Sales Made Simple

5ntcs Mnec
5urtc
5M5
A o-step method for selline
anythine to anyone that
always eets results.
KVMJBONBSUJO
SMSBook.indb 1 20/7/07 1:55:09 PM
www.salesmadesimplesystem.com
Publisled by
Mediu 21 Publisling Pty Ltd
(ABN 82 090 63S 073)
30 Buy Stieet, Double Buy, NSW 2028
TEL (02) 9362 1800 FAX (02) 9362 9S00
EMAIL m21mediu21.com.uu
WEBSITE www.mediu21publisling.com
Juliun Muitin 2007
Mediu 21 Publisling Pty Ltd 2007
Nutionul Libiuiy ol Austiuliu Cutuloguing-in-Publicution entiy
Muitin, Juliun.
SMS : sules mude simple.

1st ed.
ISBN 9781876624101 (pbk.).

1. Selling. 2. Sules peisonnel. 3. Success in business.
I. Title. II. Title : Sules mude simple.

6S8.81
All iiglts ieseived. Tlis publicution is copyiiglt.
No puit ol it muy be iepioduced oi tiunsmitted in uny loim
witlout tle wiitten peimission ol tle publisleis.
EDITOR /DESIGNER Cluilotte Fisl
PRINTED BY McPleison's Piinting Gioup
SALES Steplen Bulme EMAIL steplenmediu21.com.uu
SMSBook.indb 2 20/7/07 1:55:10 PM
Foreword
You are in a fortunate position as a photographer, because you can
build a business from your passion.
Successful photographers, and by successful I mean those who make
a decent living from photography, all have one thing in common.
They manage to integrate their creative philosophy with commercial
principles. They know how to put a value on their work and how to
reconcile that value with the commercial market.
As the Senior Sales Manager for Getty Images, Australia and New
Zealand, I have worked with some very successful photographers. I
have seen firsthand how those who could sell their ideas got the
lions share of the work. Yes, they were brilliant photographers, but
more often than not they got the edge in the market simply because
I taught them how to take a brief and get inside their customers
head, how to succinctly pitch their approach and solutions, and how
to go on to seal the deal.
They were photographers, not natural sales people. And thats
where Sales Made Simple came in.
My passion is different to yours. My passion is sales. In fact it goes
much deeper than that. I absolutely love to teach people how to sell
successfully. I have been doing it for 22 years and my passion for it
is as strong today as it was the day I started.
I wrote Sales Made Simple because I genuinely want to take the
pain and mystery out of selling for people like you.
So heres the deal. Because youre a friend of PhotoMerchant, I am
giving you this Sales Made Simple ebook for free. Sales Made Simple
has been successfully selling in bookshops for years and has helped
thousands of people in business, so please get into it.
I promise that if you follow what I show you in the following pages
you will dramatically improve your business performance. And the
great thing is, you wont sell your soul in the process. Selling will
become natural and ethical for you.
As you get a handle on the Sales Made Simple way you will have an
opportunity to link to my online video sales training. Here, in
conjunction with the online workbooks, we will take it much deeper,
face to face, so that you can find your natural sales ability.
What's more, I can give you access to the first video training module
for free when you sign up through PhotoMerchant. The first module
is called 'Discovery' and by using the simple tactics I explain, you
will notice an immediate improvement in your ability to engage in
the sales process - something you can't avoid if you're in business.
So, enjoy the Sales Made Simple eBook and please take some time
to watch the free video training. I know that like so many others,
after you've watched it, you will feel much more effective and at ease
with the sales process.
With your success in mind,
Julian
Receive your free sales training here

Contents.
tntreductien. steps to successful sales ........................... 6
5tep 1: Askine open-ended questions ............................. z6
5tep 2: Matchine the need ............................................... o8
5tep 3: Askine closed-ended questions ........................... 88
5tep 4: Afrmine the sale ................................................ ::z
Cenc|usien. Puttine the steps toeether ........................:zz
ketes ............................................................................... :o
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tntreductien.
SMSBook.indb 4 20/7/07 1:55:10 PM

steps to successful
sales.

SMSBook.indb 5 20/7/07 1:55:10 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc 6
1he science ef sa|es.
Tle gieut Fiencl impiessionist, Renoii, wus once usked wlut
mude lim sucl u musteilul puintei. His simple unswei wus:
Tnc six vcars l spcnr ar arr scnoo| |carning now ro Jraw |incs.
Yet wlen you look ut lis uitwoik, tle lust tling you uctuully
notice uie lis lines; it's lis use ol coloui und liglt tlut ieully
stiike you.
Like ull tulented people, Renoii undeistood tlut u knowledge
ol tle busics wus centiul to suppoiting lis cieutive umbition.
He stiived to mustei tle science ol lis ciult wlicl, in tuin,
becume tle loundution loi lis unique uitistic expiession.
In tle sume wuy, selling is veiy mucl u science us well us un
uit. It's u science becuuse you luve to lollow some piucticul
und systemutic guidelines to muke it luppen.
5
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ufaoeucfou
It's un uit becuuse it iequiies expiession, cieutivity und vision
to piuctise it well.
The premise of this book is that if you understand and
appIy the science of seIIing correctIy, the artist in you wiII
ourish and you wiII become more naturaI and effective in
the way you seII.
Ovei tle lust 20 yeuis, my vuiious sules teums und I luve
collectively geneiuted ovei 100 million dolluis' woitl ol sules.

We weie successlul loi muny ieusons but, in ietiospect, oui
ligl sules nguies cun cleuily be uttiibuted to Iust one tling.
And like Renoii, wlen we upplied tlis key luctoi we becume
devustutingly expeit ut ieucling oui obIective sules!
It's u simple uppioucl to selling tlut equipped us to smusl
tuigets, poucl deuls liom oui muin competitois, tuin luiled
negotiutions uiound und completely ieinvigoiute unmotivuted
sules teums tlut lud lost tleii wuy.
I luve lud buint out old sules executives liteiully iun ut me
to celebiute tleii deuls in clildlike excitement ultei using tlis
uppioucl loi tle nist time.
Tlis sume stiutegy lus been instiumentul in lelping me climb
tle coipoiute luddei und win ligl-level senioi sules positions.
In luct, eveiy time I tulk to business people ubout it tley tell
me it's wlut tley need to upply to tleii business.
SMSBook.indb 7 20/7/07 1:55:11 PM
Click here for free video training
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc 8
Altlougl simple, tlis loimulu is u liglly ellective sules
metlod. It wus developed by unulysing tle best sules piuctices
und stiuctuies uiound toduy und bieuking tlem down into
loui busic steps.
Tlese loui steps combine to cieute un intuitive stiuctuie tlut
uny sules piolessionul cun use to diumuticully impiove tleii
iesults.
In uddition, it is so eusy to leuin tlut it's ulso tle peilect
tiuining plutloim loi people Iust stuiting out, oi loi tlose witl
u moie geneiul inteiest in selling.
Most impoituntly, tlis metlod's logicul steps guide you tliougl
tle sules cycle in u wuy tlut ensuies tle buyei's needs luve
been lully undeistood und suitubly met.
It is geuied to signincuntly impiove tle customei's expeiience
wlile positioning you to successlully close tle sule.
Like un uitist nist leuining to diuw lines, wlen sulespeople
udopt tlis metlod tley cieute u solid loundution on wlicl to
build tleii sules success.
The genius of this four-step method Iies in its simpIicity;
its vaIue in its effectiveness.
In many ways it represents the ABC of saIes ~ that's why
it's caIIed SaIes Made SimpIe (SMS).
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ufaoeucfou
5a|es made simp|e.
Tle Sules Mude Simple oi SMS metlod is bused on loui
piogiessive steps:
1 Asking open-ended questions in order to ascertain
the customer's requirements.
2 Matching those requirements with the appropriate
product or service.
3 Asking cIosed-ended questions to conrm that the
customer's requirements have been met in order to
cIose the saIe.
4 Afrming the customer's purchasing decision.
Some simple inteiuction between tlese steps cun occui il you
need to woik tliougl uny obIections, but tle stiuigltloiwuid
nutuie ol tle ubove liumewoik mukes it eusy to tuin suid
obIections uiound.
It looks simple, doesn't it?
As tlis book exploies tlese loui piogiessive steps in moie
detuil, you will see low tley become tle 'lines' on wlicl you
cun oveiluy youi pioduct knowledge und peisonulity to become
un expeit und ellective sulespeison.
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5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :e
5tep 1: Asking epen-ended questiens.
Open-ended questions lelp you to discovei tle customei's
iequiiements.
An open-ended question is one that cunnot be answered
with a 'yes' or 'no'. These are the how, whut, when, why
and who questions.
As you tlink cuielully ubout wlut soit ol open-ended questions
woik well ieguiding youi puiticului pioduct oi seivice, you
will see low tley loim u ciuciul ieleience point witlin tle
negotiution. Youi customei's key iequiiements will need to be
sutisned in oidei to close tle deul, so knowing tlem up-liont
gives you u signincunt udvuntuge.
5tep 2: Matching the need.
Once you uie conndent tlut you luve usked tle iiglt questions
und undeistund wlut tle customei is looking loi, you will be
in u peilect position to demonstiute low youi pioduct oi
seivice meets tlose iequiiements.
These rst two steps represent a cIassic 'needs resoIution'
approach to seIIing.
?
=
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ufaoeucfou ::
5tep 3: Asking c|esed-ended questiens.
Once you luve mutcled tle customei's iequiiements witl u
suituble olleiing, you uie in u position to stuit closing.
A 'cIose' is a cIosed-ended question. It is contrary to an
open-ended question in that it can on/y be answered with
a 'yes' or 'no'.
Foi exumple:
ls rnis wnar vou arc |ooling |or?
ls rnis in vour pricc rangc?
Wi|| vou nccJ rnis roJav?
In u simple sules situution, sometimes only one closed-
ended question is needed to close tle sule, lowevei in most
ciicumstunces u numbei ol closes uie iequiied to piopeily
clincl tle deul.
A series of cIoses is caIIed a 'cIosing staircase'.
In tle customei's mind, closes connim tlut tleii iequiiements
luve been met und lelp tlem to leel sutisned. Tley ulso lelp
to uncovei uny obIections tlut miglt be lindeiing tle sule liom
moving to its nutuiul conclusion.
It is duiing Step Tliee tlut ull negotiutions uie settled witl
closed-ended questions. Tle dilleience between discounting
?
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5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :z
und negotiuting is tlut wlen you discount, you diop youi piice
oi muke concessions witlout uny ugieement loi sometling in
ietuin; lowevei wlen you negotiute, you udIust youi piice oi
position in ietuin loi sometling liom tle customei.
Foi exumple, in u situution wleie tle customei is tiying to
biing tle piice down, in u negotiution you would close uguinst
tle ieduction. A typicul question would be:
l| l |owcr rnc pricc ro rnc ngurc vou`rc suggcsring. wou|J vou
commir ro ouving roJav?
All negotiutions uie known us 'conditionul' closes; tlut is, il you
suy yes to rnis, I will do rnar.
Step Three is aIso where objections can arise but the SMS
method deaIs effectiveIy with these by simpIy returning to
the rst three steps:
1 Exploie tle specinc pioblem tloiouglly viu open-ended
questions.
2 Resolve oi sutisly tle pioblem.
3 Connim tlut tle pioblem lus been iesolved.
Steps One, Two und Tliee uie cyclicul in tlut il u pioblem oi
obIection uiises in tle closing stuiicuse, it's deult witl simply by
iunning tliougl tle steps uguin witl tlut one issue in mind.
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ufaoeucfou :
Step Tliee (p. 88) expluins in detuil low you cun rurn an
oojccrion inro an opporrunirv to close tle deul.
In sules, u lot ol mysteiy suiiounds closing, but by knowing
wlut loim youi closed-ended questions will tuke, und low und
wlen to use tlem, you will be uble to move u sule loiwuid
quickly und ellectively.
5tep 4: Afrming the sa|e.
Once tle sule lus been closed, youi next step is to ulnim it.
Tlis lus to be tle most undeiestimuted und neglected sules
step in tle muiketpluce toduy.
Tlis isn't Iust tlunking tle customei loi tleii business. It goes
luitlei tlun tlut by complimenting tle customei loi muking
u good decision in ielution to tleii oiiginul iequiiements.
Afrming the saIe does three key things:
1 It lelps deul witl buyei's iemoise und ieduces tle clunce
ol u ietuin. Tle customei will iemembei youi ulnimution
il conndence in tleii decision stuits to wune.
2 It deuls witl stiess. It leuves botl you und tle customei
leeling good ubout wlut's Iust luppened. Tlis is especiully
5
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5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :o
lelplul il tle situution lus become sligltly uwkwuid oi
uncomloituble ultei wlut muy luve been u big decision loi
tle customei.
3 It leuves you und youi customei witl u nnul inteiuction tlut
is u positive expeiience. You wunt to muke it eusy loi tle
customei to come buck, buy uguin, und ielei you to otleis.
It's ulso simply polite!
feur steps that cever everything.
Don't undeiestimute tle ellectiveness ol tle SMS metlod.
Even if you use just one of the steps, it's going to improve
the way you do business. Get aII four steps down pat and
you wiII revoIutionise your seIIing abiIity.
Youi conndence will giow in tle knowledge tlut you iecognise
exuctly wleie you uie und wleie you wunt to go in anv
negotiution, iutlei tlun stiuggling to ieucl un ugieement on
u wing und u piuyei.
Most impoituntly, youi customeis will be getting bettei seivice.
Tle SMS metlod enubles you to ieully undeistund tleii needs
und, us u iesult, you will be conndent tlut you uie lelping
tlem to muke u wise puiclusing decision.
Otlei elnciencies will ulso develop. Deuls will be closed moie
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ufaoeucfou :
quickly und you will be quulilying piospects euiliei und soiting
out tle timewusteis beloie tley luve wusted youi time.
Once you ieully undeistund und uie comloituble witl tlese
loui stuges, you will be umuzed by low eusily you cun slilt in
und out ol tlem ut will. You will nevei look buck once you've
expeiienced nistlund low ellective tley uie.
It's youi Iob to woik out low to best udupt tle SMS metlod
to suit youi puiticului pioduct oi seivice tle woikbook
sections in tlis book cun lelp you witl tlis. Indeed, tlis simple
teclnique is so exible tlut you cun ulso expeiiment witl it by
including some ol youi own ideus. Tlen, il tley don't woik,
you cun eusily lull buck on tle busic steps.
Remembei tlut wlut is on ollei leie is tle scicncc ol sules.
Youi own uitistiy und style will emeige us you develop u bettei
undeistunding ol tlis science.
Methed er madness?
Metlod ucting is unotlei gieut unulogy loi tle SMS uppioucl.
Metlod ucting is one ol tle most popului ucting teclniques
in tle woild und lus been tuken up, to some degiee, by ull ol
tle gieuts: Jumes Deun, Al Pucino, Ricluid Buiton und Joln
Tiuvoltu to nume u lew.
Like sulespeople, even tle most tulented uctois sometimes nnd
it luid to delivei u top peiloimunce on demund, duy ultei duy.
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5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :6
So wlen tle tulent diies up, tlese piolessionul uitists lull buck
on tleii 'Metlod' to get tlem tliougl.

Tle Metlod lelps uctois to diuw upon ieul-lile expeiiences
und tlen pioIect tle ussociuted leelings tliougl tle cluiuctei
tley'ie pluying. Tlut's wlut mude people like Jumes Deun
wlo took Metlod ucting to tle limit ulwuys look so ciedible
und uutlentic.
Tle SMS metlod is similui in its ubility to guide you tliougl
uny sules situution, wletlei you uie tulented oi unmotivuted,
on u good duy oi bud. It will ullow you to develop u moie
genuine style ol communicution wlile diuwing deuls to tleii
nutuiul conclusion ull witlout youi luving to tlink too mucl
ubout wlut you uie doing.
A simp|e appreach.
One ol my pussions is to see people succeed in business.
Anotlei is to see people's peisonulities come to tle loie wlen
tley uie selling.
Tle ieuson I love tle SMS metlod is tlut its stiutegic
liumewoik suppoits you, wlile its simplicity mukes it eusy to
wiup youi own peisonulity und pioduct knowledge uiound it.
It is intuitive enough to not overshadow your unique and
naturaI seIIing styIe, yet designed to drive the negotiation
aII the way home by the most direct path.
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ufaoeucfou :
My sules cuieei begun in my euily 30s, selling udveitising
spuce loi u iegionul newspupei. Witlin u couple ol yeuis I wus
piomoted to munuge tle pupei's smull sules teum ol nve.
Altlougl I lud tle gilt ol tle gub, tlis nist piomotion
clullenged me to giow beyond my own 'uit' ol selling us I
discoveied tlut my sules instincts, lowevei ellective, weie
dilncult to puss on to otleis. I begun u pussionute seuicl to
discovei u moie scientinc uppioucl to selling und tlis is wlen
I stuited to tlink ubout u selling 'metlod'.
Altei nve oi six yeuis ol munuging tle newspupei's sules teum
und lollowing some substuntiul giowtl in tle business, I
yeuined loi gieutei tlings. It wusn't long beloie I lound mysell
in u lust-puced, liglly competitive cupitul city woiking loi
blue-clip coipoiutions und multi-billion dollui multinutionuls.
Tle sules tuigets becume duunting und weie olten in tle muny
tens ol millions ol dolluis most ol my deuls weie now woitl
moie tlun tle iegionul newspupei's montlly tuinovei.
I expeiienced u colossul stietcl in my conndence, despite u
constunt buttle witl leelings ol inudequucy in tlis liglbiow
coipoiute woild. I lud no ieul quulincutions ut ull Iust my
metlod, some busic sules instincts und sules iecoid wlile tle
people uiound me ull lud muiketing oi business degiees und
spoke witl un unlumiliui coipoiute Iuigon.
Neveitleless, I suipiised mysell by uclieving gieutei levels ol
sules success tlun my liglly quulined colleugues.
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5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :8
I uttiibuted tlis to tle luct tlut I lud cut my teetl selling
udveitising spuce loi tlut locul newspupei usuully to smull,
suvvy und olten cusl-stiupped business owneis wlo demunded
u ietuin on eveiy cent tley spent.
Tlut enviionment lud iequiied tenucity und neive us well us u
ligl level ol nutuiul sulesmunslip und tlese weie tle quulities
tlut guve me un edge I could not luve leuined ut univeisity.
Ovei tle yeuis I luve sut in on lundieds ol sules-tiuining
sessions und sules conleiences. Being us pussionute us I um
ubout selling, I wloleleuitedly ubsoibed eveiytling on ollei
ut tlese events und luve seen ulmost eveiy 'you beuut' sules-
tiuining model in existence.
Wlut lus ulwuys stiuck me us odd ubout tle muIoiity ol
sules-tiuining models is low complex tley uie, becuuse tlut
complexity ulwuys seems to leud to u low tuke-up iute ol
wlut's on ollei tle inloimution simply doesn't sink in.
Anotlei pioblem witl u lot ol sules-tiuining models is tlut
tley locus wlolly on inteipeisonul beluvioui witlout
exploiing mucl else.
It's us tlougl tley iequiie tle sulespeison to weui u musk in
oidei to win business sometling tlut is luid to do und eusy
to spot. Nevei let u sules teclnique dominute youi peisonulity
oi uutlenticity. You know wlut I meun nobody wunts to deul
witl u teclnique. We would ull iutlei expeiience genuineness
ol cluiuctei.
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ufaoeucfou :
Good sulespeople cun get ull nied up und motivuted by u duy
in tle tiuining ioom. Howevei, becuuse ol tle olten complex
und supeinciul nutuie ol wlut's on ollei, wlen it comes to
putting tle given teclniques into piuctice tley usuully lull
loigotten by tle wuyside.
Tlis lus ulwuys woiiied me becuuse tlese kinds ol sessions
uien't cleup und you olten nnd big compunies spending u lot
ol money on sules tiuining witl little ietuin.
That's why I aIways favoured a simpIe, focused approach
and went on to deveIop the SMS method ~ which I can
easiIy teach in a short session or on the job. It seems
everything I've experienced in my saIes career has Ied me
to deveIop and rene this method, and the more I compare
it with other (more compIex) saIes-training processes, the
more I reaIise and appreciate its true vaIue.
Tlis book will piesent ieul exumples ol tle SMS metlod's
success, including u situution wleie tle teclnique wus
lollowed, step by step, to tuin uiound un $80 000 deul tlut
lud been decluied deud und buiied, und unotlei wleie u deul
woitl loui times tlut umount wus poucled liom u competitoi.
Sules munugeis, entiepieneuis und smull business owneis luve
u lot to guin liom employing tlis metlod becuuse, once tleii
sules loice stuit piuctising it, tley cun be conndent tlut tleii
teum will be ieully listening to tleii customeis und exploiing
eveiy sules oppoitunity.
SMSBook.indb 19 20/7/07 1:55:14 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc ze
Tleie is ceituinly sometling ubout luving eveiyone sing liom
tle sume songsleet. It stieumlines elnciencies, mukes iepoiting
eusiei und lelps to develop u leultly und luppy woik
enviionment. You quickly notice wlen someone is out ol sync.
Anotlei point woitl mentioning leie is tlut sules piolessionuls
uie ut ligl iisk ol buinout becuuse ol tle emotionul stiuin ol
continuully tiying to peisuude people to buy. Add to tlis tle
piessuie ol meeting sules tuigets und deuling witl disuppointed
oi demunding customeis und emotions cun veiy quickly stuit
to liuy.
Stiess und selling don't mix. Tle SMS metlod eliminutes stiess
becuuse it moves you uwuy liom ielying on tle powei ol
peisuusion und into tle moie nutuiul ieulm ol needs iesolution.
In luct, tleie is notling peisuusive ubout it.
It is just the simpIe process of asking the right kinds of
questions at the right time and reaIIy Iistening to the
answers.
What this beek is net.

Tlis book is not u munuul on low to peisuude someone to buy
sometling tley don't need oi wunt it is not u book on
munipulution.
Tle SMS metlod simply doesn't woik like tlut; it uctuully
demunds ceituin vulues und u level ol tiunspuiency.
SMSBook.indb 20 20/7/07 1:55:14 PM
ufaoeucfou z:
Essentiully, it tukes u biuve uppioucl to selling openly wlicl
is botl sustuinuble und puie.
Indeed, you will nnd tlut tle muikiei tlings get etlicully, tle
moie you'll luve to distunce youisell liom tle metlod. Like
most puie systems, it Iust doesn't woik well in dodgy situutions.
What this beek is.
Tlis book desciibes tle SMS metlod u selling teclnique you
cun ulwuys iely on wlile exploiing tle lundumentul tools you
need to best desciibe, demonstiute und pitcl youi olleiing.
Tlis ellective sules metlod is compiised ol loui busic steps:
1 Determining the buyer's requirements.
2 Matching those requirements.
3 EffectiveIy cIosing (in reIation to the requirements).
4 Afrming the saIe.
It's u mup ol tle busics tlut unybody cun leuin und udupt to
suit tleii own style, pioduct oi seivice.
It's u stiong liumewoik to guide you tliougl uny negotiution
wlile simultuneously ullowing youi own peisonulity to sline.
It's so simple und exible tlut you cun bieuk tle iules und
expeiiment by woiking youi own ideus into it. Il tley don't
woik loi you, you cun eusily lull buck on its busic steps.
SMSBook.indb 21 20/7/07 1:55:15 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc zz
It woiks equully well loi developing muiketing und udveitising
ideus.
It's tle ABC ol sules designed to tuke tle mysteiy out ol
selling.
It's u munuul, u sules lundbook und u woikbook.
It's loi eveiyone.

SMSBook.indb 22 20/7/07 1:55:15 PM
SMSBook.indb 23 20/7/07 1:55:15 PM
Access your free video training with Julian Martin
The Sales Made Simple system works perfectly for photography sales
because the four steps take you logically through the briefing process,
the pitch, your solution and approach, and then naturally moves you
to the close so you can secure the job.

Remember the more fully you understand the clients requirements
and the value they seek, the better you will be at winning their
business.

Take your time and dont rush the process. You will find that your
client will actually appreciate your attention as you move through the
four steps.

In the first step, Discovery, we will look at how to use open ended
questions. These are perfect for developing and expanding a
photographic brief.

In the video training I talk a lot more about how to draw out the
value that the buyer is trying to achieve through the project. This
value has little to do with price and everything to do with achieving a
desired outcome. So the name of the game is to understand what the
desired outcome is first, before you pitch your solution.

Click on the video link below and go straight through to the free online
training where you will learn amazing Discovery techniques that
apply perfectly to taking a photographic brief.
So, click and watch the video now!
5tep 1:
SMSBook.indb 24 20/7/07 1:55:15 PM
Afrmine the sale.

Askine closed-ended
questions.

Matchine the need.
Askine open-ended
questions.
SMSBook.indb 25 20/7/07 1:55:15 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc z6
1he epen-ended questien.
Wlen selling, it's impoitunt to undeistund exuctly wlut tle
customei is looking loi beloie tiying to sell tlem unytling.
It seems obvious, doesn't it?
Howevei, most people sell by muking busic ussumptions
und tlen Iust pitcling. Tle tiouble is, wlen you don't lully
undeistund wlut tle customei's iequiiements uie, you put
youisell ut gieut iisk ol subotuging youi pitcl beloie you even
get stuited. Tlis upplies equully to situutions wleie you
instigute tle uppioucl us to wlen tle customei comes to you.
How you enguge people in business is impoitunt.
Wletlei it's on tle plone oi luce-to-luce, niceties und
politeness uie ciuciul to success. Howevei, tlis book doesn't
?
SMSBook.indb 26 20/7/07 1:55:16 PM
sfcr :: nsxue orcu-cuece oucsfous z
go into tle specincs ol engugement stiutegies oi teclniques
loi unsweiing tle plone piopeily us some otlei sules tiuining
books do. Tlese skills uie u given, und lopelully you cun woik
out wlut suits youi puiticului cultuie oi business enviionment.
So, tle nist SMS step locuses on wlut slould be uclieved ut
tle stuit ol uny negotiution us it is lundumentul to its success:
un undeistunding ol wlut tle customei is looking loi und wly.
It's ull ubout usking open-ended questions us tley uie tle best
wuy to discovei tle buyei's puiticului iequiiements. How und
wlut you discovei ubout youi customei's needs euily in tle
tiunsuction will deteimine low successlul you uie in closing
tle deul.
Open-ended questions are questions that cunnot be
answered with a 'yes' or 'no'.
They are the how, whut, when, why and who questions.
They are fantastic for investigating anything.
Foi exumple, compuie tlese two questions:
uo vou |ilc ro p|av |ooroa||?
Wnv Jo vou |ilc ro p|av |ooroa||?
Tle second question is un open-ended question becuuse it
cunnot be unsweied by u 'yes' oi 'no', tleieby ieveuling so
mucl moie tlun tle nist.
SMSBook.indb 27 20/7/07 1:55:16 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc z8
Heie uie some exumples ol simple open-ended questions tlut
cun be used loi selling uny pioduct oi seivice:
Wnar cxacr|v arc vou |ooling |or?
Wnar sorr o| cxpcricncc navc vou naJ wirn rnis proJucr
(or scrvicc) oc|orc?
Wnar orougnr vou inro mv srorc?
Wnv Jo vou |ilc rnis onc so mucn?
Wnar uren't vou |ooling |or?
Wnar arc rnc aoso|urc 'musr-navc` |carurcs vou arc |ooling |or?
AnJ wnv?
Wnv arc vou |ooling |or onc o| rncsc?
Wno wi|| oc using rnis?
Wnar c|sc navc vou sccn on rnc marlcr?
Wnicn oncs JiJ vou |ilc anJ wnv?
How JiJ vou ncar aoour us?
How o|rcn wi|| vou oc using rnis scrvicc?
How soon Jo vou nccJ rnis rcpair Jonc?
Wnar Jo vou nccJ?
Wncrc JiJ vou gcr vour |asr onc anJ wnv?
Wnar arc rnc rnings vou Jcnnirc|v don't wanr?
Wnar sorr o| ouJgcr JiJ vou navc in minJ |or rnis?
Wnar Jo vou rninl aoour rnis onc?
Aguin, tlese uie ull open-ended questions becuuse tley cun't
be unsweied simply witl u 'yes' oi 'no'.
Now considei wlut soit ol open-ended questions would suit
youi pioduct oi seivice und muke some notes ut tle end ol
tlis section.
SMSBook.indb 28 20/7/07 1:55:16 PM
sfcr :: nsxue orcu-cuece oucsfous z
0pen- vs. c|esed-ended questiens.
A cIosed-ended question is contrary to an open-ended
question and can on/y be answered by 'yes' or 'no'.
A cIosed-ended question is aIso referred to as a 'cIose'.
Closed-ended questions uie luntustic loi conniming tlut tle
buyei's needs luve been met, but uie not uppiopiiute loi
uncoveiing tlose needs in tle nist pluce.
Exumples ol closed-ended questions oi 'closes' uie:
uocs rnis nr vou com|orrao|v?
Wou|J vour wi|c |ilc rnis onc?
ls rnis wirnin vour ouJgcr?
Can vou scc anvrning in rnc srorc rnar vou |ilc?
Note tle dilleience between un open-ended question und
u close.
Ol couise, it is duiing closing tlut un obIection cun suddenly
uiise. Step Tliee (p. 88) coveis tlis und expluins low un
obIection to u close cun uctuully be u veiy good oppoitunity.
Using cIosed-ended questions prematureIy ~ especiaIIy at
the discovery stage ~ can work against you and force the
conversation into a dead end. That's why you shouId
aIways start with open-ended questions.
SMSBook.indb 29 20/7/07 1:55:17 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc e
Heie's un eveiyduy exumple ol low open-ended questions
miglt woik in, loi exumple, u luwnmowei stoie.
Beloie slowing tle piospect unytling, u good sulespeison will
usk u lew busic, open-ended questions sucl us:
Cou|J vou Jcscrioc rnc arca rnar vou arc going ro mow?
Wnar sorr o| sur|acc arca arc wc ra|ling aoour?
Wnar sorr o| macninc was prcvious|v uscJ |or rnc joo?
How JiJ rnar moJc| worl |or vou?
Wnar spccia| rcquircmcnrs Jo vou navc?
Wnar sorr o| |carurcs wou|J vou |ilc vour ncw |awnmowcr
ro navc?
Tlese uie ull good open-ended questions wlicl will lelp tle
buyei to exploie und connim in tleii own mind wlut tley
uie looking loi, wlile tle unsweis tley piovide will lelp tle
sulespeison to iecommend un uppiopiiute mucline.
Tlese questions get people tlinking wlile lelping to estublisl
iuppoit und ciedibility.
In contiust, un unskilled sulespeison miglt go stiuiglt in witl
closed-ended questions, loping tlut tle customei's ieuction
will steei tlem in tle iiglt diiection. Tlis tiiul-und-eiioi
uppioucl typicully begins witl closed-ended questions sucl us:
ls rnis rnc sorr o| macninc vou`rc |ooling |or?
ls rncrc anvrning on rnc oor ncrc rnar vou |ilc?
Our o| rncsc rwo macnincs. wnicn onc Jo vou prc|cr?
SMSBook.indb 30 20/7/07 1:55:17 PM
sfcr :: nsxue orcu-cuece oucsfous :
Tlis tuctic coineis tle customei piemutuiely und iesults in
tleii wulling tlemselves oll und stiuggling to ieguin contiol.
By using closed-ended questions too euily in tle tiunsuction,
tle sulespeison lus ulso done notling to lelp tle customei
undeistund wlut's on tle muiket oi wlut options uie uvuiluble
to tlem.
Woist ol ull, tle customei lusn't been given un oppoitunity
to desciibe und exploie wlut tley uie looking loi. Fiom tlis
point, tle sulespeison will stiuggle to develop u diulogue
witl tlem.
Ol tlese two uppioucles, it's obvious wlicl one tle customei
would iespond to best.
The saIesperson that asks the customer open- rather than
cIosed-ended questions up front wiII fuIIy reveaI and
understand the customer's requirements, open up the
conversation and estabIish a good connection.
This rst SMS step is cruciaI to the eventuaI success of
the deaI.
+ Tlese initiul questions uie lui moie impoitunt tlun
Iust being smootl oi polite. Used piopeily, open-ended
questions uie u tuctic tlut will estublisl wletlei u sule
exists ut ull und, il it does, low you cun win it.
SMSBook.indb 31 20/7/07 1:55:17 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc z
Bet buttens.
Tle one tling tlut youi customei will be unlikely oi unwilling
to compiomise on is tleii 'must-luve' iequiiement oi 'lot
button'. It is impcrarivc tlut you mutcl und sutisly tlis muIoi
iequiiement, und witl big-ticket items tleie uie olten moie
tlun one.
At tlis point, u good sulespeison will listen veiy cuielully und
suy us little us possible. Tle ideu leie is to piompt tle customei
to open up und disclose tleii iequiiements beloie you uttempt
to sell tlem unytling.
Step One (usking open-ended questions) muy seem u bit busic.
Howevei, it does tuke some insiglt to usk tle iiglt soit ol
questions to set up tle iest ol tle sule.
Politely usk tle iiglt questions ut tle beginning ol tle
conveisution und listen veiy cuielully. By uncoveiing und
sutislying youi customei's most essentiul iequiiements, you
will position youisell to close tle deul.
Ol couise, you will need to stiuctuie tle questions in u wuy
tlut compliments youi pioduct und not tle competition's.
It ulso tukes some skill to ieliuin liom tiying to mutcl und
close until you get tlis nist step iiglt.
A good way to nd a hot button is to start by asking your
customer to name a few key requirements, and then ask
which one of them is the most important.
SMSBook.indb 32 20/7/07 1:55:17 PM
sfcr :: nsxue orcu-cuece oucsfous
Wlen you uncovei u genuine lot button oi non-negotiuble,
must-luve iequiiement tlut you know you cun mutcl, ieully
iun witl it. Find out ull ubout it und wly it is so impoitunt to
youi customei. Il you cun, emputlise und ugiee witl tlem.
Let tle customei get pussionute ubout it becuuse il you'ie
smuit, you will entlusiusticully ielei to it in cvcrv step ol
youi negotiution.
Using het buttens.
Open-ended questions set you up loi success becuuse u buyei
is olten in ieseuicl mode.
Wlut bettei oppoitunity is tleie to estublisl ciedibility und
muke u connection witl tle customei us you exploie tleii
iequiiements witl tlem? Tlen, wlen you'ie ieudy to move
tlem on to Step Two und demonstiute Iust low you cun meet
tlose iequiiements, you will be in u position to ollei quulined
und ielevunt options tlut will inuence tle buyei's decision.
+ Witl piuctice, youi investigutive ubility will
impiove und you will ieully stuit to enIoy uncoveiing
und estublisling youi customeis' conceins.
Tlis puts some ol tle cuie luctoi buck into selling,
muking tle wlole piocess moie enIoyuble loi botl
puities.
SMSBook.indb 33 20/7/07 1:55:18 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc o
Il you listen to un expeit in uny neld, tley do tlis quite
nutuiully. It's tle typicul (good) luwnmowei stoie scenuiio.
Tle sulespeison inquiies ubout tle Iob tle customei is ubout
to embuik on und tlen olleis some good udvice und expluins
tleii best options.
Witl tle luwnmowei piospect loi exumple, let's suy it wus
estublisled liom tle outset tlut euse ol stuiting tle mucline
wus u big issue loi tlem. So un electiic stuitei motoi would be
un obvious 'must-luve' oi 'lot button' loi tle buyei.
When cIosing in this situation, a good saIesperson wouId
structure one of their cIoses Iike this:
uo vou rninl rnar an c|ccrric srarrcr moror |ilc rnc onc on rnis
macninc is somcrning vou nccJ?
cs. comes tle obvious unswei.
Are you ready for the next cIose?
Wc||. irs |ignrwcignr. nas p|cnrv o| grunr ro Jo rnc joo on a |awn
rnc sicc o| vours und ir nas an c|ccrric srarrcr moror.
uo vou |ilc ir?
What a great cIose. In fact, the deaI is aImost done ~ one
more cIose wouId probabIy cIinch it. Can you think of one?
What about:
ls rnis mowcr wirnin vour ouJgcr?
SMSBook.indb 34 20/7/07 1:55:18 PM
Bingo! If the answer is yes, the deaI is cIosed.

But wlut il tle unswei is no? Wlut tlen? Step Tliee will
expluin low un obIection cun be used us un oppoitunity
(depending on wlut is suid) by tuking tle obIection buck to
open-ended questions.
But in tlis cuse, tle customei is cleuily deliglted und lus
suid yes.
The next step is afrmation.
Louding tle luwnmowei into tle customei's cui, tle
sulespeison suys:
Wc||. l rcclon mowing rnc |awn is going ro ralc on a wno|c ncw
mcaning in vour nouscno|J. Mr. Joncs. ou`rc going ro noricc a
nugc Ji||crcncc wirn rnis macninc ir`s nor jusr casicr ro usc. ir`s
so casv ro srarr anJ a |or quicrcr rnan vour o|J onc. our
ncignoours arc going ro apprcciarc rnar. anJ rncrc`s no Jouor
rncv`|| oc covcring rnis |irr|c ocaurv o| vours!
Nice afrmation!
See Step Foui (p. 112) loi moie on ulnimution.
So, ultei sucl u wondeilul customei expeiience, wleie do you
tlink tlis customei will be telling lis neiglbouis le bouglt lis
new luwnmowei?
You've got it!
SMSBook.indb 35 20/7/07 1:55:18 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc 6
Using epen-ended questiens.
Wlen I stuited in sules selling udveitising spuce loi tle locul
newspupei I quickly discoveied tlut usking open-ended
questions wus tle most successlul stiutegy.
Wlen I usked my piospective customeis low, wly und wleie
tley lud pieviously tiied udveitising, und witl wlut iesults,
tley would open up willingly, loping tle conveisution would
leud to sometling positive.
It wus obvious to tlem tlut I cuied und genuinely wunted to
estublisl wlut wus best loi tlem.
At tle sume time, tlis uppioucl mude it eusy loi me to nnd out
wlut oui muin competitois weie doing. Tley lud been usking
il tle piospect wunted to udveitise (u closed-ended question
up liont) und tlen tiying to entice tlem witl discount iutes.
It wus u luiily lollow olleiing tlut didn't impiess.
On the other hand, I found what reaIIy worked was
expIoring the key objectives and what was, or wasn't,
producing resuIts. It's what's often referred to as a
'soIution seII'.
It ull seemed too eusy us I begun to win business by simply
usking tlose moie imuginutive und tlougltlul questions ubout
tle clients' pioducts, tleii business, tleii budgets und tleii
expeiience. A duy oi so lutei, I would be piesenting tlem witl
SMSBook.indb 36 20/7/07 1:55:19 PM
un udveitising cumpuign tlut best suited tleii need. We weie
constuntly outselling tle competition becuuse we botleied to
undeistund oui clients' needs und demonstiuted low tley
could be uclieved tliougl oui pupei.
Not only weie we winning tle business olten ut iutes 30S0%
liglei tlun oui competitoi we weie ulso winning customeis'
leuits becuuse tley could see tlut we genuinely cuied. Tlis
metlod successlully iesulted in some long-teim udveitising
uiiungements tlut weie luid loi oui competitois to cunnibulise,
und oui ievenue giew liom stiengtl to stiengtl.
To be lonest, ut tlut stuge ol my sules cuieei I wusn't veiy
stiong ut closing. I didn't ieully get it, und I tlouglt it seemed
u bit pusly. Even so, usking open-ended questions und
mutcling tle need weie woiking ieully well.
Wlen I begun to undeistund wlut u close ieully wus, und low
to usk u seiies ol tlem narura||v in u closing stuiicuse, my sules
went into oveidiive.
As u geneiul iule, people wlo uie good ut open-ended
investigution uie usuully not veiy good ut closing und vice
veisu. It is impoitunt to get tle bulunce iiglt so tlut you cun
be conndent witl botl.
Step Tliee (p. 88) exumines closing in detuil, und slows low
ietuining to tle customei's oiiginul iequiiements nutuiully luys
tle gioundwoik loi tle close.
SMSBook.indb 37 20/7/07 1:55:19 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc 8
5eme usefu| epen-ended questiens.
Heie uie some exumples ol gieut open-ended questions:
When seIIing advertising space:
How Jo vou currcnr|v aJvcrrisc anJ now c||ccrivc is ir?
Wnar scrviccs Jo vou o||cr rnar arc uniquc comparcJ wirn vour
compcrirors?
Wnar sorr o| promorions cou|J vou run a|ongsiJc vour
aJvcrrising campaigns?
Wnar rimc o| vcar Jocs vour aJvcrrising acnicvc rnc ocsr rcsu|rs?
Wnar sorr o| rcrurns wou|J vou cxpccr |rom an aJvcrrising
campaign?
Wnar sorr o| ouJgcr Jo vou navc?
When seIIing a car:
Wnar wi|| vou main|v usc rnc car |or?
Wnv JiJ vou rcsponJ ro mv aJvcrriscmcnr?
Wnar arc rnc rnrcc mosr imporranr rnings vou |ool |or in a car?
l| vou naJ ro. wnar wou|J vou oc prcparcJ ro compromisc on?
Wnar don't vou wanr in a car?
When seIIing a service (e.g. cIeaning):
Wnar cxacr|v arc vour nccJs ncrc?
How wou|J vou |ilc rnis joo ro oc Jonc?
Wnar sorrs o| rnings Jo vou cxpccr |rom vour c|cancr?
How |ong Jo vou rninl rnis joo snou|J ralc?
Wnar was vour |asr c|cancr |ilc wnar JiJ rncv Jo wc||. or nor
so wc||?
Can vou Jcscrioc vour spccia| rcquircmcnrs?
SMSBook.indb 38 20/7/07 1:55:19 PM
When seIIing your expertise (e.g. as a buiIder):
Wnar arc rnc mosr imporranr qua|irics vou |ool |or in a oui|Jcr?
Wnar arc vour oiggcsr |cars rcgarJing rnis joo?
How wou|J vou |ilc rnc quorc ro oc srrucrurcJ?
How |ong Jo vou cxpccr rnis joo ro ralc?
Ol couise, tlese kinds ol questions cun be mucl moie detuiled
tlese exumples uie Iust guides.
A ieully good open-ended question to usk in u piouctive, cold-
cull situution is:
Wnar is rnc ocsr rimc |or mc ro approacn vou wirn mv proJucr?
I luve used tlis one u numbei ol times to get my loot in tle
dooi. It usuully iesults in u positive iesponse tlut you cun close
tle uppointment on, sucl us:
Tnc ocsr rimc ro carcn mc is in rnc morning. l cou|J givc vou
nvc minurcs anJ i| wnar vou`vc gor graos mc. l wi|| givc vou
morc rimc.
Wc||. l can comc our anJ scc vou car|v onc morning. no proo|cm.
Wnar Jav suirs vou? (Good open-ended question.)
TucsJav snou|J oc Ok.
(Time to close tle uppointment.)
Sna|| l comc ov vour o|ncc on TucsJav morning ar 8am. rncn?
SMSBook.indb 39 20/7/07 1:55:19 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc oe
cs. rnar wou|J oc a gooJ rimc.

It's eusy!

SuccessfuI seIIing is based on asking good open-ended
questions at the beginning of the transaction.
1he u|timate epen-ended questien.
An old boss ol mine once tuuglt me tlis vuluuble open-ended
question:
l| vour ouJgcr wasn`r an issuc anJ vou cou|J navc anvrning vou
wanrcJ. wnar wou|J ir oc?
I've nevei usked tlis question becuuse I tiy to be moie specinc,
but I do undeistund wleie my boss wus coming liom becuuse
tle question essentiully tuigets wlut ull sulespeople wunt to
know tle customei's dieum scenuiio.
In tlut puiticului business we weie selling complex
e-commeice solutions und business communicutions like
coipoiute videos, up-muiket piesentutions, television
commeiciuls und websites.
It wus u gieut Iob und we weie tuigeting veiy luige und
successlul coipoiutions. I would olten nnd mysell piesenting in
bouidiooms oveilooking Sydney Huiboui to veiy senioi people
like tle CEO oi tle top executives ol blue-clip compunies.
SMSBook.indb 40 20/7/07 1:55:20 PM
sfcr :: nsxue orcu-cuece oucsfous o:
Oui piesentution slow ieel wus impiessive, so I would begin
tle piesentution witl some knockout coipoiute video clip oi
unimution to set tle stuge und guin some ciedibility.
Tlen, beloie I went on to piesent luitlei, I would usk low
tley cuiiently piesented oi positioned tleii compuny und
wlut soit ol uims tley lud in mind.
Altei u little investigution I would usuully luve some soit ol
insiglt into wlut tley weie plunning loi tle lutuie und could
tlen tuiloi tle iest ol my piesentution witl tlut ciuciul
inloimution in mind.
It's sucl u simple und ellective metlod, yet so muny ol my
colleugues und competitois weien't opeiuting like tlis.
Tley would geneiully luuncl into veiy complicuted pioposuls
und piesentutions wlicl mude tlem look clevei but conlused
tle client. In uddition, tley would iuiely usk low tle client
did business oi wlut tleii lutuie pluns weie.
Olten, tle only ieseuicl tley lud wus gleuned liom tle client's
website, witlout consideiing tlut tle inloimution miglt be
outduted oi only customei-locused.
Aguin, too muny ussumptions und assumprions Jon`r sc||.
Witlout luving mude u connection witl tle client, tley would
spend duys putting togetlei totully iiielevunt pioposuls becuuse
tley didn't ieully undeistund tle client's immediute needs!
SMSBook.indb 41 20/7/07 1:55:20 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc oz
Meunwlile, I wus sticking to my stiutegy. I would usk ubout
tle client's pluns und iequiiements up liont und tlen design
my pitcl to win tle business.
I would listen putiently und tuke notes, olten using tleii own
woids in my pioposul to muke it gel. I would exploie tleii
essentiul iequiiements witl tlem beloie I put loiwuid u
pioposul oi begun to pitcl.
In tlut Iob, I wus piomoted liom business development
munugei to sules diiectoi witlin tliee montls.
Tle ieuson loi my success wusn't becuuse I wus bettei tlun
unyone else; it wus becuuse I wus seen to stick to u busic
loimulu. As u iesult, I uppeuied less stiessed tlun my
colleugues und won moie business witl less elloit.
Open-ended questions are used up front to discover the
customer's requirements and 'must-haves' or 'hot buttons'.
Open-ended questions cunnot be answered with a 'yes' or
'no'. They are the how, whut, when, why and who questions
that genuineIy reveaI the customer's needs.
Wleie possible, uvoid closed-ended questions euily on.
Tle ideu is to guin sucl u tloiougl undeistunding ol tle
customei's needs tlut you will be uble to mutcl youi pioduct
oi seivice to it peilectly.
SMSBook.indb 42 20/7/07 1:55:20 PM
sfcr :: nsxue orcu-cuece oucsfous o
What sort of open-ended questions wouId work weII for
your product or service?
Keep in mind what you are trying to seII, the strengths of
that product, and the type of peopIe you are targeting.
SMSBook.indb 43 20/7/07 1:55:21 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc oo
SMSBook.indb 44 20/7/07 1:55:21 PM
sfcr :: nsxue orcu-cuece oucsfous o
SMSBook.indb 45 20/7/07 1:55:21 PM
You can now see how important open ended questions are for
developing a photographic brief.
You can use them to really get inside your client's head and to
understand what they are trying to achieve and why.
This is so crucial.
Not only will your client gain confidence in knowing you have taken
your time to understand their requirements but you will use this
understanding strategically to win the sale as you move on through
steps 2 and 3.
In the free online video training for Discovery I go into far more detail
about this crucial step. It's so important to get this step right, to set
up the sale properly and win it.
Sales Made Simple is not just the most intuitive sales training
around, it's also ridiculously economical - and you can get the first
entire module for free. I promise once you learn this system you won't
look back.
Please use the link below to click through and take advantage of the
first module of free training.
5tep 2:
SMSBook.indb 46 20/7/07 1:55:21 PM
Afrmine the sale.

Askine closed-ended
questions.

Matchine the need.
Askine open-ended
questions.
SMSBook.indb 47 20/7/07 1:55:22 PM
o8 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
Matching and pitching.
Altei you luve usked some uppiopiiute open-ended questions
und estublisled tle customei's iequiiements und/oi 'lot
buttons', tle next step is to mutcl tlem.
You now need to demonstiute, us ellectively us possible, tlut
youi puiticului seivice oi pioduct sutisnes tlose iequiiements.
This is sometimes referred to as 'needs resoIution' ~
identifying a need and resoIving it.
Tle style ol youi pitcl cun vuiy gieutly in content und
messuging depending on tle situution.
Mutcling tle need could tuke tle loim ol u demonstiution, u
piesentution, u test diive oi u sumple. Youi olleiing could be
piesented viu emuil oi teleplone, oi in u pioposul oi loimul
=
SMSBook.indb 48 20/7/07 1:55:22 PM
sfcr z: unfcuue fuc ucce o
quote. Peilups it iequiies u luce-to-luce meeting un inloimul
clut in u cule oi u bouidioom piesentution. In luct, it could be
u combinution ol uny ol tle ubove, und moie.
Altlougl tle loim ol youi piesentution will depend on muny
tlings, sucl us youi muiket, customeis, enviionment und
budgets, iemembei tlut youi pitcl is sometling you cun
constuntly impiove ovei time.
Tle second step ol tle SMS metlod is ubout developing tle
key messuges tlut woik loi uny pioduct oi seivice.
Like tle nist step, tle sume busic piinciples upply leie no
muttei wlut you uie selling.
Step Two ulso exploies tliee dilleient wuys ol developing un
uppiopiiute mutcl oi pitcl.
Tlese uie luiily tiuditionul stiutegies und best piuctised in tiue
sules enviionments, lowevei tley uie by no meuns nnul.

Tleie will be otlei wuys tlut suit youi puiticului business tlut
no one lus yet tlouglt ol, so keep youi mind open to ulteinute
possibilities.
The point to remember here is that it's at ths stage of the
saIes cycIe that you pitch your product ~ not untiI you fuIIy
understand your customer's needs and before you begin
to cIose.
SMSBook.indb 49 20/7/07 1:55:22 PM
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eve|eping a pitch.
Heie uie tliee wuys to develop u pitcl:
1 Unique seIIing points.
2 Features, advantages and benets.
3 VaIue propositions.
You cun use Iust one ol tlese to loimulute youi pitcl oi pick
und cloose ucioss tle lot; it depends on low complex youi
muiket, pioduct oi seivice is. Incidentully, ull tliee teclniques
woik extiemely well loi developing muiketing und udveitising
muteiiul.
Howevei, tlese tliee suggestions uie simply guidelines leel
liee to utilise moie imuginutive oi peitinent ideus, Iust muke
suie you stick to tle tusk ol mutcling tle need.
Remember that what you are trying to do here is match the
customer's requirements.

:. Unique se||ing peints - U5Ps
Tlis is piobubly tle simplest wuy to uppioucl mutcling youi
pioduct to youi customei's needs.
USPs are the quaIities that set your particuIar product or
service apart from the rest; they are the things that are
uniqueIy yours.
SMSBook.indb 50 20/7/07 1:55:22 PM
sfcr z: unfcuue fuc ucce :
Tley'ie not Iust stunduid leutuies; tley'ie tle ones tlut muke
youi pioduct stund out us bettei oi dilleient.
USPs uie similui to (und sometimes desciibed us) youi 'point
ol dilleience'.
Here are some exampIes of USPs:
u money-buck guuiuntee
liee deliveiy
u unique munuluctuiing leutuie
u speciul ingiedient
liee tiuining
ligl quulity puits
lundmude
speciully closen
enviionmentully liiendly
in excellent condition
yeuis ol expeiience
Oi it could simply be youi pussion und expeitise.
What you shouId be Iooking for are the things that make
your offering specu/.
Wlutevei youi pioduct oi seivice, it's good to estublisl ut leust
one USP loi it.
Bettei still, luve u numbei in mind so tlut you cun select tle
iiglt ones to suit dilleiing customei iequiiements.
SMSBook.indb 51 20/7/07 1:55:23 PM
z 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
Can you name and describe two USPs in regard to your
product or service?
SMSBook.indb 52 20/7/07 1:55:23 PM
sfcr z: unfcuue fuc ucce
z. features, advantages, benets - fAs
FABs uie dilleient to USPs becuuse tley compiise tliee specinc
uspects. FABs uie ellective becuuse tley loice you to tloiouglly
considei youi pioducts oi seivices.
It's best to luve botl ol tlese up youi sleeve USPs loi quick
stutements und FABs loi moie detuiled conveisutions.
features.
Features are the tangibIe operating systems, eIements,
processes or functions that make your product or service
work.
Ol couise, tlese leutuies uie tle ones tlut nutuiully meet tle
buyei's iequiiements.
Foi exumple, tle olleiing could be ligltweiglt, lomemude,
usei-liiendly, clemicul-liee oi un exumple ol tle lutest
teclnology.
Tle best leutuies uie simple to expluin und cleuily suited to
tle customei's iequiiements oi 'lot buttons'.
The features of a product couId incIude:
lockuble cusing
ull tle lutest gudgetiy
SMSBook.indb 53 20/7/07 1:55:23 PM
o 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
eusy-open pop-top
eusy stuitei motoi
pusl-button ieleuse system
leutlei seuts
24-montl money-buck guuiuntee
butteiy-opeiuted
eusy uccess
one size nts ull
double guiuge
suiiound sound
clild sulety
ceituin specincutions
size, coloui oi ingiedients
0-100 in 4.8 seconds
Depending on tle pioduct, tle list is endless.
In a service industry, features couId incIude:
use ol tle liglest quulity pioducts
24-loui seivice
u lelpline
liee pick-up und deliveiy
yeuis ol expeiience
tle lutest teclnology
SMSBook.indb 54 20/7/07 1:55:23 PM
What are the most impressive features of your product or
service? How couId you best describe them?
SMSBook.indb 55 20/7/07 1:55:24 PM
6 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
SMSBook.indb 56 20/7/07 1:55:24 PM
Advantages.
An advantage is an eIement that makes your product or
service superior, or gives it a more favourabIe position
in the transaction. It's the edge that it provides within a
particuIar situation or during its use.
TypicaI advantages are:
gieutei speed
liglei quulity
u biund you cun tiust
u moie economicul option

An udvuntuge cun ulso be u less tungible (but equully vuluuble)
luctoi sucl us youi quulincutions oi expeiience, especiully in
ieguid to seivices.
In luct, youi expeitise could be tle most vuluuble tling you
luve to ollei. It muy well be one ol tle 'lot buttons' youi
customei is looking loi, especiully wlen it comes to seivices
like meclunicul iepuiis, constiuction, uiclitectuie und
dentistiy, loi exumple.
Advuntuges uie usuully poweilul stutements cvcrv ustute
buyei wunts to know wlut udvuntuges tleii puicluse will
iesult in, und to leel tlut tley luve mude tle iiglt decision.
Tle udvuntuges you cun ollei uie impoitunt to youi customei,
especiully il tley coiiespond to tleii essentiul iequiiements.
SMSBook.indb 57 20/7/07 1:55:24 PM
8 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
What advantages does your product or service offer?
SMSBook.indb 58 20/7/07 1:55:25 PM
SMSBook.indb 59 20/7/07 1:55:25 PM
6e 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
enets.
A benent is simply tle wuy u pioduct oi seivice impioves oi
piomotes sometling loi tle customei.
Fiom u buyei's point ol view, u benent iesults in tleii luving
moie time, moie ioom, moie eneigy, oi even moie money.
It's wlut tlis pioduct oi seivice will do loi tle buyei und low
it ullects tlem.
Benets of products couId be:
euse ol ussembly
lustei uccess
gieutei ieucl
longei lusting
usei-liiendly
Benets of services couId be:
lust iesults
seivice witl u smile
quick tuinuiound
wc wi|| ralc carc o| rnis |or vou
wc savc vou rimc

SMSBook.indb 60 20/7/07 1:55:25 PM
sfcr z: unfcuue fuc ucce 6:
What short- and/or Iong-term benets does your product
or service offer?
SMSBook.indb 61 20/7/07 1:55:25 PM
6z 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
How wiII this product or service match or supersede your
customer's requirements?
SMSBook.indb 62 20/7/07 1:55:26 PM
sfcr z: unfcuue fuc ucce 6
What kind of short-term benets are you offering? WiII
the customer see an immediate improvement in their Iife?
SMSBook.indb 63 20/7/07 1:55:26 PM
6o 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
Putting fAs inte practice.
Keeping youi FABs uppeimost in youi mind und stiinging tlem
togetlei in u pitcl is not us eusy us using USPs but once you
luve piuctised it u lew times, piesenting youi FABs will come
to you moie nutuiully.
Heie's un exumple ol low FABs could woik in tle luwnmowei
stoie liom Step One. In un elloit to mutcl tle customei's
iequiiements, u good sulespeison miglt suy sometling ulong
tlese lines:
Tnis |awnmowcr is |ignrwcignr anJ nas gooJ sa|crv |carurcs
[feutures] wnicn mcans vou`|| nnisn rnc wno|c joo morc quicl|v
[beneht] anJ |cc| a |or sa|cr wncn vou`rc ncgoriaring rnc s|opcs
in vour garJcn [udvuntuge]. lr a|so nas an c|ccrric srarrcr moror
[feuture] rnar malcs srarring casicr [udvuntuge].
Tncsc uscr-|ricnJ|v |carurcs [feuture und beneht] wi|| |cavc vou
|cc|ing |ar |css rircJ wncn vou`vc nnisncJ rnc joo [beneht] anJ
rnis wi|| givc vou morc rimc ro Jo rnc orncr rnings vou |ilc Joing
in rnc garJcn [udvuntuge].
+ You will luve u luge udvuntuge ovei youi
competition il you piomote youi FABs cleuily becuuse
tley ieully slow tle customei low youi olleiing meets
tleii needs, not Iust in teims ol its leutuies but in wlut
it meuns to tlem.
SMSBook.indb 64 20/7/07 1:55:26 PM
It is lelplul to keep tle competition in mind wlen you udopt
tlis stiutegy. Il you know youi pioduct is supeiioi, use youi
FABs to expluin wly (witlout numing tle competitoi) und
ieully emplusise tle ielevunt points. Remembei, eveiy buyei
is constuntly evuluuting und unulysing in oidei to muke tle
iiglt puiclusing decision, so tell tlem wlut tley need to leui
in oidei to swing tleii decision youi wuy.
A good undeistunding und explunution ol youi pioduct oi
seivice's leutuies, udvuntuges und benents ieully puts youi
customei in tle pictuie. Witl u little piuctice, youi FABs will
come to mind moie ieudily und you will be uble to select tle
iiglt ones loi eucl customei witl euse.
Which features give your product or service an advantage
over others in the market and how wiII these features
benet the buyer?
SMSBook.indb 65 20/7/07 1:55:27 PM
66 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
SMSBook.indb 66 20/7/07 1:55:27 PM
Try presenting a product or service using FABs.
SMSBook.indb 67 20/7/07 1:55:27 PM
68 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
What sort of open-ended questions (asked at the beginning
of the saIes cycIe) wouId best position you to present your
Ieading FABs?
SMSBook.indb 68 20/7/07 1:55:28 PM
Here are some good exampIes of FABs to use when seIIing
reaI estate:
Features:
tle numbei ol iooms
tle size ol tle guiden
secuiity
locution
Advantages:
sule loi clildien
close to woik
notling to do, Iust move in
Benets:
u gieut investment
suits youi iequiiements peilectly
youi own lome no moie ienting
Here are some suitabIe FABs to use when seIIing a car:
Features:
economy
luige boot
eusy to diive
nve doois
luel-elncient engine
Advantages:
biggei tlun youi cuiient cui
SMSBook.indb 69 20/7/07 1:55:28 PM
e 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
will suve you money on petiol
goll clubs will nt in boot
Benets:
sule
ioomy
low-muintenunce
. va|ue prepesitiens - vPs
A 'vulue pioposition' oi VP is tle vulue ol youi ollei liom tle
buyei's peispective it's wlut mutteis to tlem.
To nd a VP, put yourseIf in the buyer's position and try to
understand what they are Iooking for and why. Your open-
ended questions shouId give you the insight to accurateIy
estabIish the VP for any customer.
In luct, tleie cun be u numbei ol busic VPs loi ceituin pioducts
und seivices. Foi exumple, u VP loi tle luwnmowei buyei wus
tle mucline's eusy stuit le cun pluce u vulue on tlut. Anotlei
VP wus tle luct tlut it wus ligltweiglt und eusy to munuge. In
combinution tlese leutuies muke loi u stiong vulue pioposition.
People uie olten diopping lints und clues loi VPs in tleii
unsweis to open-ended questions: On vcs. mv wi|c is sicl anJ
rircJ o| our o|J wasning macninc!
And tleie's tle vulue pioposition: u luppy wile.
SMSBook.indb 70 20/7/07 1:55:28 PM
sfcr z: unfcuue fuc ucce :
Using U5Ps, fAs and vPs.
Foi u lew yeuis I wus tle coipoiute development diiectoi loi
un uid oigunisution. Tle oigunisution lent money to tle needy
wlile pioviding tlem witl busic business tiuining. Tle uim wus
to give tlese people u clunce to woik tleii wuy out ol poveity.
Amuzingly, 98% ol tle louns weie iepuid und tlis meunt tlut
tle money could be rccvc|cJ us new louns to otlei people it's
culled micio-enteipiise development.
It wus my iesponsibility to iuise luige cusl donutions liom blue-
clip coipoiutions, ligl net-woitl individuuls und cluicles loi
one-time donutions ol $10 000 to $4S0 000.
We ulso souglt to enguge witl tlese oigunisutions und
coipoiutions loi volunteeis und pio bono olleiings like
muiketing expeitise, uccounting oi legul seivices, soltwuie
und tle like.
Piesenting tle oigunisution's woik wus exciting becuuse it wus
sucl u clevei concept und most people ludn't leuid ol it beloie.
Howevei, it wus ulso quite complex so we decided to develop
two key vulue piopositions.
The rst vaIue proposition was that the Ioan wouId be
repaid and recycIed out to another person in need.
To u muIoi donoi, tlut pioposition leld signincunt vulue. Tle
luct tlut tleii donution wus going to keep on woiking ud
SMSBook.indb 71 20/7/07 1:55:28 PM
z 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
innnitum (even ultei tleii deutl) ieully uppeuled, especiully
to business people wlo undeistood tle vulue ol cupitul
investment.
The second vaIue proposition was that the Ioan was a hand
'up', not a handout.
Helping needy people to lelp tlemselves und escupe poveity
wus viewed us liglly woitlwlile und vuluuble. It wus not u
sloit-teim nx, bunduid solution oi uct ol cluiity.
Tle loun iecipient would ieceive extensive tiuining to steudily
develop tle entiepieneuiiul tulents tlut would lilt tlem out
ol poveity und ensuie tley didn't ietuin to it. Tle piogium
locused on bieuking tle mindset ussociuted witl poveity
wlile simultuneously woiking on u moie piucticul level.
Tle vulue pioposition leie wus tlut tle donoi wus puitneiing
witl specinc individuuls to lelp tlem bieuk liee ol poveity
und tley could ulso be suie tlut tleii money wus woiking
in eveiy sense ol tle woid.
Once I lud uncoveied tle donoi's motivution tliougl tle use
ol open-ended questions, I would piess lome one ol tlese
vulue piopositions (oi botl) beloie I would even considei
closing on wlut tley miglt wunt to give, und wlen.
The use of vaIue propositions in these cases reaIIy heIped
the donor to appreciate how we understood and matched
their own charitabIe motivations.
SMSBook.indb 72 20/7/07 1:55:29 PM
Wlen piesenting tle oigunisution's FABs, I lud u lot ol muteiiul
to woik witl. A signincunt feature wus tlut tle loun money
wus being lent ut locul bunk iutes wlicl weie 7S% below tle
iutes tle locul loun sluiks weie olleiing. Tle advantage leie
wus tlut tle iecipient would uctuully be uble to see iesults
luiily quickly us tley developed tleii smull business.
I know tlis one is luid to believe, but tle benet ol tlis wus
tlut tle iecipient didn't luve to moitguge tleii clildien us
luboui to guuiuntee tle suivivul ol tleii loun. Tle locul
moneylendeis would uctuully muke tleii loun iecipients
morrgagc rncir cni|Jrcn il tley couldn't iepuy tle loun (ut
tleii exoibitunt inteiest iutes).
Anotlei feature ol tle piogium wus tlut it piovided business
tiuining. Eveiy week, tle loun iecipients would meet in gioups
to muke tleii iepuyments und ieceive tiuining loi un loui.
Tley ulso cioss-guuiunteed tleii louns wlicl meunt tlut tley
becume uccountuble to eucl otlei.
Tlis lud u numbei ol otlei benets, tle muin one being tlut il
someone in tle gioup wus luving pioblems iepuying tle loun,
tle otleis would eitlei suppoit tlem oi peei piessuie would
compel tlem to come up witl tle money. Tlis wus u muIoi
luctoi in estublisling tle oigunisution's ligl iepuyment iute.
Tlese weie gieut FABs wlicl I consciously tlouglt ubout und
tuiloied to individuul donois once I lud estublisled tleii
iequiiements in tlis cuse tleii motivution und ieusons loi
wunting to lelp otleis.
SMSBook.indb 73 20/7/07 1:55:29 PM
o 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
Anotlei advantage wus tlut tle iecipients (we culled tlem
clients) weie not getting u lundout und tleieloie not becoming
welluie-dependent. Yet unotlei advantage wus tlut tle client's
wlole lumily wus positively inspiied, not Iust becuuse ol tleii
incieused euinings but becuuse tle entiepieneuiiul skills,
business knowledge und sense ol lope weie ull being pussed
on to tle otlei lumily membeis by exumple.
Tle benets weie munilold but tle piimuiy ones weie seeing
tlese people bieuk liee ol poveity combined witl tle positive
clunges in tle locul community us moie commeice und tiude
developed in tle uieu. Tleie wus ulso u USP tle oigunisution
wus unique in pioviding busic business tiuining plus udvice
ieguiding leultl issues sucl us AIDS und domestic violence.
By consciousIy deveIoping good FABs and VPs, we were in
a position to reaIIy motivate the donors to give generousIy
and with the condence that their donation wouId have a
remarkabIe impact.
Cleuily, tlis exumple is iicl witl leutuies, udvuntuges und
benents but tley uie lound (to vuiying degiees) in ull pioducts
und seivices. You Iust luve to uncovei und develop tlem.
Remembei low tle 'good' sulespeison in tle luwnmowei stoie
scenuiio usked smuit open-ended questions, estublisling tle
customei's piimuiy needs loi u ligltweiglt, eusy-to-stuit,
eusily muintuined mucline. Tle sulespeison tlen looked to
tle ielevunt FABs tlut mutcled tle customei's need.
SMSBook.indb 74 20/7/07 1:55:29 PM
Tley discussed tle electiic stuit [feature| und low it would
muke tle wlole Iob less stiesslul [advantage| und nnisled in
less time [benet|.
Tle sulespeison muy even look loi u USP sucl us tle luct tlut
tlis puiticului model comes witl u yeui's liee seivice. In
uddition, u VP like ieliubility is uppiopiiute leie us tle biund
ol mowei is ienowned loi excellent engineeiing tlut would
nevei let tle buyei down.
How wouId you present your product or service using FABs?
SMSBook.indb 75 20/7/07 1:55:30 PM
6 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
SMSBook.indb 76 20/7/07 1:55:30 PM
Can you think of two VPs that your reguIar customers
might appreciate?
SMSBook.indb 77 20/7/07 1:55:30 PM
8 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
What USP initiaIIy comes to mind for your business?

SMSBook.indb 78 20/7/07 1:55:30 PM
Case studies and testimenia|s.
Cuse studies und testimoniuls uie gieut wuys to demonstiute
low youi pioduct oi seivice woiks by utilising tle vulue otlei
customeis luve guined liom it.
1estimenia|s.
A testimoniaI is a quote or statement that endorses your
product ~ you can never have too many of them.
To obtuin tlem, you will need to usk pievious customeis low
tlings uie going, und wletlei tley uie pleused witl tleii
iecent puicluse und wly.
By tle time tle sulespeison in tle luwnmowei stoie lus closed
tle sule using tle SMS metlod, tley will be in tle peilect
position to usk tle buyei il it would be OK to cull lim in u lew
weeks to see low tlings uie going. Tle sulespeison will tlen
luve un oppoitunity to diuw out tle testimoniul ut tlut time.
Wlen I bouglt my lust cui, I lud one muIoi issue witl tle
biund I wus consideiing.
To be lonest, I loved tle cui but I wus conceined ubout its
ieliubility. Tle sulesmun tlen piovided me witl u teiiinc piece
ol leedbuck tlut u pievious customei lud given lim ultei
tuking un outbuck tiip. He suid tle only tling tlut lud gone
SMSBook.indb 79 20/7/07 1:55:31 PM
8e 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
wiong wus tlut one ol tle six speukeis lud cut out. Tlut wus
enougl to eiuse my concein und I bouglt tle cui. Incidentully,
it's given me no tiouble ut ull.
Testimoniuls uie extiemely uselul. Il you get some ieully good
leedbuck on youi pioduct oi seivice, it's woitl usking youi
customei's peimission to use it us u wiitten testimoniul to
piomote youi pioduct. Even bettei, put it on youi website oi
in youi muiketing liteiutuie.
Some peopIe are happy to endorse products and services
but others aren't, so muke sure you get ther consent and
be carefuI how you use their comments. A testimoniaI
isn't necessariIy an endorsement but it is a statement of
satisfaction.
Case studies.
A cuse study is busicully u moie complex testimoniul.
A case study thoroughIy expIores the customer's core
issues, their requirements, how you worked together, how
you heIped to recognise and then soIve their probIems, and
the overaII outcomes.
Cuse studies uie most uppiopiiute loi 'solution selling'. Tlut's
wlen you udupt u pioduct (oi pioduct set oi seivices) to
meet u buyei's specinc iequiiements in oidei to uclieve u
'customised solution'.
SMSBook.indb 80 20/7/07 1:55:31 PM
sfcr z: unfcuue fuc ucce 8:
Tle ideul cuse study would demonstiute low you woiked witl
tle customei to estublisl tleii 'biiel'. It would tlen exumine
tle solutions you pioduced und tle wuy you deliveied und
integiuted tlose solutions witl tle customei's conceins.
Finully, tle study would exploie und summuiise tle iesults.
I luve used in-deptl cuse studies wlen selling intiunets,
websites und e-commeice solutions, especiully to big
coipoiutions. Tle buyei needs to know low tle biienng
piocess woiks und wlut soit ol timelines und milestones uie
estublisled up liont loi signing oll on vuiious stuges ol tle
pioIect. Tley wunt to be suie tlut someone else lus lud u
positive expeiience witl you. Witl business-to-business sules,
tle buyei's Iob cun be on tle line il tley muke u mistuke oi
luven't upplied due diligence in cloosing tle iiglt suppliei.
SaIespeopIe use case studies to estabIish credibiIity, trust
and condence, especiaIIy with new customers.
I luve ulwuys locused on oigunising u numbei ol luppy
customeis us botl ieleiiuls und cuse studies.
I usuully set tlis up by tuking u customei out to luncl two oi
tliee montls ultei tley luve puiclused liom me. I stuit by
usking tlem u lot ol open-ended questions ubout tle iesults
tley've uclieved. Il it's ull veiy positive, I tlen usk il tley mind
my using tleii comments us u ieleiiul.
Nine times out ol ten tley uie luppy loi me to do so.
SMSBook.indb 81 20/7/07 1:55:31 PM
8z 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
Altei tle luncl, I send tle customei un emuil tlunking tlem
loi tleii time und conniming tlut tley luve ugieed to be used
us u ieleiiul. I tlen wiite up tle cuse study und loiwuid it to
tlem loi uppiovul. Aguin, nine times out ol ten tley uppiove
it, und even go so lui us to usk il tley cun use ceituin puits ol
it loi tleii own muiketing oi sules puiposes.
Ol couise, sutisned customeis uie u pieiequisite loi tlis to even
be possible. But il you luve used youi SMS metlod piopeily
you slould luve no tiouble witl tlis.
Il un obIection does uiise duiing closing und you cun see low
u testimoniul could cleui it up, go buck to youi open-ended
questions und cleuily estublisl wlut tle obIection is ubout;
tlut is, wlut customei iequiiement isn't being met. Tlen move
to mutcl tle iequiiement witl tle testimoniul und close it witl
u uocs rnar saris|v vour conccrn? type ol question.
I like to use testimoniuls becuuse tley tell tle stoiy ol wlut my
compuny oi pioduct is ull ubout, us well us being tle peilect
wuy to mutcl my customei's iequiiements.
Obviously, witl smullei pioducts und inexpensive items you
don't necessuiily need loimul cuse studies oi testimoniuls but,
like tle cui sulesmun I bouglt liom, u simple bit ol lonest
leedbuck liom unotlei customei is ulwuys lundy.
BuiId up a bank of testimoniaIs or case studies to use
during Step Two when matching your customer's needs.
SMSBook.indb 82 20/7/07 1:55:31 PM
Writing a prepesa|.
Wlen wiiting letteis oi pioposuls, ulwuys be diiect und don't
use too muny supeilutives like rnis funtustc proJucr oi our
extruordnury moncv-oacl guaranrcc.
People uie busy und tley wunt to be uble to ieud tlings quickly
und eusily. Tley uie looking loi lucts, not ull. Tle best tling
to do is get stiuiglt to tle point.
I luve seen 20-puge pioposuls sent out loi smull Iobs und you
Iust know tlut tleie's no wuy unyone is going to ieud it ull.
Tle pioblem leie is tlut il u piospect lusn't ieud youi pioposul
tloiouglly becuuse it's too complex und longwinded, tley will
be neivous ubout signing oll und it will be ulmost impossible
to close tle sule.
FoIIow this easy format for cIear proposaIs:
1 Executive summuiy. Even tlougl it opens youi document,
tlis is best wiitten lust. It outlines tle contents ol tle
pioposul but doesn't mention cost.
2 Biiey desciibe tle customei's business to slow tlut you
undeistund it.
3 Biiey outline youi business.
4 Outline tle busic obIectives und iequiiements ol tle pioIect
tlut you uie pitcling loi.
SMSBook.indb 83 20/7/07 1:55:32 PM
8o 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
5 Outline youi cieutive ideus, solutions und iecommendutions
tlut meet tle obIectives und iequiiements.
6 Outline timelines und key milestones on low you would
plysicully delivei tle Iob.
7 Itemise costs, culminuting in un oveiull cost oi quote.
8 Outline youi ciedentiuls, cuse studies und testimoniuls.
9 Teims und conditions cun lollow tlis, but I usuully don't
supply tlem until tle pioposul lus been ieud. Il I cun close
on tle content ol tle pioposul, tlen on tle teims und
conditions (us steps in u closing stuiicuse), I um in u piime
position to close tle sule.
The best way to present your nished proposaI to a
customer is to read it with them.
Too muny people spend louis wiiting tleii pioposul und tlen
Iust uttucl it to un emuil oi lettei, loping tlut tle piospect will
open it immediutely und pusl eveiytling else uside to ieud it.
Tlis is lui too iisky!
Tle best tling to do luving estublisled tlut tle client
uctuully wunts u wiitten pioposul is to ugiee tlut wlen it's
ieudy, you will tuke tle time to go ovei it witl tlem. Tlen, il
tleie uie uny issues, tley cun be cluiined quickly (und even
SMSBook.indb 84 20/7/07 1:55:32 PM
closed on) und you cun openly convey some ol youi pussion
und entlusiusm loi wlut you'ie selling ut tle sume time.

Foi some sules, especiully smullei ones, you miglt pitcl oi
quote viu emuil oi teleplone, but iemembei tlut tle best pitcl
luppens wlen tle customei's iequiiements uie tloiouglly
undeistood. You slould ulso connim tlut tley luve lully
giusped youi pioposul by usking u closed-ended question.
Once you've done tlut, you cun get onto tle closing stuiicuse.
If you appIy the rst two SMS steps to any transaction, you
wiII nd yourseIf in the perfect position to cIose the deaI.

SMSBook.indb 85 20/7/07 1:55:32 PM
I love this step because it's really where you do the sell bit of your
selling. If you follow the Sales Made Simple system properly and use
your FABs, unique selling points and value propositions the way I lay
them out here you are in a great position to go on and close the deal.
So as photographer it's crucial that you explain to the client how you
will approach the job (features), and how your approach will benefit
them and the advantage that they will get from the way you produce
your images.
Don't be shy to spell it out for them. The client wants to hear how you
are going to deliver what they want. Do this properly and it will set
you apart from any competitors and make it easy for you to win the
sale in step 3.
If you like what I have shown you so far and would like to become
really confident at sales and improve your sales results ten fold, then
click on the video link below and complete the SMS training on line.
There I will explain it to you face to face and in more detail so that
you can win the work that will build your business.
And remember by clicking through this ebook you not only get the first
module free, but you also receive a 50% discount on the entire course
when you decide to take the full training - and all because you are a
friend of PhotoMerchant.
5tep 3:
SMSBook.indb 86 20/7/07 1:55:32 PM
Afrmine the sale.

Askine closed-ended
questions.

Matchine the need.
Askine open-ended
questions.
SMSBook.indb 87 20/7/07 1:55:33 PM
88 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
1he c|esed-ended questien.
It's time to stuit closing wlen you uie conndent tlut tle nist
two steps luve been piopeily completed; you luve uncoveied
tle customei's iequiiements und mutcled tlem witl youi
pioduct oi seivice.
Closing is ull ubout conniming tlut tle customei's needs
luve been met und tlen steeiing tle negotiution to ieucl its
ultimute conclusion u sule.
In saIes, a 'cIose' refers to a cIosed-ended question.
A cIosed-ended question is contrary to an open-ended
question in that it can on/y be answered with a 'yes' or a
'no'.
Heie uie some exumples ol closed-ended questions:
?
SMSBook.indb 88 20/7/07 1:55:33 PM
8 sfcr : nsxue ctosce-cuece oucsfous
uo vou |ilc wnar vou navc sccn ncrc?
uocs rnis nr vour ouJgcr?
ls rnis rnc sorr o| qua|irv vou wcrc |ooling |or?
uo vou rninl vour wi|c wou|J |ilc rnis?
uo vou |ilc rnis co|our?
ls rncrc anvrning vou Jon`r unJcrsranJ aoour rnis?
Wou|J vou |ilc ro ouv rnis onc?
Cun you see low closed-ended questions cun only be unsweied
witl u 'yes' oi u 'no'?
These simpIe exampIes show how cIosed-ended questions
not onIy conrm that the requirements have been met,
but that each question aIso moves the negotiation in the
direction of a saIe.
Ideully, youi close slould ieleience tle customei's piimuiy
iequiiements und 'lot buttons'.
Foi exumple, u cui buyei is u keen gollei und in Step One you
estublisled tlut le needs u big boot loi lis goll clubs. In tlis
situution, one ol youi closes slould be:
Wou|J vour go|| c|uos nr com|orrao|v inro rnis ooor?
Oi peilups u buyei is looking loi speciul sloes loi u wedding.
An uppiopiiute close would be:
Wi|| rncsc snocs go wc|| wirn vour ournr?
SMSBook.indb 89 20/7/07 1:55:33 PM
e 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
1he c|esing staircase.
In u simple sules situution one closed-ended question cun
close u tiunsuction, lowevei in most ciicumstunces u numbei
ol closes uie needed to piopeily clincl tle deul.
A seres of c/oses is caIIed a 'cIosing staircase'.
A closing stuiicuse is wleie you line up u lew stiong closes in
u iow in oidei to position tle negotiution loi tle nnul close to
complete tle deul.
Closing is iutlei like leiding sleep. You use closes to leid
tle sleep (tle iequiiements) into tle sleep pen und close tle
gute (tle sule).
C|imbing the c|esing staircase.
Recently, I decided to buy u new electiic sluvei. I lound u
stoie tlut speciulised in sluveis, witl u luge displuy tlut took
up tle wlole wull.
Tle young sulesmun woiked well to slow me tlut one sluvei
in puiticului met my iequiiements. I told lim it wus u bit moie
expensive tlun I lud expected, but tlut I wus dennitely
consideiing it. Wlile I wus tlinking tlis tliougl, le suddenly
tiied to close:
Wou|J vou |ilc mc ro gcr onc o| rncsc |rom our rnc oacl |or vou?
SMSBook.indb 90 20/7/07 1:55:33 PM
: sfcr : nsxue ctosce-cuece oucsfous
He took me completely by suipiise und ultlougl, us u sules
tiuinei, I wus pleused to see lim tiying to close tle deul, it
wus lui too euily und it stuitled me.
Tle tiouble wus tlut it wus lis nist und only close.
I lelt coineied becuuse I needed u bit moie time to tlink und
peilups considei wly I slould buy tlut sluvei. I Iust wusn't
quite ieudy to buy, but le lud lelt me witl nowleie to move
so I went cold und Iust suid: l`m nor surc vcr. He lud nowleie
to go witl me now, eitlei. I lelt uwkwuid und wunted to leuve
tle stoie us quickly us possible, wlicl I did.
Howevei, il le lud tuken me up u closing stuiicuse, le muy
well luve mude tle sule. He lud u bit to woik witl too tleie
wus u $S0 cusl-buck ollei tlut le lud ulieudy told me ubout.
He could luve woiked tlut into lis closing stuiicuse, wlicl
miglt luve gone like tlis:
l unJcrsranJ rnar rnis is a |irr|c ovcr vour ouJgcr. our can vou
scc now rnis moJc| is |ar supcrior ro rnc oncs ar vour ouJgcr
|cvc| anJ nas mucn ocrrcr |carurcs |or vou?
I dennitely would luve suid 'yes' to tlut nist close. Tlen le
could luve continued witl unotlei close:
uo vou |ilc ir? uocs ir Jo wnar vou wanr vour ncw snavcr ro Jo?
He would luve known le wus on sule giound tleie us le
could see tlut I liked it und le lud ulieudy done u gieut Iob
SMSBook.indb 91 20/7/07 1:55:34 PM
z 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
ol slowing me its FABs. So I would luve piovided lim witl
unotlei 'yes' und unotlei step up lis closing stuiicuse. He
could luve come in witl u tliid close leie:
As vou saiJ. Sir. ir`s a oir ovcr vour ouJgcr our ir Jocs navc rnc
$50 casn-oacl Jca| wirn ir. ou navc ro agrcc rnar`s a prcrrv
gooJ o||cr.
cs. l wou|J navc ro agrcc.
Heie comes tle louitl close:
lr |ools as rnougn rnis snavcr is rnc rignr onc |or vou. Sir. uo vou
rninl ir mignr oc worrn srrcrcning vour ouJgcr |or?
Oi peilups:
Fvcn rnougn ir`s a oir ovcr vour ouJgcr. vou wou|J navc ro agrcc
rnar ir`s vcrv gooJ va|uc.
I would luve ugieed witl botl tlose points. Tlen le could
luve smiled conndently ut me und mude lis nnul close:
Wou|J vou |ilc mc ro gcr onc |rom our rnc oacl |or vou. Sir?
And ut tlut point, I know I would luve suid 'yes'.
CIosing prematureIy or without a number of preIiminary
cIoses can reaIIy work against you. This is why a cIosing
staircase works so weII.
SMSBook.indb 92 20/7/07 1:55:34 PM
sfcr : nsxue ctosce-cuece oucsfous
Incidentully, I ietuined to tle stoie u week lutei, bouglt tlut
sluvei liom tle sulesmun, und expluined to lim wlut lud
luppened wlen le tiied to close tle sule too euily.
I expluined tle piinciple ol u closing stuiicuse to lim und le
wus giutelul loi tle udvice. He is now convinced ol tle benents
ol using u closing stuiicuse, wlicl will impuct positively und
diumuticully on lis lutuie sules cuieei. In tuin, I um giutelul
loi sucl u good exumple to illustiute tle closing stuiicuse.
Take progressive steps.
As u geneiul iule, you slould cleck tlut tle buyei's needs luve
been met beloie you mention budget oi piice, und tlen move
on to tle nnul close, wlicl is to usk loi tle oidei.
Wlen I wus selling witl pioposuls oi quotes I would ulwuys
close uiound tle simple tlings nist, sucl us:
uo vou unJcrsranJ rnc proposa|?
uocs ir aJJrcss rnc oric| vou gavc mc?
ls rncrc anvrning in ir vou Jon`r nccJ or unJcrsranJ?
Havc wc aJJrcsscJ a|| vour oojccrivcs?
Havc wc misscJ anvrning?
uo vou navc anv |ccJoacl vou wanr ro givc mc?
I would tlen move loiwuid to discussing low tle piice sits,
wletlei oi not eveiyone is on tle sume puge und so on, und
woik tliougl uny obIections beloie nnully closing.
SMSBook.indb 93 20/7/07 1:55:34 PM
o 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
0bjectiens and the c|esing staircase.
In u peilect woild, ull tle closed-ended questions on youi
closing stuiicuse would be unsweied positively und you would
close tle deul eusily.
Unloitunutely, in ieulity tlis doesn't ulwuys luppen und it's ut
tlis stuge tlut you muy be conlionted by obIections.
Foitunutely, tle stiuctuie ol tle SMS metlod ensuies tlut you
know tlut tlis is wleie obIections cun possibly uiise und tlut
you cun lundle tlem systemuticully liom tlis point wlile
iemuining in tle closing stuiicuse.
Euiliei, I used tle unulogy ol leiding sleep. Like u slepleid,
you sometimes luve to be tlougltlul und stiutegic in low you
iound up ull tle iequiiements. Occusionully, one will iun uwuy
liom tle leid und you need to keep tle otleis giouped
togetlei us you cluse ultei tle iunuwuy. Tlut 'iunuwuy' would
be sometling like un obIection, und you need to lold ull tle
iequiiements (tlut navc been met) togetlei on tle closing
stuiicuse wlile you biing tle obIection buck into line.
An objection is a customer concern that has become
apparent whiIe you are cIosing. It couId be about their
condence in the product, its price or features, deIivery
dates, or something simiIar.
Objections need to be deaIt with immediateIy and
overcome in order to make the saIe.
SMSBook.indb 94 20/7/07 1:55:34 PM
ea|ing with ebjectiens.
Tle SMS metlod is peilect loi lundling obIections. You simply
tuke tle obIection buck ovei exuctly tle sume steps I luve Iust
coveied Steps One, Two und Tliee.
Wlen you uie luced witl un obIection, listen uttentively und
ucknowledge it. Tlen go buck to Step One und usk one oi
moie open-ended questions to exploie tle obIection in oidei
to lully undeistund it. Tlen go to Step Two und mutcl it witl
u solution oi explunution. Finully, connim tlut tle obIection
lus been iesolved witl u closed-ended question.
Tlen it's buck on und up tle closing stuiicuse.
Foi exumple, in tle luwnmowei stoie we luve tlis scenuiio:
1 Tle sulespeison lus identined tle customei's piimuiy
iequiiements tliougl tle use ol open-ended questions.
2 Tle sulespeison lus mutcled tlose iequiiements witl u
specinc mucline in tle stoie.
+ An obIection isn't necessuiily u negutive tling und
cun olten be seen us u stiong buying signul. A good
sulespeison cun use un obIection to close u deul using
tle SMS metlod.
SMSBook.indb 95 20/7/07 1:55:35 PM
6 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
3 Tle sulespeison lus usked tleii nist close:
uocs rnis |ool |ilc rnc sorr o| rning vou`rc a|rcr?
cs. ieplies tle customei.
Tle sulespeison moves up tleii closing stuiicuse us tle
customei is looking luiily luppy:
Tnis macninc is $550. ls rnis wirnin vour ouJgcr?
Look out, here comes the objection!
Nor rca||v. l |ovc rnc macninc our l was noping ro spcnJ a oir
|css rnan rnis.
4 Buck to Step One (open-ended question):
Ok. wnar is vour ouJgcr?
Oi:
How |ar o|| vour ouJgcr arc wc?
l was noping ro gcr somcrning |or arounJ $500.
5 Tle sulespeison ussesses wletlei tley uie in iunge to close
on u negotiuted piice oi wletlei tley slould stuit looking
ut u less expensive mucline tlut won't compiomise tle
customei's iequiiements too mucl.
SMSBook.indb 96 20/7/07 1:55:35 PM
In tlis puiticului scenuiio, tleie luppens to be u bit ol lut
in tle piice und tle sulespeison cun meet tle customei on
wlut le is loping to puy.
6 Tlis obIection lus now become un oppoitunity to sloot
iiglt to tle top ol tle closing stuiicuse und close tle deul:
l| l was ro swccrcn rnc pricc a oir ro oring ir in |inc wirn vour
ouJgcr. wou|J vou agrcc ro ouv rnis macninc?
Bingo!
cs. l wou|J. l |ilc rnc macninc. anJ i| vou can Jo ir |or $500.
l`|| ouv ir.
Done!
7 Tle sulespeison wiites up tle oidei, ulnims tle sule und
gets some vulue liom tle discount by usking il it would be
possible to contuct tle buyei in tle lutuie loi some
leedbuck tle intention leie muy be to obtuin u ieleience
oi testimoniul.
An aIternate scenario.
Ol couise, u sulespeison won't ulwuys be uble to biing tle
piice down to meet tle customei's budget. In tlis cuse, tley
uie buck on tle closing stuiicuse und luve Iust lit tle sume
piice obIection. Tle sulespeison is ovei tle customei's budget
SMSBook.indb 97 20/7/07 1:55:35 PM
8 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
by $S0, but tlis time tleie's no excess in tle piice to pluy witl
und it cun't be ieduced. Howevei, tle sulespeison does luve
un undeistunding ol tle customei's iequiiements.
Heie, tle sulespeison must ietuin to tle open-ended questions
ol Step One:
l navc somc orncr macnincs rnar navc simi|ar |carurcs anJ rncv
mignr nr vour ouJgcr. Wnar sorr o| ngurc JiJ vou navc in minJ?
$500 is mv |imir. suys tle customei.
Tle sulespeison tlen slows tle customei u couple ol muclines
tlut still (oi ulmost) meet ull lis iequiiements, but dennitely
include lis 'lot buttons'. Altei demonstiuting botl ol tlem
(Step Two), tle sulespeison ietuins to tle closing stuiicuse:
Born rncsc macnincs nr vour ouJgcr anJ rcquircmcnrs quirc wc||
is rncrc onc rnar vou prc|cr?
cs. l rninl l prc|cr rnis onc. suys tle customei.
Tle sulespeison lus successlully cleuied tlis obIection und is
buck ut tle closing stuiicuse wleie tley lelt oll. Tley uie now
in u position to close tle deul.
CooJ. rnis is a grcar macninc anJ. in mv opinion. ir`s rnc ocrrcr
o| rnc rwo |or vour rcquircmcnrs. Arc rncrc anv orncr issucs?
(Nice close).
SMSBook.indb 98 20/7/07 1:55:35 PM
No. l`m nappv wirn rnis. suys tle customei.
Crcar. Wou|J vou |ilc mc ro malc our an invoicc?
cs. p|casc.
Done!
Alteinutively, tle luwnmowei sulespeison muy luve been uble
to do wlut tle sluvei sulesmun could luve done; tley could
luve continued to close witl tle FABs ol tle mucline und
tlen usked wletlei tle customei could stietcl lis budget. You
nevei know, il le likes tle mucline tlut mucl le muy well
nnd tle extiu $S0.
The above exampIes demonstrate how pivotaI cIoses are
to seIIing.
Sulespeople uie olten gieut ut developing un undeistunding
ol wlut's iequiied, but luil to muke tle sule due to tleii luck
ol closing skills.
Remembei, il you use closed-ended questions to deteimine
wletlei oi not you luve met tle customei's iequiiements,
you will be uble to nnulise tle sule quickly.
Aguin, tle gieut tling ubout tle SMS metlod is tlut il you
uncovei un obIection on tle closing stuiicuse, you know exuctly
wlut to do witl it.
SMSBook.indb 99 20/7/07 1:55:36 PM
Retuin to Step One, ucknowledge und exploie tle obIection,
tlen iesolve it und get buck on tle closing stuiicuse.
Alteinutively, use tle obIection to close tle deul; us in 'commit
to buying und you will solve tle obIection'. Tlis woiks no
muttei wlut tle obIection, us long us you cun mutcl it.
Beui in mind tlut un obIection could be u concein ieguiding
piice oi conndence in tle pioduct, oi tle customei muy luve
seen unotlei pioduct tley pieleiied elsewleie.
Wlutevei it is, don't see it us u pioblem.
View it us u clunce to eitlei exploie tle customei's
iequiiements luitlei oi us un oppoitunity to close on tle
condition tlut you solve tle obIection.
+ Closing is so impoitunt. Not only is it wleie you
nnulise tle sule, but ulso wleie you soit out tle tyie-
kickeis liom tle genuine buyeis.
You need to spend moie time inuencing tle iiglt
people to buy und less time on tlose wlo will nevei
buy. Tle closing stuiicuse will quickly lelp you to
deteimine il u piospect is genuine.
:ee 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
SMSBook.indb 100 20/7/07 1:55:36 PM
Using the ebjectien te c|ese the dea|.
Tle lollowing cuse study is u good exumple ol low you cun
move between closes und open-ended questions to soit out
obIections witl tle SMS metlod.
A lew yeuis ugo I wus tle sules diiectoi loi u boutique
multimediu pioduction ugency tlut speciulised in top-end
e-commeice solutions including web development, coipoiute
video und u vuiiety ol digitul coipoiute communicution und
piesentution tools.
One ol my sules teum lud been pitcling to tle countiy's
leuding telecommunicutions compuny loi un intiunet solution.
It wus u competitive pitcl und ultlougl oui piesentution wus
stiong, we weie still u little uncleui on tle client's needs und
seemed to be stiuggling to put tle pioposul togetlei. Tle
situution wus u bit too messy loi my liking but us tle detuils
weie liglly teclnicul, I tiusted tlut tle teum knew wlut tley
weie doing und lelt tlem to it.
Tle sulesmun woiking on tlis pioIect wus culled Joln und lis
desk wus witlin euislot ol mine. His plone iung one duy und
ull I leuid Joln suy wus: Hmm . nmm . vcs. on l am sorrv ro
ncar rnar . wc|| rnar`s a snamc . ncvcr minJ. rnanls |or |crring
mc lnow rnougn. mavoc ncxr rimc. gooJovc.
He tlen looked up ut me und decluied tlut tle telco's intiunet
Iob lud lullen tliougl. I usked lim wly und le expluined tlut
u competitoi lud won tle Iob ut u cleupei piice. I usked lim
:e: sfcr : nsxue ctosce-cuece oucsfous
SMSBook.indb 101 20/7/07 1:55:36 PM
wlo tle competitoi wus und low mucl lowei tleii ollei wus
but le didn't know. I wus umuzed und tlis motivuted me to
slow lim low le could luve lundled tle situution bettei. I
usked lim il le would mind il I culled tle customei, und tlis
is low tle ensuing conveisution went:
Hi Saran. Ju|ian ncrc. Jonn jusr ro|J mc rnar wc |ai|cJ ro picl
up rnc inrrancr joo is rnar corrccr?
cs. sle ieplied.
Saran. Jo vou minJ i| l asl vou a coup|c o| qucsrions? lr won`r
ralc |ong. l jusr wanr ro cnccl a coup|c o| rnings.
Surc. our p|casc malc ir quicl. l`m vcrv ousv.
In my own mind, I estublisled tlut we weie on u new closing
stuiicuse und tlut we lud Iust lit tle obIection, wlicl wus
tlut tley lud u bettei ollei liom someone else. I went stiuiglt
to Step One.
My rst open-ended question was:
Wnv JiJ wc |osc rnc joo anJ was rncrc anvrning wc cou|J navc
Jonc ro win ir?
Suiul wus veiy cleui:
lool. wc rca||v |ilcJ vour prcscnrarion anJ wc wou|J navc
prc|crrcJ ro worl wirn vour rcam. l |ovcJ vour Jcsigns anJ vour
:ez 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
SMSBook.indb 102 20/7/07 1:55:36 PM
crcJcnria|s wcrc ocrrcr rnan rnc orncrs`. our vour proposa| was
roo comp|icarcJ anJ narJ ro unJcrsranJ. lr a|so inc|uJcJ rnings
rnar wc JiJn`r rca||v nccJ anJ ir was mucn morc cxpcnsivc.
I asked another open-ended question:
Wnar was rnc compcriror`s quorc?
$80 000. Suiul ieplied.
Tlis wus $40 000 less tlun oui quote.
I asked her a coupIe of open-ended questions about the
things we had offered that they ddn't need and then tried
some cIoses.
Saran. wc arc vcrv JisappoinrcJ ro navc |osr rnis joo. cspccia||v
as vou prc|crrcJ our Jcsigns. l lnow Jonn rca||v pur a |or o| worl
inro rnis. l| wc wcrc ro gcr a ncw proposa| ro vou wirnin 24 nours
onc wnicn was comparao|c in pricc anJ |uncriona|irv wou|J
vou rcconsiJcr?
To my suipiise, sle suid: cs.
My metlod wus pioving veiy iobust. Look ut wlut luppened
leie, it's quite simple.
I had identied that we were in the cIosing stage of the
saIe and that we had uncovered an objection. So I took the
negotiation back to Step One and asked some open-ended
:e sfcr : nsxue ctosce-cuece oucsfous
SMSBook.indb 103 20/7/07 1:55:37 PM
questions to fuIIy understand the objection. We were now
re-matching the requirement and, if we did that weII, we
wouId be in a position to take the deaI onto the cIosing
staircase.
I iun downstuiis witl Joln to tell tle pioducei wlut lud
luppened und usked lim il le could wiite u new pioposul,
wlicl le wus moie tlun luppy to do. I ulso usked lim to cull
tle client to get tle specincutions spot-on. Wly not? We weie
still mutcling tle iequiiements (Step Two). Suiul wus nne
witl tlut und guve tle pioducei tle inloimution le needed to
wiite up tle new pioposul. We emuiled it to Suiul tlut niglt
(tley weie in unotlei stute) und I iung lei tle next moining
und got stiuiglt buck onto tle closing stuiicuse.
uiJ vou gcr rnc proposa|. Saran?
cs.
Havc vou naJ a cnancc ro rcaJ ir?

cs.
uo vou |ilc ir?
cs anJ l unJcrsranJ ir.
uo vou |ilc ir morc rnan rnc compcriror`s?
cs.
:eo 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
SMSBook.indb 104 20/7/07 1:55:37 PM
Nice cIosing staircase! Now it's time to cIose the deaI:
Saran. wc arc vcrv lccn ro worl on rnis projccr wirn vou. Wou|J
vou |ilc ro go ancaJ wirn us?
cs. rnanl vou. Ju|ian.
Now for the afrmation:
Tnanl vou. Saran. l lnow vou arc rca||v going ro cnjov worling
wirn our rcam rncv arc vcrv gooJ anJ rnc Jcsign aspccr o| rnc
joo wi|| oc rca||v curring cJgc. ou lnow rnar Jon`r vou?
l`m surc rncv`|| Jo a gooJ joo.
Suiul obviously got wlut sle wunted!
We won the deaI back simpIy by uncovering the objection,
asking the right open-ended questions, meeting the
requirements and then cIosing with a series of cIoses. In
fact, it was easy.
It is OK to bieuk tle iules ol tle SMS metlod now und tlen
to usk tle occusionul closed-ended question up liont und tle
odd open-ended question wlen closing but only il ieully
necessuiy, otleiwise tle sequence ol tle metlod lolds stiong
und tiue.
It's like putting one loot in liont ol tle otlei il you don't do
it piopeily, you miglt tiip.
SMSBook.indb 105 20/7/07 1:55:37 PM
What sort of cIosed-ended questions wouId work weII for
your product or service, keeping in mind your customers
and your environment?
:e6 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
SMSBook.indb 106 20/7/07 1:55:38 PM
SMSBook.indb 107 20/7/07 1:55:38 PM
What sort of objections do you typicaIIy face? How can you
creativeIy turn them into opportunities?
:e8 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
SMSBook.indb 108 20/7/07 1:55:38 PM
SMSBook.indb 109 20/7/07 1:55:39 PM
Can you see how important it is to use open ended questions to open
the sales process and closed ended questions to guide the whole thing
home.
It's simple isn't it, but amazingly effective and natural.
In the online training I go into much more detail about how you can
use the closing staircase to systematically confirm that you have
indeed understood and met your client's requirements, and of course
deal with objections or issues along the way.
This is where I have always set myself apart from others in my sales
career. And this is where you can dramatically improve your sales
performance too. Especially as a photographer.
Everyone struggles with closing the deal so make it easy on yourself
and your clients by closing in style using the closing staircase. If you
follow the first two steps of the SMS system properly you will find it
very easy and natural to complete and close the sale at this point.
So please join me online. What I will teach you there will stay with
you forever. You will look back at how dramatically improved your
sales results have become, and best of all you will enjoy selling.
So take your business to another level by spending a few hours with
me on line. Go at your own pace to get the skills you need to realise
your dream.
Click here to get the training now!
5tep 4:
SMSBook.indb 110 20/7/07 1:55:39 PM

Afrmine the sale.

Askine closed-ended
questions.

Matchine the need.
Askine open-ended
questions.
SMSBook.indb 111 20/7/07 1:55:39 PM
::z 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
1he afrmatien.
Alniming tle sule is simply tle uct ol iesponding to tle
customei's decision to puicluse witl stiong positive und
suppoitive stutements.
Il you luve piopeily upplied tle SMS metlod to u tiunsuction,
you will be uwuie ol youi customei's oiiginul iequiiements
und 'lot buttons'.
Tley luve been convinced tlut youi pioduct oi seivice meets
tleii iequiiements und luve Iust puiclused it. Tle best tling
you cun possibly do now is tlunk tlem und slow tlem low
luppy you uie tlut you sutisned tleii oiiginul iequiiements.

Tlis slould luppen once tle sule lus been closed und
completed. Tle customei lus signed oi connimed tley uie
buying und uie ubout to, oi luve ulieudy, mude puyment.
5
SMSBook.indb 112 20/7/07 1:55:39 PM
:: sfcr o: nrnauue fuc sntc
The best way to afrm the saIe is to conrm that the
customer has made a good, quaIied decision by referring
them back to the requirements that were discussed up
front in Steps One and Two.
Foi exumple:
ou arc going ro |ovc wcaring rnosc snocs vou wcrc |ooling |or
somcrning ro go wirn rnar ournr anJ rncv arc pcr|ccr!
Tnis ournr rca||v comp|cmcnrs vour ngurc vou |ool |anrasric
in ir. Wc|| Jonc anJ rnanl vou. l am rca||v nappv |or vou.
our lcvs. Sir. anJ mav l sav rnar rnis is rnc pcr|ccr car |or vou.
ou saiJ vou nccJcJ cconomv anJ spacc |or vour go|| c|uos. wc||.
rnis onc nas rnc |or. Wc|| Jonc anJ rnanl vou. vou`rc rca||v going
ro cnjov rnis moJc| ir Jrivcs |ilc a Jrcam.
See, it's eusy, but low muny sulespeople do it?
Afrming the saIe does three key things:
1 It deuls witl 'buyei's iemoise' by muking tle customei leel
conndent in tleii decision.
2 It sets u positive tone loi tle customei to buy liom you
uguin (und ielei otleis to you).
3 It eliminutes stiess loi botl you und youi customei.
SMSBook.indb 113 20/7/07 1:55:39 PM
::o 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
Beyond tlese tliee impoitunt points, ulniming tle sule is
simply polite und slould ulwuys be deliveied witl youi
giutitude.
1 Buyer's remorse.
How muny times luve you uiiived lome und unpucked youi
piecious puicluses only to stuit questioning youi sunity us you
ieulise tlut eveiytling looks dilleient in tle bedioom miiioi
compuied witl low it did in tle stoie und tlut you luve ulso
blown youi budget!
Cold leet is u common customei expeiience ultei uny puicluse,
wletlei luige oi smull. All soits ol leelings come up und, moie
olten tlun not, unxiety und iemoise set in. Foi exumple:
On no! l`vc spcnr |ar roo mucn!
Mv ooss is going ro qucsrion rnis Jccision navc l Jonc rnc
rignr rning?
uo rncsc snocs |ool rignr? On. no! l`m nor surc aoour rncm ar
a|| now!
uocs mv oum |ool oig in rnis Jrcss?
Woise still, some people listen to tleii doubting innei voice
und come iusling buck to ietuin tle item.
It luppens ull tle time.
SMSBook.indb 114 20/7/07 1:55:40 PM
Afrming the saIe is a simpIe and easy step that goes a
Iong way towards deaIing with buyer's remorse, thereby
reducing the number of returns.
Foi exumple, low muny suvvy suleswomen undeistund tle
powei ol tlis stutement:
Wow. rnar Jrcss rca||v suirs vour ngurc! Co on. rurn arounJ.
On vcs. ir comp|cmcnrs vour snapc pcr|ccr|v!
2 A positive customer experience.
Alniming tle sule leuves you und youi customei witl tle sense
tlut youi lust inteiuction wus u veiy positive expeiience.
Tlut's lugely impoitunt loi unyone in business us it mukes it
eusiei loi tlut customei to buy liom you uguin.
Seventy pei cent ol sules ucioss ull business sectois uie sules
mude to existing customeis. Big business knows tlis und
inIects luge iesouices into customei loyulty piogiums it's
wlut most businesses uie built on.
Busicully, you wunt tle customei to keep coming buck und
ielei you to otleis. I don't tlink tleie is unytling moie
sutislying tlun luving u customei ietuin to you uguin und
uguin. To luve tlem iecommend you to otleis is piiceless.
Afrmation reaIIy does heIp to buiId reIationships, IoyaIty
and trust.
SMSBook.indb 115 20/7/07 1:55:40 PM
::6 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
3 DeaIing with stress.
Unloitunutely, ulniming tle sule is u weuk uieu loi u lot ol
sulespeople. Tley will olten close tle deul uwkwuidly und
neivously, sometimes in u pusly wuy und usuully witlout uny
undeistunding ol tle customei's oiiginul iequiiements.
Tley nnd it u luiily stiesslul puit ol tle tiunsuction so, once
tle customei lus puid tlem, tley cun't wuit to see tlem leuve
so tlut tley cun ielux.
As mentioned euiliei, stiess levels cun ieully iise in sulespeople,
und even leud to buinout.
Using tle SMS metlod liom beginning to end, including un
ulnimution ol tle sule, ieully lelps to ulleviute stiess loi botl
tle sulespeison und tle customei.
More than an add-on.
Alniming tle sule is un impoitunt puit ol uny deul. It's moie
tlun Iust u nicety tucked onto tle end ol tle tiunsuction.
+ I love tle ideu tlut someone miglt suy: Hcv. vou
snou|J givc Ju|ian a ca|| aoour rnar. ncrc`s nis numocr.
Hc rca||v |oolcJ a|rcr mc! It's not Iust good loi tle ego,
its gieut loi tle bottom line.
SMSBook.indb 116 20/7/07 1:55:40 PM
It biings u sense ol piolessionulism und conndence into
eveiytling tlut you uie tiying to uclieve. Moie impoituntly,
it lends ciedibility to you und youi business und slould pluy
u puit in eveiy negotiution.
Remember ~ the afrmation wiII be the Iast interaction
that you have with your customer and is freshest in their
memory. Make it a good one.
What positive afrmations can you offer with your
particuIar product or service?
SMSBook.indb 117 20/7/07 1:55:41 PM
::8 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
SMSBook.indb 118 20/7/07 1:55:41 PM
SMSBook.indb 119 20/7/07 1:55:41 PM
As a photographer, affirming the sale is a very smart move.
It will instil confidence with the client and help them prepare properly
for the shoot.
Make sure you affirm that you understand the requirements and are
focused on helping them achieve the best possible result.
Once you have delivered the job it would be the perfect time to re-
affirm how you have met their requirements and created the value
that they were looking for.
Too many people miss this important step. So again, separate
yourself from the ordinary and become an extraordinary business
developer by affirming the sale for your client.
If you have enjoyed this ebook and realised the value contained inside
these pages, then please go online and leave a comment. And of
course if you want to take it to another level, you can undertake the
full online training by sampling the first module for free and then
enrolling in the full course at a 50% discount to take full advantage of
the Sales Made Simple system.
Click here to get the training now!
Cenc|usien.
SMSBook.indb 120 20/7/07 1:55:41 PM

Puttine the steps
toeether.

SMSBook.indb 121 20/7/07 1:55:41 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :zz
feur steps te success.
Tle loui steps tlut muke up tle SMS metlod lollow u nutuiul
piogiession. In combinution, tley lunction us u complete
sules cycle.
I would ulwuys iecommend tlut you lollow tle steps in oidei.
Stuit witl open-ended questions, lollow tlem by mutcling
tle iequiiements, close to connim tlut tle iequiiements luve
been met und tlen, ultei tle nnul close, ulnim tle decision to
buy. Tlis logicul sequence loims tle complete cycle.
Howevei, you muy sometimes nnd tlut you luve u numbei
ol smullei cycles iunning witlin youi oveiull sules cycle,
especiully on longei oi moie complex negotiutions. Tle SMS
metlod is designed to uccommodute tlut, wirnour you luving
to ieoigunise its oiiginul stiuctuie. In otlei woids, you cun
iun loui-step cycles witlin tle oveiull loui-step liumewoik.
SMSBook.indb 122 20/7/07 1:55:42 PM
couctusou :z
Foi exumple, you muy need to muke un uppointment witl u
piospect u deul wlicl, in itsell, could use tle metlod's
complete cycle. Altlougl u complete loui-step cycle is used to
muke tle uppointment, on tle oveiull sules cycle you uie Iust
ut tle nist step und still positioning youisell to undeistund
tle customei's iequiiements.
Once ut tle uppointment, you miglt complete unotlei sules
cycle in oidei to position youisell loi tle next step. Tlis
could be to get liglei up tle executive cluin ol commund
und estublisl u meeting witl moie senioi people, oi to set up
u demonstiution oi tiiul iun. In uddition, you miglt lit un
obIection wlile closing und tlis will piompt you to loop buck
uiound tle cycle uguin to cleui it.
The point here is that, on some occasions, you may need
to be exibIe and condent enough to propeI one or more
inner saIes cycIes within the overaII saIes cycIe in order to
move the transaction forward.
In tlese situutions, you would simply lollow tle sume loui
steps us outlined in tle metlod, wlile keeping tlem witlin
tle oveiull loui steps.
Once you uie conndent witl tle SMS metlod you will nnd it
eusy to tiuck innei sules cycles. You muy even luve two ol
tlem iunning ut once. Imugine tiying to sell ieul estute to u
couple wlo dilleied on tleii own iequiiements. Tlut could
be veiy clullenging und muy need to be tuckled witl two
dilleient uppioucles, but still witlin tle loui-step metlod.
SMSBook.indb 123 20/7/07 1:55:42 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :zo
Using inner sa|es cyc|es.
I luve un excellent exumple ol low u sules cycle cun opeiute
witlin tle oveiull sules cycle. It's u iutlei long stoiy but
woitl exploiing becuuse it illustiutes innei cycles peilectly.
In tlis puiticului situution I wus involved in u veiy long sules
cycle lull ol twists und tuins tlut weie out ol my contiol but,
in sticking to tle metlod, I stuyed on tiuck to pull it ull
togetlei. In luct, I lonestly don't tlink I would luve been
successlul in tlis cuse witlout tle SMS metlod.
Wlile I wus woiking loi tle new mediu compuny, I lud u
telemuiketei wlo mude my uppointments loi me. We olten
tulked ubout tle SMS metlod und le used it ieguluily.
One duy le excitedly told me tlut le lud munuged to secuie
un uppointment to piesent ut u veiy senioi level to tle
countiy's biggest tiunspoit und logistics nim. Secuiing tle
uppointment ut sucl u ligl level wus essentiully u complete
sules cycle wlile, ut tle sume time, we weie still veiy mucl
ut Step One ol oui oveiull sules cycle estublisling tle nim's
iequiiements tliougl open-ended questions.
Tle lollowing week I went out und piesented. My piesentution
wus going well until tle piospect (wlose nume wus Andiew)
suid suddenly:
Ju|ian. l rca||v |ilc wnar vou arc snowing mc anJ wc arc mosr
Jcnnirc|v in rnc marlcr |or rnis sorr o| rning. our l navc ro srop
vou ncrc.
SMSBook.indb 124 20/7/07 1:55:42 PM
couctusou :z
Sorrv. AnJrcw. wnar am l missing? I usked (keeping to open-
ended questions).
l navc ro srop vou ncrc. Ju|ian. occausc l navc a conrracr |rom
uigira|XSrrcam sirring on mv Jcsl wnicn l navc commirrcJ ro
sign roJav. lr`s simi|ar ro wnar vou navc snown mc roJav. our
l`vc agrccJ on somcrning c|sc wirn rncm. l am sorrv.
DigitulXStieum wus one ol oui biggest competitois; it did
look like we weie u bit lute on tlis one. Andiew would luve
tiuvelled some wuy witl tlem to get it to tle contiuct-signing
stuge botl puities would luve ulieudy done u lot ol woik. It
wusn't looking good loi us.
As I wus pucking up my luptop, I wus ubout to suggest tlut
Andiew look ut us next time wlen my peisistence suddenly
kicked in. I do luve tiouble tuking no loi un unswei
sometimes und I decided to give my metlod unotlei tiy.
As I consideied my stiutegy, my obIective clunged und I
decided to stuit u new sules cycle witl tle sole intention ol
stulling tle contiuct signing. I knew tlut il I could, I miglt be
uble to buy enougl time to position us to compete. Altei ull,
tley lud obviously uppioved u big budget ulieudy und Andiew
lud some veiy ieul iequiiements tlut I knew we could meet.
I ulso knew tlut oui soltwuie wus supeiioi to DigitulXStieum's
in some wuy us oui piogiummeis weie ulwuys tulking ubout
it, lowevei not being puiticuluily teclnicul I wusn't suie wlut
oui point ol dilleience ieully wus.
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5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :z6
I reaIised that as I had hit this objection, I just needed to
start a new cycIe with one open-ended question and see
where things went from there.
So witlout ieully knowing wleie I wus going witl tlis, I
politely usked:
AnJrcw. wnar is ir aoour uigira|XSrrcam`s o||cring rnar vou |ilc?
His unswei wus quite inteiesting. He uguin ieleiied to tleii
pioduct's similuiity to ouis but le wus stiuggling to expluin
low it wus bettei.
I sensed tlut le wusn't entiiely convinced tlut DigitulXStieum
would delivei. Nutuiully, my next question wus:
Wnar is ir aoour uigira|XSrrcam`s o||cr rnar vou don't |ilc?
Andiew didn't seem to mind my questions. He expluined tlut
le tlouglt tle DigitulXStieum ollei wus OK but iutlei vugue
teclnicully. Altei sciutcling tle suiluce u little, I could see
tlut le ieully did luve some doubts ubout DigitulXStieum.
By lollowing tle SMS steps witlin tlis innei cycle, I lud
estublisled tlut Andiew's iequiiements (Step One) weie not
being lully met by DigitulXStieum (Step Two).
I was now in a better position to try and staII the
DigitaIXStream deaI by moving the conversation onto a
cIosing staircase.
SMSBook.indb 126 20/7/07 1:55:43 PM
couctusou :z
The rst cIose on the cIosing staircase of my inner saIes
cycIe was:
AnJrcw. is wnar l navc snown vou o| inrcrcsr?

cs. le ieplied. Bur as l saiJ. Ju|ian. l am commirrcJ ro sign rnc
uigira|XSrrcam conrracr roJav!
The second cIose on my cIosing staircase was:

Hvporncrica||v. i| rnc uigira|XSrrcam Jca| wasn`r rncrc. wou|J
vou oc inrcrcsrcJ in conrinuing ro Jiscuss rnings wirn mc oascJ
on wnar l`vc snown vou?
cs. mosr Jcnnirc|v. our ir s rncrc. le insisted.
I lud moved tle conveisution onto u closing stuiicuse und lud
got Andiew to ucknowledge tlut il tle DigitulXStieum deul
didn't exist we would be in u position to negotiute. Howevei,
I still ludn't done enougl to stull tle DigitulXStieum deul. I
needed unotlei close but didn't luve mucl to woik witl. As I
tiied to tlink ol unotlei question, u wild ideu cume to me. So
witl notling to lose, I bluited out:
Tncrc arc rnrcc oasic qucsrions vou nccJ ro asl uigira|XSrrcam
oc|orc vou sign rnar conrracr. AnJrcw. l lnow rncv can`r Jc|ivcr
wnar l am snowing vou.
Andiew looked u bit scepticul, but I wus on u ioll now und
could leel my conndence ietuining.
SMSBook.indb 127 20/7/07 1:55:43 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :z8
ln |acr. I continued, vou`J oc wisc ro c|car up a |cw rnings wirn
uigira|XSrrcam oc|orc vou sign anvrning.
Now that I had his attention, I reiterated my third cIose
and cIincher:
Tncrc arc rnrcc qucsrions vou nccJ ro asl rncm. AnJrcw. occausc
l`m surc rncv can`r Jc|ivcr wnar wc can.
I knew il le bouglt tlis I could stull tle DigitulXStieum deul.
Wou|J vou |ilc mc ro rc|| vou wnar rnosc rnrcc qucsrions arc.
AnJrcw? (Tlis is u close.)
cs. Ju|ian. i| rncrc`s somcrning l snou|J lnow. l`J |ilc vou ro rc||
mc wnar ir is.
Ol couise, I lud ubsolutely no ideu wlut tlose questions
could be. I knew liom pievious conveisutions witl oui
soltwuie piogiummeis tlut DigitulXStieum lud issues but,
loi tle lile ol me, I couldn't iemembei wlut tley weie. Il only
I lud one ol oui piogiummeis in tle ioom witl me! I wus
ieully winging it now but I'd cleuily munuged to sow some
doubt in Andiew's mind it wus obvious tlut le ulieudy lud
some conceins.
I was sIowIy gaining enough traction to staII the
DigitaIXStream deaI by cIosing on the three questions,
even without knowing what they were. I had come so far,
but aII I couId think of was:
SMSBook.indb 128 20/7/07 1:55:43 PM
couctusou :z
Tnc qucsrions l navc in minJ arc |air|v rccnnica|. AnJrcw. To oc
|air ro uigira|XSrrcam anJ comp|crc|v c|car wirn vou. rncv nccJ
ro oc worJcJ cxacr|v.
So my fourth cIose was:

Wou|J vou |ilc mc ro wrirc rncm our prccisc|v in an cmai| |or
vou wncn l gcr oacl ro rnc o|ncc? lr wou|J oc ocsr i| onc o| our
programmcrs nc|pcJ mc wirn rnc rccnnica| jargon. Tncn vou`||
oc in a gooJ posirion ro asl uigira|XSrrcam somc qua|incJ
qucsrions oc|orc vou sign.
Ok. Andiew ugieed. Tnar sounJs |ilc a gooJ iJca . in |acr. l
wou|J apprcciarc rnar. Ju|ian.
This was the cIose I was Iooking for. My work here was
done and I knew exactIy what I had to do next. True to the
SMS method, it was now time for a quick afrmation of
this cIosed inner saIes cycIe:
AnJrcw. vou won`r oc sorrv cvcn i| vou go wirn uigira|XSrrcam
vou`|| oc g|aJ vou`vc c|arincJ cvcrvrning. Tncv`|| rcspccr vour
rccnnica| qucsrions anJ rninl morc carc|u||v aoour ocing c|carcr
wirn vou in rnc |ururc. anJ rnar nas ro oc a gooJ rning. I could
tell tlut le wus u cuutious soit so I quickly udded: Bcrrcr sa|c
rnan sorrv.
To wlicl le ieplied, Tnanl vou. Ju|ian.
Perfect! My method had come through for me yet again.
SMSBook.indb 129 20/7/07 1:55:43 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :e
I knew tlut tle diiectoi ol piogiumming would luve tle iiglt
questions loi me buck ut tle olnce, und sle did. I usked lei
to wiite tlem out und emuil tlem to me. I tlen put un emuil
togetlei und sent it to Andiew.
I culled lim tle next duy. Altei some pieliminuiies, I usked lim
un open-ended question:
How JiJ vou go wirn uigira|XSrrcam. AnJrcw?

I was now back on Step One of my originaI, overaII saIes
cycIe having compIeted the inner saIes cycIe to staII the
DigitaIXStream deaI.
Wc||. rncv JiJn`r |ilc rnosc qucsrions. Ju|ian. ln |acr. rncv gor
vcrv angrv anJ aslcJ mc wnv l was qucsrioning rncm ar rnis
|arc sragc. Tncv wcrc rca||v annovcJ anJ o|amcJ mc |or nor
asling rncm car|icr wc naJ a oir o| a |a||ing our ovcr ir. ro
oc noncsr.
So. wnar`s nappcning? Wnar arc vou going ro Jo? (Anotlei
peilectly nutuiul, open-ended question.)
l Jon`r lnow. l`m g|aJ wc`rc nor moving |orwarJ wirn
uigira|XSrrcam. our ir`s oacl ro squarc onc |or mc. l nccJ ro gcr
rnis prcscnrarion maJc anJ l`m running our o| rimc.
My open-ended questions lud done tleii Iob und tle client's
needs weie now cleuily estublisled. I knew exuctly wleie to
go next.
SMSBook.indb 130 20/7/07 1:55:44 PM
couctusou ::
AnJrcw. rnc prcscnrarion l snowcJ vou Jcmonsrrarcs rnar wc
navc Jonc p|cnrv o| worl |ilc rnis oc|orc. l am connJcnr wc
cou|J proJucc an amacing prcscnrarion |or vou. (I lelt it tleie
to see low le iesponded.)
Ju|ian. rnc sru|| vou snowcJ mc was rca||v nign qua|irv. l`J oc
nappv ro ra|l |urrncr wirn vou.
It wus time to stuit closing tle next step:
Tnar`s grcar ro ncar. AnJrcw wc wou|J |ovc ro pircn |or rnis
joo. Wou|J vou |ilc mc ro scr up a mccring wirn onc o| our
proJuccrs so wc can Jcvc|op somc iJcas wirn vou?
cs. le ieplied.
Andiew wus cleuily pleused le ludn't gone uleud witl
DigitulXStieum und I lelt conndent ubout luving closed
unotlei smull sules cycle.
My method was proving very faithfuI and it now required
a quick afrmation:
Tnar`s grcar. AnJrcw. l lnow vou`vc Jonc rnc rignr rning ncrc
anJ l lnow rnar our rcam wi|| oc ao|c ro prcparc a nrsr-c|ass
proposa| |or vou in no rimc.
Tnanl vou. Ju|ian.
Andiew seemed genuinely giutelul; my luncl lud puid oll.
SMSBook.indb 131 20/7/07 1:55:44 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :z
DigitulXStieum obviously couldn't delivei wlut tley lud
piomised und weie piobubly going to use tlis client's money
to develop u solution tley didn't ulieudy luve.
We had the soIution and were now in the perfect position
to cIose the deaI.
We lud used tliee mini innei sules cycles to ieucl tlis point
und we now lud u live piece ol business on tle line. Altlougl
we weie still ut Step One ol oui oveiull sules cycle, we lelt
conndent becuuse we knew wleie we stood.
It wus now time to luitlei estublisl tle client's iequiiements.
AnJrcw. ro malc rnings casv |or vou anJ so rnar vou Jon`r navc
ro Jouo|c up on worl vou navc a|rcaJv Jonc. ir is prooao|v ocsr
i| vou scnJ us rnc oric| vou csrao|isncJ wirn uigira|XSrrcam.
Wc can rncn prcparc ro mccr wirn vou anJ Jcvc|op a propcr oric|
wirn a |u|| unJcrsranJing o| vour ovcra|| oojccrivcs. Wnar Jo
vou rninl?
This was a good open-ended question which, to my
surprise, uncovered yet another requirement and gave
the transaction a new direction.
Tnar wou|J oc nnc. Ju|ian. our l rninl rnc ocsr wav |orwarJ is
|or vou ro mccr wirn our aJvcrrising agcncv as soon as possio|c.
Tncv unJcrsranJ our rcquircmcnrs ocrrcr rnan anvonc anJ l
wou|J |ilc ro scc wnar rncv rninl o| vour scrvicc.
SMSBook.indb 132 20/7/07 1:55:44 PM
couctusou :
No proo|cm. AnJrcw. Can vou givc mc rnc conracr Jcrai|s o| rnc
pcrson l nccJ ro spcal ro? l`|| gcr srraignr onro ir.
I wus tliilled. I now knew enougl ubout tlis Iob to ieulise it
wus woitl lundieds ol tlousunds ol dolluis.
Two weeks lutei, luptop in lund und lull ol conndence, I went
to meet tle contuct ut tle udveitising ugency. Up until tlis
stuge ol my cuieei, I ludn't deult witl big cieutive ugencies
beloie. I wus meeting witl tle CEO so I wus u little neivous
but I uiiived on time und, ultei clecking in witl ieception,
wus usleied into tle CEO's olnce.
Pcrcr wi|| oc wirn vou in a minurc. suid tle ieceptionist us sle
slipped out.
Filteen minutes lutei, Petei enteied tle ioom. He cuitly usked
me to expluin mysell und 'get on witl it'.
To suy tle intioduction wus cold would be un undeistutement;
I wus conlused to suy tle leust. Altei ull, Andiew lud given
me tle intioduction und le wus witlout doubt tlis ugency's
biggest client. We mude smull tulk but it wus Iust ubout low
nt Petei wus tlut le iun eveiy duy und low impoitunt tlut
wus to lim. It wus like I wus ut tle wiong meeting und ultei
my big wins witl Andiew I wus now leeling pietty deuted.
I guve my piesentution us best I could witl Petei slowing
sucl u luck ol inteiest. I kept usking mysell wlut could
possibly be wiong; tlis wus dennitely tle coldest iesponse
SMSBook.indb 133 20/7/07 1:55:44 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :o
my piesentution lud evei ieceived. It Iust wusn't woiking.
Altei ubout twenty minutes I wound up tle piesentution und,
witl us mucl entlusiusm us I could mustei, usked:
Wnar Jo vou rninl?
lr`s a|| rignr l supposc. l`vc sccn p|cnrv o| rnis linJ o| rning oc|orc.
I wus devustuted no one lud evei suid tlut to me beloie.
Oui compuny slow ieel wus cutting edge und it usuully
impiessed tle most disinteiested uudience. By now I wus
wisling Andiew lud wuined me ubout Petei, und I tlouglt I
miglt uctuully be in tle wiong pluce.
I lumbled my wuy tliougl some moie open-ended questions
but notling seemed to be woiking. Petei's putience wus
iunning out und it wus stuiting to slow, ulong witl my
giowing embuiiussment.
He kept ieleiiing to DigitulXStieum und usking me wlut wus
dilleient ubout wlut I wus slowing lim. He wouldn't buy into
uny ol tle explunutions tlut I guve Andiew, und witlout
getting into un uigument I lud little ioom to move.
Sometling wus dennitely wiong und tle tension wus
becoming unbeuiuble. I wus now sweuting, unxious und
conlused. Wus Petei tiying to lumiliute me oi wus I wuy out
ol my deptl? I Iust didn't know low to lundle tle situution.
SMSBook.indb 134 20/7/07 1:55:45 PM
couctusou :
Finully, like u cut toying witl u mouse, Petei looked up ut me
und, us tlougl stuting tle obvious, suid:
ou lnow l was pircning wirn uigira|XSrrcam. Jon`r vou?
l`m sorrv. l Jon`r unJcrsranJ. I stutteied.
uigira|XSrrcam anJ l wcrc in parrncrsnip on rnis Jca|. anJ vou.
Ju|ian. wrcclcJ ir jusr as rnc c|icnr was aoour ro sign.
Petei wus cleuily veiy unnoyed witl me.
I wus now petiined my embuiiussment lud tuined to leui.
My cockiness ubout poucling Andiew's biiel uwuy liom
DigitulXStieum diuined uwuy us quickly us tle blood liom my
luce. I wus sitting in liont ol one ol tle muIoi puitneis ol u
deul tlut I lud totully subotuged.
I wus well uwuie ol low mucl woik must luve gone into tleii
pioposul und pitcl. I Iust wunted to get out ol tleie us lust us
possible I wus in tle enemy's den. Wlut would Petei do
now? I luve nevei been veiy comloituble witl conliontution
but tleie wus notling else loi it I needed to step up to tle
clullenge.
l am rca||v sorrv. Pcrcr. l naJ no iJca vou wcrc invo|vcJ wirn
uigira|XSrrcam.
It slowly duwned on me tlut Andiew didn't know lis ugency
wus nnunciully involved witl DigitulXStieum, wlicl seemed
SMSBook.indb 135 20/7/07 1:55:45 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :6
to me somewlut unetlicul. Suiely tle ugency slould luve
disclosed tleii inteiest.
Wlut luppened next wus ulmost suiieul. Altlougl I wus
totully out ol my deptl und conlionted by u liglly cluiged
und veiy disgiuntled mun, I ulso knew I lud notling to lose
so I tiied tlis:
Pcrcr. vou cou|J a|wavs parrncr wirn us on our pircn. Wnar Jo
vou rninl aoour rnar?
As tle woids cume ying out ol my moutl I wus ubbeigusted
by my own stupidity, but I couldn't ieel tlem buck in. Heie I
wus, tliowing totully glib open-ended questions uiound tle
olnce ol someone wlose deul ol tle yeui I lud Iust destioyed.
My unxiety deepened us I now expected tlis supei-nt ligl-
yei to Iump ovei lis desk und tlump me. I luve nevei
wunted to escupe u pluce so despeiutely. I Iust wisled tlut I
lud kept my moutl slut, especiully us it now seemed my
metlod lud well und tiuly ubundoned me.
Petei's iesponse wus bieutltuking. It wus us tlougl le lud
been wuiting loi tle conveisution to get leie but wus equully
suipiised by low quickly it lud uiiived.
Wc||. rnar`s nor sucn a oaJ iJca. Ju|ian. Arc vou opcn ro rnar?
Tle penny nnully diopped. He didn't cuie tlut DigitulXStieum's
pitcl lud collupsed; le Iust wunted to be involved witl tle
SMSBook.indb 136 20/7/07 1:55:45 PM
couctusou :
winning pitcl. Petei wus veiy diiect und I knew liom pievious
expeiience witl sucl people tlut etiquette und politeness
meun notling to tlem wlile getting tle best possible deul
meuns eveiytling.
I could luidly believe wlut lud Iust luppened, but I quietly
gutleied my luculties und peiseveied witl my new innei sules
cycle. I wus quite ieluxed now (moie liom ieliel tlun unytling
else) und went witl tlis open-ended question:
Wc||. Pcrcr. now Jo vou rninl a parrncrsnip |ilc rnis mignr |ool?
Wnar wou|J vou wanr our o| ir?
Tlen le ieully opened up.
l Jon`r wanr a |or. l jusr wanr ro oc inc|uJcJ as a consu|ranr |or
rnc c|icnr. l wi|| oi|| rncm Jirccr|v anJ Jon`r nccJ ro oc inc|uJcJ
in vour ncgoriarions. l jusr wanr ro oc lcpr in rnc |oop on vour
oric| so rnar l can Jo rnc aJvisorv worl.
Tlut wus it? Tlut's ull le wunted ull ulong?
Through the simpIe use of open-ended questions, Peter's
requirements were graduaIIy reveaIed.
Tnar sounJs nnc ro mc. Pcrcr. I ieplied.
Altlougl I wus mucl moie ieluxed und comloituble now, my
next tlouglt wus tlut I slould close tle deul quickly und get
out ol tleie.
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5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :8
l jusr nccJ ro cnccl rnis our wirn mv rcam oacl ar rnc o|ncc is
rnar Ok wirn vou? I usked.
Surc. Petei connimed.
But le wusn't going to let me go tlut eusily .
Ju|ian. vou nccJ mv nc|p ro win rnis pircn vou wi|| navc rrouo|c
Joing ir wirnour mc.
I undeistood tlis veiled tlieut le lud u bettei ielutionslip
witl tle client tlun I did und Andiew wunted me to piesent
to tle ugency beloie we moved loiwuid. It wus u no-biuinei:
woik witl tle ugency oi le would kill oui deul. I could live
witl tlut. I lud plenty to tlink ubout on tle long diive buck
to tle olnce.
Upon uiiivul I told my teum wlut lud luppened und usked
tlem to coopeiute und woik witl tle ugency. Eveiyone ugieed
it wus u good ideu. I tlen went buck to meet witl Andiew.
I wus in u peilect position to mutcl lis needs us I now lud
eveiytling oigunised. It would be eusy to close tle deul liom
leie. Petei lud contucted Andiew und told lim le tlouglt
we could delivei.
I assured Andrew that we couId do the job with a series
of cIoses:
AnJrcw. wi|| vou oc nappv worling a|ongsiJc rnc agcncv wirn
us ro gcr rnis projccr rignr?
SMSBook.indb 138 20/7/07 1:55:46 PM
couctusou :
cs. Ju|ian. Tncv unJcrsranJ our proJucr vcrv wc||, l rninl rnar
wou|J oc pcr|ccr.
l| l oring rnc ouJgcr inro |inc wirn rnc onc rnar uigira|XSrrcam
pircncJ. wou|J vou oc nappv wirn rnar?
cs. uo vou rninl vou cou|J Jo rnar. Ju|ian?
On l rninl so. AnJrcw. I continued conndently.
I ieulised tlut tlis would be tle biggest deul I lud sold so lui
in my time witl tle compuny.
ls rncrc anvrning c|sc vou nccJ mc ro go ovcr wirn vou. AnJrcw?
No. Ju|ian. l rninl wc`J ocrrcr gcr a movc on. l`vc |osr a oir o|
rimc on rnis onc.
CooJ. Wou|J vou |ilc mc ro prcparc an in-Jcprn proposa|?
Tnanls. Ju|ian. Tnar sounJs grcar.
I was now weII into my naI cIosing staircase. Once the
proposaI was presented, I simpIy cIosed around that with
the foIIowing:
Arc vou nappv wirn our rcrms anJ conJirions?
ls rnis proposa| consisrcnr wirn vour cxpccrarions?
In this way, we cIosed the deaI.
SMSBook.indb 139 20/7/07 1:55:46 PM
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :oe
My afrmation was easy as my company had asked me to
hand the whoIe thing over to our executive producer.
AnJrcw. l am rca||v p|cascJ vou navc JcciJcJ ro worl wirn us.
l lnow wc wi|| oc ao|c ro cxcccJ vour cxpccrarions.
l am a|so rca||v nappv rnar our cxccurivc proJuccr is going ro
nanJ|c rnis joo pcrsona||v vou cou|Jn`r oc in ocrrcr nanJs. l`||
ca|| vou |rom rimc ro rimc our. rca||v. vou won`r nccJ mc |rom
now on.
Andiew wus pleused witl tlut und I could now move on to
otlei tlings und wuit loi tle commission cleque.
Tlis cuse study cleuily illustiutes low tle loui-step SMS
metlod enubled me to guide tlis complex sule to u conclusion.
Altlougl I used innei sules cycles ulong tle wuy, I nevei
deviuted liom tle coie metlod. I know tlut il I ludn't used it
I nevei would luve munuged to stull tle DigitulXStieum deul
but, moie impoituntly, tle metlod builed me out wlen my
buck wus uguinst tle wull.
Altlougl tlis exumple wus loi u deul woitl ovei u quuitei ol
u million dolluis, tle sume piinciples upply to ull negotiutions,
wletlei luige oi smull.

SMSBook.indb 140 20/7/07 1:55:46 PM
couctusou :o:
Cembine the art and the science ef sa|es.
Tlis book piesents u teclnique tlut is expiessly designed to
lelp you sell wlutevei it is you luve to sell.
It is u simple, iobust und ellective metlod, mucl like u sketcl
oi u mup tlut ullows you tle uitist to biing youi peisonulity,
pussion und vulues to tle loie.

Aitists uie ulwuys conscious ol two tlings: tleii own cieutivity
und tleii uudience. As u geneiul iule, tle most cieutive people
uie inciedibly lonest in tleii expiession. Tlis sume iule upplies
to sules in tlut il you tiuly believe in wlut you uie selling und
piesent it lonestly, you cun guin inciedible sutisluction liom
youi woik.
Tle SMS metlod ullows you to be totully tiunspuient witl
youi customei, wlo will soon leuin to tiust you. It will give
you tle conndence to expiess youi entlusiusm loi youi pioduct
oi seivice wlicl will, in tuin, luitlei inuence youi customei
und lelp tlem to muke tle iiglt decision.
Relutionslips uie veiy impoitunt in sules und tlis book's loui-
step metlod is geuied to lelp you build tlem. Remembei,
tleie is no point in building ielutionslips il you uien't getting
iesults, so tiy to let tle wuimei side ol youi peisonulity sline
us you build youi negotiution.
Il you upply tle SMS metlod to youi sules endeuvouis in u
exible und 'nutuiul' munnei, it will keep you on tiuck to
SMSBook.indb 141 20/7/07 1:55:46 PM
diiectly secuie tle deul wlile ullowing you to iemuin ieluxed
und comloituble tliouglout you muy even stuit to luve
some lun!
I encourage you to practise negotiating and seIIing with
the SMS method in mind. You wiII soon nd that it is the
perfect saIes tooI for every situation.
Happy seIIing!!
5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :oz
SMSBook.indb 142 20/7/07 1:55:47 PM
The Sales Made Simple online video training is no doubt the
most intuitive sales training available. Not just for sales
professionals, it's been specifically written to help all
professionals - just like you - to easily master the sales process
and enhance their professional standing in their community.
It's a fact: no-one likes getting 'sold'.
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Never worry about the sales process again. Learn Sales Made
Simple from an authentic photographic industry sales expert
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ketes.
:o
SMSBook.indb 143 20/7/07 1:55:47 PM
:oo 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
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uofcs :o
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5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :o6
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:o uofcs
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5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :o8
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:o uofcs
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5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :e
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:: uofcs
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5ntcs Mnec 5urtc :z
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: uofcs
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: uofcs
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:6 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
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: uofcs
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: uofcs
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:6e 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
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:6: uofcs
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:6z 5ntcs Mnec 5urtc
SMSBook.indb 162 20/7/07 1:55:53 PM

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