Finding out why is easiest after youve lost the sale
By : Jeffrey Gitomer
It took David Mitzner four decades to return to his native Poland, but when he finally did he made a success of it.
Mitzner, of Jewish origin, was born in Warsaw in 1936 and survived the holocaust by seeking shelter in the home of a sympathetic Polish family. Following the war, the young Mitzner left Poland for New York where he found work as a production manager at his uncles sweater company. By the early 1960s Mitzner saw the opportunity to set out on his own, and he left his uncles business to establish a hosiery company. Stockings made him rich, and he invested the money in real estate and later set his sights on property development.
Although Mitzner said the initial transition from hosiery to property was not easy, he eventually found success. But Mitzner was not only happy with financial prosperity. He said that since leaving Poland in 1950 he felt a tremendous urge to return to the country of his birth. In the early 1990s he saw his chance.
In 1994 he purchased and renovated two Warsaw buildings, which he then leased to Ericsson Corp. and the Polish Radiocommunications Agency.
His second project in Warsaw was the renovation of an old slaughterhouse in the Żerań district that he converted into a modern warehouse. His latest development is the 20,000 square-meter Renaissance Tower in Warsaw.
Mitzner said success in real estate development is based on reputation, and that one of the largest hurdles to real estate development is acquiring financing for projects. But even more important is cooperation with tenants. You can build something, but the real challenge is to lease it, he said.
Past notes
1936 Born in Warsaw
1950 Emigrated to New York
1960s Started hosiery business
1974 Entered real estate development
1982 Moved to Houston
1994 Began his first development in
Warsaw
Word of advice:
Never promise something you cannot fulfill.
The sales dance. The prospect is as nervous about telling you no as you are to find out if its yes.
Lets say youve just been rejected. After all your work and follow-up, the prospect just said no and chose the competition. Rats.
Most salespeople walk away blaming one thing or another like unreturned phone calls, price too high, inside connections the usual gang of excuses. Funny, in my 22 years of training salespeople no one has ever said to me, Jeffrey, I didnt make the sale and its all my fault.
Consider these two facts:
1. During the sales courtship the prospect often wont tell you the real reasons (objections) for saying no.
2. The prospect may not feel comfortable, doesnt want to hurt your feelings, or doesnt feel he owes you an explanation but doesnt want to buy from you, either and feels awkward or embarrassed to say no, so he just stays incommunicado.
Prospects will give you no signals
The party is usually over when the customer tells you things like the budget, the cash flow, the board, the home office, the partner, call me next week.
Phone calls dont get returned.
Proposals get delayed. And delayed.
My favorite is when they say, Call me on Tuesday at 10 a.m. You call like a faithful dog on the dot of 10 (having anticipated the moment for several days) and his secretary says, Hes on vacation today.
Congratulations you have just entered the no zone.
A salesperson will do every dance in the book to get the truth out of a prospect during the sales process. And most of the time not get it.
So, your best advantage comes about after the answer no is uttered. You see, after no
The anticipation is over.
The nervousness is over.
The games are over.
The lies both blatant and white have all been told.
Once the word no has been said to you for the final time, the tension is over the salesperson can now ask for the real reason, and get it.
Only after no can you get down to the truth find out what really happened find out the real reason the sale was lost and maybe even have a way to get back in and make the sale. Cool.
Success tactic: Use a 21st-century version of the lost sale close (act defeated). Get back in the prospects office within 48 hours of rejection and say: Now that its over, Mr. Prospect, I wonder if you would mind helping me a little. I sell these copiers for a living, and my family has grown accustomed to eating (smile). I was certain our product was the best for your application, and I still dont understand why you didnt purchase from me. If you could share with me the real reason you didnt buy it would help me get better, and perhaps help the next person in a way that I was unable to help you. (For those of you who already know everything and doubt the validity of this strategy, just try it a few times you cant lose a sale more than once.)
The prospect is now more likely to tell the truth at this point (moment of weakness). You will be able to use the truth to your advantage in a number of ways:
To put the prospect in a superior position as friend, helper, and mentor.
To learn of competitive weaknesses.
To learn your companys weaknesses.
To learn your personal weaknesses.
To learn the value of relationships (the ones others have that you wish you had).
To have an opportunity to get back into the sale by offering a solution.
To get the truth you couldnt get during the sales dance.
To have one small chance to revive the sale.
You can win by losing. Even if you cant get this prospect to purchase, the information you have gathered will help you sell the next one. Every time you lose a sale, get the real reason you lost it after its over.
If you lose 100 sales a month, and find out why, at the end of a year youll have 1,200 lost-sale reasons and chances to gain them back. If youre successful only 5% of the time, thats another 60 sales a year. If you dont think its worth the effort call me. Ill take them.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, and Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless. President of North Carolina-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts training programs on selling and customer service. He can be reached at salesman@gitomer.com" (mailto:salesman@gitomer.com)
