Maxim #46
Stop selling after the sale
This maxim is taught in many sales courses around the world but since we all spend a lot of time selling or persuading others it’s applicable to most, if not all, people. After someone agrees to “buy” something, stop selling. This is true whether the person has bought a product, a service, or simply a concept.
There are various theories as to what process people go through when making a buying decision. Generally they go through something like: awareness, interest, decision, action (this is the AIDA model). A sale is made when people reach a decision, but a sale is never complete until people take action. There is a fragile gap between decision and action that you can easily disrupt if you continue to sell.
If you continue to try to offer reasons why a person should make a decision, after the person has actually made a decision, you inadvertently re-open the decision process itself. Any introduction at this point of new variables to consider makes the buyer begin to second-guess the decision until the buyer returns to a point of being undecided.
The following scenario is fairly common: You are well along the buying path when finally you ask a person to make a decision (about your product, service or concept). They think about it trying to reach a decision. What follows is a prolonged and slightly awkward silence while the person is thinking. This is where many people kill the sale by adding information or simply talking to fill the silence. When a person is thinking about a decision, you have to resist the urge to talk. Don’t say anything to complicate or confuse their thinking. Let them make up their mind and then respond accordingly. If they aren’t sold you can uncover some objections and try again, and if they are sold you can help guide them to whatever action is required.
