Tough Calls:
Selling Strategies to Win Over
Your Most Difficult Customers
Part I

Overview
 Author Josh Gordon conducted a national
survey that consisted of 3 separate mailings
and received over 1,000 responses
 Tough Calls focuses on behavior of clients
FIRST and recommends selling approaches
directed toward that behavior
 Every client, even current, has the potential
to become a “problem client”

Why Understand This?
 1 of 6 clients in the USA is a problem client
 Services have more problems than products
 The percent of your problem clients depends
on your selling style
 Problem clients account for 1/3 of job
related stress!
 27.4% of a sales manager’s time is spent
discussing problem clients with salespeople

Book is designed…
 Most frequent to least frequent problem clients
 Divided into 3 sections to help you…
 Pitfalls
 Selling Strategies
 Closing Strategies
 Some strategies purposely contradict
 Designed to help you for a variety of clients
 Not designed to be used all at once or sequentially

Survival & Opportunity- Pg 205
“If every client you had handed you an order
without a fight, salespeople and client contact
professionals would be unemployed.”
“A sales territory without problem clients is a
territory without opportunity.”

The Client Who…
Grinds You On Price
 Most frequent problem client- get a lower price
 Pitfalls:
 Getting so focused on price you forget to sell your
product
 Discussing price first
 Wasting time on a customer who is not serious
 Thinking the buyer is a pain in the neck

The Client Who…
Grinds You On Price
 Selling Strategies:
 When asked for a concession, ask for something
in return
 Every price grinder has a boss
 Keep it personal
 Find out what your client really wants
 Sell value
 Differentiate your product from competitors
 Never negotiate over the phone
 Do NOT give in to every price demand

The Client Who…
Grinds You On Price
 Closing Strategies:
 If you make a price concession, close on it!
 Make a non-price concession… close on it!
 Close with NO concessions
 Could be the fairest way possible
 More flexible negotiations will favor bigger accounts

The Client Who…
Will Not See You
 There are salespeople… you are just not one
of them
 You have to get in
 Pitfalls:
 Taking it personally
 Becoming a nuisance… pest vs. persistence?
 Giving up

The Client Who…
Will Not See You
 Selling Strategies:
 Ask yourself, “Why would I see me?”
 Send a non-sales-related item and see if it arrived
 Call early in the morning or after 5pm
 Worship the secretary
 Make a non-sales contact to help you get in
 Ask yourself questions…
 Say, “I’ll be in the building, can I come see you?”

The Client Who…
Will Not See You
 Closing Strategies:
 Be specific
 Promise a benefit
 Think about the next time

The Client Who…
Has No Buying Authority
 Watch out for “information gatherers” who
channel info to the right people
 Pitfalls:
 Assuming the person you’re meeting has authority
 Thinking the person is insignificant
 Going over the person’s head

The Client Who…
Has No Buying Authority
 Selling Strategies:
 Motivate the buyer to admit he/she has no authority
 Become a sales trainer
 Prove it on paper
 Go over her head… When? How?

The Client Who…
Has No Buying Authority
 How do you get a commitment from someone
who cannot make one?
 Closing Strategies:
 Put all the info in writing & send multiple copies
 Be very sensitive to timing
 “When will the decision be made?”
 “Whom else will you be meeting with?”
 “When will you be meeting?”

The Client Who…
Loves What You Say Then Does Not Buy
 This buyer finds it easier to give no
resistance, then buys elsewhere
 The call may seem TOO easy or TOO nice
 Pitfalls:
 Mistaking the call for a relationship sell
 Assuming the sale is a “go” because there are no
objections

The Client Who…
Loves What You Say Then Does Not Buy
 Selling Strategies:
 Bring up the objections yourself
 Consider this person may not be here for long
 Nail down the level of commitment BEFORE
leaving the room
 Ask for the order
 Ask about a timeline
 Find a way to continue the dialogue

The Client Who…
Loves What You Say Then Does Not Buy
 Closing Strategies:
 Be direct & ask for specifics
 Treat it like a normal sale

The Client Who…
Complains About Everything
 Pitfalls:
 Agreeing with the complainer about your product
and company
 Thinking of this as real complaining

The Client Who…
Complains About Everything
 Selling Strategies:
 Set the buyer up to work for you
 Ask yourself, “What kind of attention does the buyer
really want?”
 Smoke out real complaints from “show” complaints
 Minimize the importance of the complaint

The Client Who…
Complains About Everything
 Closing Strategies:
 Say, “I understand the concern you have; if it
were resolved, would you buy?”
 Shoot the attention to your competitors for awhile
 Take all complaints head on

The Client Who…
Says, “It’s not in the budget.”
 Pitfalls:
 Taking the “no money” at face value
 Offer a rate concession
 Trying a prestige sell

The Client Who…
Says, “It’s not in the budget.”
 Selling Strategies:
 Position your product as a financial benefit
 Ask for a test or trial period
 Help your client find the money
 Offer a guarantee involving money
 Limit the chit-chat

The Client Who…
Says, “It’s not in the budget.”
 Closing Strategies:
 Put it in terms of money
 How we will save you money
 How we will make you more money
 Put the numbers in writing

The Client Who…
Is Indecisive
 Pitfalls:
 Pushing when there is clear resistance
 Not reading the objections emotionally
 Losing patience

The Client Who…
Is Indecisive
 Selling Strategies:
 Give a deadline to buy
 Sell the idea that a specific sale is given
 Start asking for an order 6 months in advance
 See the client in person

The Client Who…
Is Indecisive
 Closing Strategies:
 Prepare for a massive close
 Ask, “Do you want a blue one or a green one?”
 Tell the buyer no and take a stand

Tough Calls:
Selling Strategies to Win Over
Your Most Difficult Customers
Part II

The Client Who…
May Cancel The Order
 Things change
 Pitfalls:
 Letting the romance get stale
 Looking at the “intent to buy” as a “done deal”
 Avoiding talk about the competition

The Client Who…
May Cancel The Order
 Selling Strategies:
 Keep the romance alive
 Do NOT stop selling
 Monitor your competition
 Check for romance decay
 Say Thank You

The Client Who…
May Cancel The Order
 Closing Strategies:
 Sell up: the best defense is a good offense
 Get a verbal commitment for anticipated business
 Find out who is the top supplier

The Client Who…
Buys Elsewhere: Likes a Competitive Product
 Do not slam the current product
 It questions the judgment of the buyer
 Find out why the client bought the product in the
first place
 Pitfalls:
 Putting your client on the defensive
 The client is committed emotionally to the other product
 Going into a sale without being prepared

The Client Who…
Buys Elsewhere: Likes a Competitive Product
 Selling Strategies:
 Give a comparative, not competitive, presentation
 Differentiate your product
 Get the client more excited about the product
 Get invited to make a hard competitive presentation

The Client Who…
Buys Elsewhere: Likes a Competitive Product
 Closing Strategies:
 Give the buyer a way out
 That was then this is now
 The “Whole new ball game” approach
 Things are not what they used to be
 Let’s keep the current supplier on his toes
 Someday the client may need a backup supplier

The Client Who…
Buys Elsewhere on Relationships
 Pitfalls:
 Getting competitive before you
have proved yourself
 Chasing every trivial objection
 Giving up too early
 Example: Frog Cartoon

The Client Who…
Buys Elsewhere on Relationships
 Selling Strategies:
 Build your own relationship
 4 types of relationship buyers and ways to start
 “I buy from the organization that sends me the most
credible representative”
 Emphasize professionalism and product knowledge
 “I buy from the people I trust”
 Give some kind of preferential treatment or attention

The Client Who…
Buys Elsewhere on Relationships
 Selling Strategies Cont…
 “I buy from people who are my friends”
 Begin with entertaining
 “I buy from the representative who helps me look good
 Bring value added services, etc to the table
 Envision yourself turning the account around
 Could take time… like years
 Relationships aside… business is business
 Get involved with your client’s peers
 Monitor the relationship you are up against

The Client Who…
Buys Elsewhere on Relationships
 Closing Strategies:
 Ask for a level playing field
 Use the “join the club” close
 Entertain, ask for the order, take care of the
details back at the office

The Client Who…
Is Indifferent
 Key is to get into the buyer’s head
 Pitfalls:
 Trying to control the call too much
 Thinking the call is going badly because the client
does not seem to be listening
 Not customizing the call for your client

The Client Who…
Is Indifferent
 Selling Strategies:
 Prepare for a unique call
 Show up with an interesting, stand-out presentation
 Call ahead
 Ask yourself, “Has the client heard it all before?”
 Start by asking questions and being responsive
 Present your product in terms of the client’s business
 Ask a question you know the answer to
 Ask yourself, “Is this the right person to sell to?”

The Client Who…
Is Indifferent
 Closing Strategies:
 Develop a more personal relationship
 Just keep showing up

The Client Who…
Is Hard To Read
 This client gives no feedback
 A call without feedback is no call at all
 Pitfalls:
 Trying to get the client involved by talking more
 Assuming you have made the sale because there
has been no feedback
 Feeling uncomfortable

The Client Who…
Is Hard To Read
 Selling Strategies:
 Ask an open ended question and just stop talking
 Get the buyer to talk about anything
 Start your call by asking questions
 SPIN them

The Client Who…
Is Hard To Read
 Closing Strategies:
 Close on your client’s demographics
 Time the close with no feedback

The Client Who…
Gets Angry Over Mix-ups
 Pitfalls:
 Not trying to use it to your advantage
 Letting the problem linger longer than it has to
 Blaming it on the other guy
 Asking your boss to handle it

The Client Who…
Gets Angry Over Mix-ups
 Selling Strategies:
 Defuse the anger
 Tell the buyer, “You’re right.”
 Ask for the details of the problem
 Make a personal commitment to solve the problem
 Ask what the client wants
 Stay on top of the situation until it is resolved
 Write a letter

The Client Who…
Does Not Like Your Company
 This is going to count against you
 Find out where the perception came from
 Pitfalls:
 Joining your client in griping about your company
 Defending your company as being perfect
 Thinking your company is worse than it is

The Client Who…
Does Not Like Your Company
 Selling Strategies:
 Build a positive buzz
 Become your whole company
 Take someone from the home office on a road trip
 Find out why…
 Client had a bad experience
 Old salesperson was an idiot
 You have been smeared by a direct competitor
 Bad news from Wall Street
 An old problem was not really “solved”

The Client Who…
Does Not Like Your Company
 Closing Strategies:
 Offer a “screw up” guarantee
 Close him on the product you are selling