The Salesby5 Blog

Research indicates customers’ first instinct reactions to new products or new ideas are not totally predictive of final behavior.  I conducted a research study asking customers how likely they were to purchase various new products in the next 6 months.  I then followed up to see if what they said they would do, was what they did. The results were surprising — of the 809 times customers said they would absolutely, definitely WOULD NOT PURCHASE, about 20% or one in five actually did make a purchase. Of the 246 who said they absolutely, positively, definitely WOULD PURCHASE, less than half the time or only 45% of the time did they actually buy. The bottom line — just because a customer says no – is no reason to give up trying to make the sale.  If a customer says yes, close the sale quickly.

- Doug Hall, Eureka! Ranch

I know of a particular instance where an insurance agent was working with a couple to sell them long term care insurance.  The couple later made a decision, got dressed up and came down to her office to tell her that they were not interested.  During that time, she was able to close the deal, even though their plan was to say no.  A few years later, both the husband and wife fell ill and were able to use the coverage.  The husband called the agent during his recovery and thanked her for selling them the insurance, even though they had planned to not purchase it.  It saved them tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills, all because she sold through the “no.”  Do you have a success story where you kept selling, even after a customer said no?  Share with us in the comments.

Photo by Nan

Tags: doug hall, eureka ranch, long term care insurance, sales data, selling through the no