, and you've matched the item to the customer's needs. You thought things were going well, yet nothing seems to be happening. This is the dreadful moment in the process, the terrible lull when the salesperson needs to be asking the customer to buy. You can't simply hope or wish real hard that the customer will say, “I'll take it.”

What happens now is the trial close. It is your chance to fulfill your mandates: to close the sale and add on. Your simple question has to contain language that simultaneously ties the add-on to the main item and ties the customer's ownership to the merchandise. In our example, we have used the words your new suit to accomplish the objective. These words give the customer automatic ownership of the main item, the suit, and present the opportunity for the customer to consider the purchase of the accessories that will give the suit a finished appearance.

Heap It On!

Whenever you trial close by adding on, heap it on. It's a simple theory that works. I can't remember who told me this story, but it was brilliant. It's about an egg salesperson who was calling on a free-standing hamburger stand. The egg salesperson asked the owner if he'd sold very many eggs to go in people's milkshakes. The answer was no. The salesperson pointed out that the price of a milkshake made with eggs is higher than a milkshake made without eggs. If the customer said, “I want a chocolate milkshake,” he suggested the owner say, “Would you prefer one egg or two?” I think you know the result: there were lots of eggs sold in shakes.

While working recently with clients in Australia who sold mostly electronics, I suggested they would double their battery sales by pulling out a four- or eight-pack of expensive alkaline batteries and saying to the customer, “I recommend these.” It puts the burden on the customer to say no. Also, it seems that if you offer customers six items, they'll take four; if you offer four items, they take two; if you offer two items, they will take one. It's incredible how many times when customers are offered additional items, they wind up with some of them. Every time customers purchase additional items, the store profits, and your commissions increase.

Constructing a Trial Close

Here is the five-step process to heap it on and secure additional sales for yourself. The steps are easy to learn, and will help you have fun closing the sale.

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This technique is a far cry from “Will there be anything else?” and “Would you like a new tie also?” Those tired lines are ready for retirement. You don't have to be embarrassed by them, and your customers don't have to be put to sleep by them anymore. The trial close is such a simple and effective method and requires so little training that it's fascinating how few salespeople ever use it.

They Won't Buy If You Won't Sell

Several years ago, a group of volunteers was sent out by American Express and told to buy, buy, buy. There was no ceiling on the amount of money they could spend; the only limitation was that the customers had to stop buying when the salespeople stopped selling.

Not surprisingly, very little money was charged against the credit cards in that experiment. The results: 60 percent of the salespeople went for a second item, 25 percent went on for a third item, and only 5 percent asked for a fourth item. And the most significant statistic of all—only about 1 percent went for a fifth or more.

In another study, conducted at a famous university, 20 students were sent out to a shopping mall, each with $100. They were instructed to go into a store and buy something inexpensive. If the salesperson tried to sell something additional, they were to purchase it. Thereafter, they were to continue buying everything suggested by the salesperson, until the suggestions stopped or the money ran out. All of the students came back with change.

When do your knees start to shake? At $500, $1,000, $5,000? Remember, it's a combination of taste level and what your customer can afford to spend that determines how far you can go. And you'll never be rich with commissions if you're afraid to ask.

Salespeople have only two choices: either they make the sale and attempt an add-on, or they stop calling themselves salespeople. It's hard to do at first, and it's a rare salesperson who can include all parts of the question every single time. As long as you get the idea and get to close, it's perfectly acceptable. It's not always easy to think on our feet and sound spontaneous about what we're saying. Practice helps this immensely. Remember, your customer won't continue to buy, buy, buy if you don't continue to sell, sell, sell.

Staying in Control

When you use the trial close, you put yourself in charge of the transaction. You are the one who determines the direction of what remains of the presentation. You know what ground you've covered, where you want to go next, and how to get there. You are in control, and the certainty that you have will give you the confidence you need to complete the sale.

One of the ways you stay in control is by realizing that there are only three responses you can get to the trial close:

1. The customer will buy only the main item.

2. The customer will buy the main item and an add-on item.

3. The customer will raise an objection to buying the main item.

If your customer has committed to the main item and has agreed to buy an add-on, not only do you win, you win double. Bingo! If your customer says he would like to see the suggested add-on, you can assume he has agreed to buy the main item.

Even if he objects to seeing the additional item, you can still assume he agreed to buy the main item. Bingo! Otherwise, he would have said “no” to the main item as well.

In either of the first two cases, you have made the sale. You are in control because you made it happen.

Even in the third case, if the customer objects to buying the main item, you are still in a better position than you might think. Your customer may say something like “I think I want to shop around a little more,” or “The price is too high,” or “I want to think it over.” Salespeople hear objections like these all the time (covered in detail in the next chapter), and the customer can voice them at any point during your presentation.

If you're not prepared to deal with objections when the customer states them, you will be caught off guard. However, during the trial close, you are looking for objections because the sale can't be closed if obstacles still remain. When you learn to engineer the process so that the customer voices his objections when you're ready to hear them, you remain in control.

Selling Noncompanion Add-Ons

As you gain more experience using the trial close, you may wish to offer add-ons articles that are not companion pieces to the main item. Perhaps the customer said something during probing that leads you in another direction entirely. Before you add an unrelated item, remove the primary item you sold from the scene.

Tell the customer that you're going to “just leave this up at the register,” and put the primary item out of sight. By permitting you to do that, the customer gives further commitment for the purchase of the main item and implies approval of your assumption that you have made the sale. Once the main item is out of sight, you can focus attention on the add-on without the risk that the customer will feel overwhelmed. If the article is too physically big to move to the register, removing the label or price tag and writing the stock-keeping unit (SKU) on an order form or something similar will do.

Practice, Practice, Practice

The only way to feel comfortable using the trial close is to practice doing it. The phrasing has to be kept uncomplicated, using simple, conversational language, so you don't trip over the words. It can be used with any item you sell in your store. Here are a few examples in different industries, to give you an idea of how they sound:

The Inexpensive Option

Until you've incorporated the trial close into your professional performance and adapted it to your own style, you may want to consider offering inexpensive add-ons. This way, you can slowly work your way up to higher-priced merchandise. Begin by suggesting small items. If they don't work, not much has been risked, and your self-confidence won't be undermined. Here are some examples:

As you become more proficient, you will learn that add-ons don't have to be less expensive than the main item. People don't always “lump together” different categories of purchases. For example, for many customers, clothing and shoes are on separate budgets. When customers buy jewelry, it may have nothing to do with the crystal they want to put in their china hutch. Yet, in both cases, each unrelated item may be found in the same store.

When you have developed your skills, you may want to try add-ons that have nothing to do with the primary purchase, or even with what you have uncovered during probing. Your growing competence and your resulting self-confidence will help you “know” what kind of add-on to suggest to any customer coming into your store. It may seem far-fetched now, but it will become almost instinctive to know when you can offer a piece of giftware to a customer who is buying a watch. And you haven't lived until you've sold the customer a $15 kickstand and added on a $3,000 bicycle to go on top of it!

Whether the add-on item requires the presence of the main item or not, remember that you are in control. You conducted the sales process in a way that caused the customer to commit to the main item. You managed the trial close so that the customer agreed to consider an add-on. There is no reason why you can't keep adding on a third, fourth, or even fifth item.

While the trial close won't get every customer to purchase add-on items every time, it's still the simplest and easiest way to sell the main item. If you say, “How about a specially designed cover to protect your new racquet?” and the customer says, “No, I'll just take the racquet,” you've made the sale. Bingo!

If the customer says, “Yes, let me take a look at the racquet cover,” you're on your way to selling an add-on. Bingo! If the customer takes the racquet and buys the cover, what's to stop you from saying, “How about this perfectly coordinated tennis outfit to make you look like a pro with your brand new racquet?” Bingo!

Show, Show, Show, Until They Say No!

Hot Tips and Key Insights

  • The dislike of closing is a direct result of the old and hackneyed methods that salespeople use in selling.
  • The conventional trial close is boring to the salesperson and to the customer as well. There is no need for the traditional trial close, which is intended to determine whether the customer will make a commitment to a particular purchase.
  • If you've done a good job with the up-front work for the sale, the customer will be ready to buy, and you can proceed directly from showtime to add-on time.
  • On incremental sales, gross profit virtually equals net profit.
  • It is the professional salesperson's mandate to close the sale and attempt an add-on every single time, with every single customer.
  • The Golden Trial Close, which got its name because it results in almost sure profit, eliminates negative feelings about closing.
  • The trial close employs a simple five-part question that can be phrased easily and spontaneously. Its components are: How about . . . the enhancer; the name of the add-on; the must-have; and the addition of the possession words you or your.
  • To be effective, use the trial close immediately after the demonstration, when you feel comfortable in assuming that your customer will buy the main item.
  • When you use the trial close, you put yourself in charge of the transaction. You are the one who determines the direction of what remains of the presentation.
  • There are only three responses you can get to the trial close: the customer will buy only the main item, the customer will buy the main item and an add-on item, or the customer will raise an objection to buying the main item.
  • If your customer says she would like to see the suggested add-on, you can assume she has agreed to buy the main item. If she objects to seeing the additional item, you can still assume that she has agreed to buy the main item.
  • As you gain more expertise using the trial close, offer articles as add-ons that are not companion pieces to the main item. Wait until you are comfortable in assuming that the customer will buy the primary merchandise. Then, remove the “sold” article from the scene.
  • Whether the add-on item requires the presence of the main item or not, remember that you are in control. There is no reason why you can't keep adding on—a third, fourth, or even fifth item.
  • While the trial close won't get every customer to purchase add-on items every time, it's almost guaranteed to sell at least the main item.
  • Until you've incorporated the trial close and adapted it to your own style, consider offering inexpensive add-ons to slowly work your way up to higher-priced merchandise.
  • As you become more proficient, you will learn that add-ons don't have to cost less than the main item. Also, try add-ons that have nothing to do with the primary purchases. Your growing competence and self-confidence will help you to “know” what kind of add-on to suggest to any customer coming into your store.
  • Remember the salesperson's “rap”—Show, Show, Show, Until They Say No!