The Take Away

Written by: Greta Shultz

“Sue, I’m really not sure that what I’ve seen does anything for me,” said Phil, the prospect. “Actually,” he continued, “your color choices are nowhere near as extensive as your competitor’s. In fact, he was just in here showing me some new additions this morning.”

Sue detested this type of prospect. And unfortunately, this is the only type she’d had for the past six months. Sue knew that this would be another one of those meetings where the prospect objects a thousand times and she would have to come up with a way to beat them all down. “There’s got to be a better way to make a living,” she thought.

“I didn’t know you had met with ABC Competition,” Sue said.

“Well I really feel obligated to shop around. And to be perfectly honest with you, their prices are looking pretty good. I doubt you’ll be able to beat them.”

Alright, let’s get started fighting the objections... “Let’s talk about colors. Our colors are by far the…” Sue droned. An hour and a half later, she crawled out of the office exhausted and a feeling of being beaten, but walked in with an order.

Sue’s sales manager greeted her with a “good work” and a pat on the back. But after a glance at the dollar amount sold, he asked “why’s Phil ordering less than he did last time?”

“ABC Competition had a proposal on the table. You wouldn’t believe what I just went through to get that much.” Feeling 2nd rate, she added, “I’m going back there next week to see if I can get the rest back.”

Sue was so afraid she was going to lose Phil as a client that she was prepared to do just about anything to keep his business. In fact, she had the guts to spend another hour and a half confronting Phil’s objections, but not enough guts to ask the questions to find out if all the objections were real or a test on his part.

Taking a sale away, or taking yourself out of the running, and then waiting for a response from the prospect takes some serious guts. This technique is not for those with weak knees.

No one can hold Sue responsible for her commitment to ask. In fact, most salespeople and sales managers would agree that in the situation above, the best thing to do is simply “gut it out.” But there is something else that could have been done. Before Sue began answering every objection Phil had, she could have very simply said, “You know, you mentioned that ABC Competition has more colors, a better price, and they were already here this morning”. So I’m confused, between you and me, why didn’t you order from them? I mean we can’t do all of that so I guess you’re not ordering from me today, huh?!”
In order for “the take away” technique to work, you must honestly be prepared to lose the sale and walk out the door without looking back. If you’re not able to do this, the technique may backfire right in your face. But if you’re 100% committed to making it work, then this technique is incredibly compelling when it comes to eliminating objections. Your task is simply to mirror back what your prospect is saying to you. For example, when they tell you how great and wonderful your competitor is, reply with “So you ordered from them.” Don’t speak until you get a response. If they did already order, it probably really is over for you. But if not, then you deserve to know the reasons why. And while your prospect is telling you why, you’re learning what you need to do to get their business.

The prospect’s famous last line is often “the other guy can do it better for less.” Well guess what…LET HIM!