National Sales Center

Why Sales Pressure Will Not Work

I will never advocate using sales pressure to close a deal. It reminds of a “trick” and the true sales pros don’t need or use tricks. Prospects are wise and you need to respect their intelligence. They know that today’s special deal will still be available tomorrow. That’s why I say sales pressure will only lead to sales failure.

Using Sales Pressure

Sales pressure may work on some very few occasions but it will turn off ten times as many prospects. Even if it should work, don’t count your chickens before they are hatched. You have to deal with “buyer’s remorse”. Show me a rep with a high cancellation rate and I’ll show you a rep that needs to back off their sales pressure tactics.

Sales Pressure Is A Failed Tactic

Sales pressure, as a tactic, will fail more often than not, especially in this economy. We live in an “uncertain economy”. Adding pressure to uncertainty will only lead to push back. No one wants to be pressured into doing something they are uncertain about doing in the first place. If you want to succeed in this economy, forget sales pressure tactics.

This is not to say that we should abandon efforts to professionally motivate buyers. However, motivating buyers and pressuring buyers are two very different things. We still need to ask for the order and close deals. That’s all part of solid sales skills and those skills must be maintained. Applying sales pressure has nothing to do with professional sales skills. Sales skills demand that we put the client’s needs in front of our needs. That’s a sales technique sure to produce the desired results.

Build Decision Confidence

The true competition is the “status quo” or deciding to simply doing nothing. When too much sales pressure is applied, the prospect is more likely than not, going to revert to the safe bet, the status quo. Counter this reflex reaction by insuring your prospect is comfortable and confident about agreeing to purchase. Help your prospect with that decision but don’t think you can pressure your prospect into that decision.

Remember all these point the next time it’s the end of the month and you are being pressured to meet your forecast or quota. Why lose a deal just because it’s the end of the month?

I hope you’ll remember this advice about using sales pressure tactics the next time you meet with a prospect.

To your sales success!

Nick

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Tags: sales techniques