DO YOU FOLLOW THE SALES ABC SCHOOL?

​So, you've probably heard of the sales school of thought that goes, to be a great salesperson you've got to ABC (Always Be Closing). Well, here's the problem with that line of thinking: not only does it not work in this day and age, it actually drives away customers!

Was there ever a time when the ABC school actually produced salespeople that were successful? Yes, in the pre-internet era there were plenty of these types who pounded the pavement with a plethora of closing techniques that they used against their unwitting victims, I mean prospects. And it actually worked - some of these salespeople did quite well as a result. 

However, fast forward to today, and it's hard to find very many proponents of this way of selling. Why? Because it just doesn't work the way it used to. You see, times have changed. Thanks to the internet and social media, buyers have access to way more information on just about everything than they ever had before. What this means is that there is no longer that asymmetry of information where the seller knows way more than the buyer about the buyer's pain points and possible solutions (which of course includes the product or service he/she is trying to sell). Now, the buyers have as much, if not more, information than the sellers and they use it to their own advantage - to pit sellers against each other, and drive down the cost of their purchase.

In fact, buyers have become so savvy about the sales game that they know exactly what a "trial close" or "assumption close" is and will call a salesperson on it. Beyond that, the ABC mindset is simply a turnoff for most buyers because it means the seller only cares about one thing: CLOSING.

​Put yourself in the buyers shoes: would you trust a salesperson who just wants to "close" you?

Humza Adam is the Principal and Founder of HFactor Solutions. At HFactor Solutions we strive to drive your top-line growth.