A B O: Always Be Opening!
The title of this article comes from a line in the 1992 movie, Glengarry Glen Ross, a film about a group of real estate salesmen, most of whom are performing so badly they are under threat of losing their jobs.
Quite early in the film, Alec Baldwin’s character, Blake, delivers a speech designed to motivate the salesmen to perform. He’s the hot-shot salesman from head office downtown. It lasts only seven minutes and is littered with verbal abuse toward the salesmen. During the speech, he introduces his mantra: A B C - Always Be Closing. Well, there’s a different attitude here at phoneforbusiness, which is: A B O - Always Be Opening. This is no flippant stunt here, rather a recognition of the truth: How can anybody close anything that is not already open?
In telemarketing, the purpose of the call is to seek to “open”: Find out if the person on the other end of the phone is “open” to new ideas and ways of doing things, or “open” to answering questions. We”open” the door to opportunity, we “open” a dialogue, “open” a can of worms (complaint or grievance), “open” a new chapter in an existing relationship, “open” (new) lines of communication. Please feel free to add your own example.
Closing is the action of terminating, finalising, finishing. Given that it’s our prospects that make the decision to “open” up to us if they feel comfortable to do so, it is equally true that they make the decision to “close” as well. Closing is not something we do to the prospect by means of charming and disarming them or by imposing our will upon them. It is a decision that they make in response to being open to hear us. And closing can mean getting a “No”, for example to discontinue the conversation with us, as well as getting a “Yes”, for example to agree to move to the next stage in the relationship or to do business with us where money changes hands.
Think for a moment from the prospect’s point of view. When was the last time you felt good about being “closed” by a sales person? Many of us can recall a time when we walked away feeling less than comfortable about something we purchased, how we felt somewhat intimidated into making the purchase, even to the point of feeling we made the wrong decision for us even if it was the right decision for the sales person. Besides, once something is closed you have to go back and re-open it. Perhaps this will seem lazy to some of you, but why create twice the amount of work? If someone is open, generally they remain so. If that person is not open, he or she will be unlikely to buy anything from us, will they?
So there you have it: Always Be Opening. More fun, less pressure, and multiple opportunities. If someone bought something from you once, is it in our interests to ask that person from time to time if they remain open to buying from us again? Of course, and when they buy something else, it reinforces his or her faith in what you offer and increases the likelihood of recommending and referring you to others.
Copyright: Shaun Gisbourne 2009
Call +44 208 133 0702 or +44 203 348 8702.
Email: shaun@phoneforbusiness.com
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