For example, if you try to sell ice to an Eskimo by saying, “Here are some ice blocks, would you like to buy?” He’ll say, “Are you a moron, I live on the ice!”
But instead you say, “Hi Nanook, would you like to have more time to spend with your wife and kids?”
“Sure,” he replies.
“I have some prefab ice blocks and you can make an igloo for a family of 6 in just under 30 minutes. No more endless hacking and sawing. That’ll allow you to have more time for the family.”
“Hmm, sounds interesting…” Nanook rubs his chin as he considers your proposal.
And so how do you sell ice to an Eskimo? Follow the 7 steps.
Bear in mind that what you think as a salesperson and what a prospect think may be very different. You need to understand what the customer thinks in each of the steps so as to match his or her expectation. And note the persuasive scripts used in each step. Let’s use the scenario of a customer in a car dealership. The principles behind the 7 steps can be used to sell any product.
So, in building rapport, find something you can sincerely comment about the customer. If you exchange business cards and you notice that her card says she’s is a manager of a renowned company, you may say, ‘Wow, you’re a manager of this great company”. Remember, your compliment must always be sincere as a prospect can see through a fake easily.
What if the client is a beautiful lady, do you compliment her on her great looks? If you’re a woman, probably it’s ok. I have seen women do that all the time. “I love your hair!” “You did not age even a day!” You look fantastic in those boots!” That’s how they connect. And suddenly they’re BFF (Best Friends Forever)
But if you’re a man, avoid that. She’ll think you’re a creep. So think before you compliment. Better still, have a few safe stock compliments in mind. “I like your energy!” “I like the fact that you know exactly what you want” “I like your shoes.” (If you’re a guy talking to another guy) ‘Like’ is a powerful word to build rapport.
The word ‘understand’ is another Power word. We want the customer to know their needs are the most important matter and not the sale. You and I do not like pushy salespeople. So don’t be pushy. Be trustworthy. Always start with a genuine desire to understand what your prospect wants.
Some effective consulting questions are:
– Who’ll be using the car?
– Will it be for work or family use?
– What is most important to you in buying a new car? Safety? Comfort? Savings?
You can adapt these questions to the product or service you’re selling. The key focus is to understand their needs and match them with the product we’re selling. For example, if you are selling life insurance, some discovering questions would be:
– What experience do you have with life insurance?
– What are 3 reasons why you might consider investing in life insurance?
– If something was to happen to you, how do you think your family will be taken care of?
Please take an effort to talk to the salespersons who are doing well in their sales to discover the effective questions they use. You do not have to reinvent the wheel. And yes, buy them Starbucks, or better still, loads of beers so that they will talk freely!
By summarizing you show that you care about his or her needs and this helps to build their trust in you. And getting agreement on their requirements allow you to know what features and benefits of your product to highlight during the product demonstration.
From the above scenario, since the customer confirms that safety, comfort, and good mileage are important to him, you should highlight the features of the car that provide those benefits. For example, you could mention that the car has 7 airbags and that in the unfortunate event of an accident, his family and he will be well protected. If you can follow up with a testimonial –- “a friend had an accident, the car was a total loss, but his whole family escaped with minor injuries” — that would even be better.
In the car business, test drive allows the customer to feel the performance of the car. The customer can feel the benefits. Recently a friend went for a test drive and the salesperson took the wheel first with her sitting in the front passenger seat. He took a sharp corner which was a little scary for her. After which the salesperson said, “Can you feel how safe the car is even when taking a tight corner?” She is convinced the car is very safe.
It’s the same concept for other product. You demonstrate the features that give the most benefits that the customer wants. If you fail to convince the prospect of the benefits of the product, you’ll lose the sale. If you fail to create a desire to own the product, you’ll lose the sale.
For example, I went to an Apple store and inquired about the Apple pen. The salesperson merely handed me the pen and told me to draw something. I made a few sketches because I didn’t know what it can do. I drew a character…Hmmm. I wasn’t convinced to buy the pen. What he should have done was to demonstrate some cool ways a person can use the pen to create something exciting, perhaps draw a beautiful flower, show me how to shade, how to give shadow…something I can say ‘wow’. But nothing. I did not feel a desire to buy the pen. So, no sale.
The customer always says no first. Think about it, when you are the customer you always say no too in the beginning! You say no because you’re afraid to say yes. You worry whether this product is right for you or this is the best deal. You have to expect objections. In fact, welcome them! Objections are actually opportunities for you to satisfy any concern and doubt of your customer. Give satisfying answers to his objections. That will build his trust in you.
Some of the most common objections very salesperson is familiar with are:
– I want to think about it. Watch video here
– I need to ask my wife first. Watch video here
– I don’t have enough budget. Watch video here
– I want to check out other brands too. Watch video here
This is the most exciting stage of the sale, closing. Also, the most heart-stopping. But oh, the euphoria of closing a sale! They are many closing techniques you can master. One of the most persuasive is the alternate close. You see, in sales, you usually do not ask a question that can be answered by ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
There is a story of a great prosecutor who was trying to prove that an accused has indeed abused his wife. So imagine a court in session, a stern judge looking over the proceeding and the accused sitting in the witness box. After throwing some mundane questions to the accused, he suddenly raised his voice, look directly at the accused, and asked, “HAVE YOU STOP ABUSING YOUR WIFE?”
The accused blurted out, “yes”.
With a flourish, the prosecutor said, “No more question, your honor”.
You see, the question was framed in such a way that a ‘no’ or ‘yes’ answer means the accused is guilty.
So ask closing questions such as:
– Would you like your life coverage for $100,000 or $200,000?
– Do you need this 12.9 iPad Pro now or next week?
– Do you prefer red or silver for this car?
– Do you like to pay by cash or credit card?
They are many more closing techniques you can use, like the Urgent close, Balance sheet close, the Sales Manager Close, the Reduce to the Ridiculous close and the Puppy close. These will be shared in a future article.
Every salesperson sweat about buyer’s regret. Usually, when a person has bought an expensive item like a car or a house, there is a feeling of remorse.
– “Did I buy the right model?”
– “Can I actually afford it?”
– “Have I been overly influenced by the salesperson?”
– “Will my spouse approve?”
– “Could I have got a better deal?”
– “Could I have got a better deal elsewhere?”
We understand that because we too have experienced buyer’s regret. If a client has put a deposit on a new car, there are 3 things you can do to minimize buyer’s regret:
Send a thank you note immediately after the customer has left your dealership. In today’s hi-tech environment, a tastefully designed virtual thank you card is acceptable. Remind him about some key values or benefits of the purchase.
Meet him as soon as possible, perhaps the same day may be to collect some documents for car financing. In this way, any additional concerns can be addressed the same day.
Next, if the wife was not involved in the initial purchase decision, you may want to see him with his wife to explain the values or benefits of the purchase. This will preempt the cancellation based on his wife’s rejection.
I remember a case I handled a long time ago. The guy was very confident. To test his decision-making process, I asked, “In buying a car, do you decide jointly with your wife”. His answer was, “I am my own man. If I decide to buy, I buy!” Deal closed.
The next day, he came back with a woman whom I presumed to be his wife. And I had a bad feeling about what was to happen. She said to me, “My husband paid a deposit for the van. I am here to cancel the order”. I looked at ‘I-am-my-own-man”, and he has become “Well-what-can-I-say-she’s-the-REAL-boss”. What a disappointment! But we should learn to stay positive even in a Crisis.
I still smile when I remember this incident. As a salesperson, you’ll enjoy much ups and downs. Do it right and you can sell many things to many people. One more thing, check out the 4 rules on how to sell ice to an Eskimo.
Hi, my name is Song. I hope by sharing my many years of selling experience will help you make more sales!
Find this article useful? Please share your sales steps in the comment box below!
26 thoughts on “How to sell ice to an Eskimo in 7 steps”
I still remember this. Great training with Master Trainer Omar Stirling. ?
Hi friend,
Yes, we did learn a lot from Master Trainer Omar Stirling. The important thing is to apply what we have learned. Otherwise, we’ll only have head knowledge and it will not do us any good.
Song
Tq for u support
Hi Juliana,
Thank YOU for your support! Make 2018 a great year for yourself! Much success awaits you!
Song
Hi song , im really enjoy when im read 7step of sales . Thank you for your sharing . Hope that I can improved my wrong doing
Hi James,
Fantastic! Glad I can share. Wishing you great success in your job!
Song
Hi song , im really enjoy when im read 7step of sales . Thank you for your sharing . Hope to see more articles from you
Hi El Razzaq, thank you for visiting. Hope you can use the 7 steps to increase your sales power!
Song
I used to sell real estate (established homes) and found that many sales people focus on the features but the buyers buy the benefits. I like your suggestion of demonstrating how the features will be of benefit to the buyer.
Hi Marion, Ah ha, so you were a salesperson before! I guess we can both appreciate the importance of selling the benefits rather than the features. As a trainer I’ve trained many successful salespersons. It’s so satisfying when they tell me that certain steps or techniques work so well. One new salesperson used a standard script to get an appointment over the telephone. Initially the prospect said, “Ok, I’ll call you.” This usually means the the prospect will not call. He then asked the prospect firmly, “John, let’s meet up today, do you prefer 2:30 or 4:30pm?” He was so surprised when the prospect said, “4:30”! He closed the deal!
Song
Song
Hi Song,
Great article on making sales. These seven steps are applicable to any kind of business. You don’t have to be a car or ice salesman, but you always need to establish rapport with a customer, find out their need/problem, offer a solution, and so on.
Having owned a restaurant for over 20 years this is the approach I teach my servers. Customers have come to the store to buy something. Helping them make the decision on what to order for lunch or dinner leads to upsells and to return visits.
Thanks for the well-written article, I’ve bookmarked it and will keep returning in the future.
Ed
Hi Ed, yeah we can both relate to the fact that there are basic steps to selling. It’s a smart move you guide your waiters to be able to make recommendation so that the customers get what they want. There’s also the personal engagement with them and, as you said, lead to return visits. Well done, friend!
And glad you find the article helpful. Best wishes to you!
Song
This is a very well written post. I surely like the idea of connecting with people and finding out what their needs are. Those are so key in my opinion. If you can connect with people and then find a way to solve their problems you will have a raving fan for life. Love all of these points though. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Nate, yes getting connected and understanding the needs of a customer are the crucial steps in selling. When I was new in sales, I didn’t know this and was just focusing on pushing the products to everyone I meet! Not much success. After learning this, ah, my sales went up!
Thanks for coming by.
Song
Hi Albert
I really enjoyed your post! Being new to these things, I felt your seven step program was very helpful. I also enjoyed how you reinforced what you were speaking about with the picture cartoons! I was wondering though, if somebody buys something from you on-line, and if it is expensive, can they opt out after three days from the purchase? I know if the seller is the one who contacts them, they have that option……..but if the buyer contacts the seller, do the same rules apply?
I also look forward to when your e-book comes out! If it is anything like this post, it will be great! Tim
Hi Tim, great you enjoyed the write-up and the cartoons! My site carries Amazon products and thus all purchases are governed by its terms and conditions and refundable. Stay tune for the eBook! Have an awesome day!
Song
I really enjoyed your article and especially the 7 steps to seal the deal and I couldn’t agree more it makes so much sense everything.
About the “buyers remorse” my husband is one of them but so far as his wife, I always can smooth him down. 🙂
Hi Sylvia, wonderful you enjoyed the article. For sales people, Buyer’s remorse is a morale killer. While people changing their minds after buying is possible, manage Buyer’s Regret well, we can retain most of them.
Thanks for dropping by!
Song
This is a very creative post. I really enjoyed the combination of your step-by-step guide with the Eskimo story. I have actually taken notes on the whole process to remember them. Because I’m mostly doing online sales, the hardest part for me is to get connected and gain trust.
I appreciate it if you have also an advice for me on how to get connected better with my customers as an internet marketer?
Anyways, tnx for your helpful post.
Hi Albert! Great you find the piece useful. Ah, online marketing! Like you pointed out, the steps to get connected and gain trust is so important in internet marketing as there are so many scammers out there. And ha, ha, as you can see the website is new, and so I am still learning the ropes. Perhaps, YOU can give me some tips! Wishing you success!
Song
Please could you make a free download with the seven steps and the five rules? They are fantastic!
Hi, so glad you like the articles. As you can see, this website is very new. I have more articles to publish on sales. These articles will eventually be compiled into a mini Ebook. So stay tune. Song
Excellent sales lesson, find the customer, offer them the product and explain how it will benefit their lives. Very helpful! No one would buy anything unless there is a reason for them to buy it and if you offer them a good reason why they should buy it. Theres no reason why tey shouldn’t. Especially if its related to a problem in their lives.
🙂
Hi Josh, it’s great you find the article useful. Thanks for visiting! Hope you can use some of the tips to close sales. Have an awesome day!
It was very useful for me as this article was written based on your experiences. I am working as sales so I should definitely brush up my sales skills and persuade customers so that they can satisfy with our products. I will communicate with customers well and “understand” what is their needs. I’m in manufacturing industry but those tactics can be used as well! Thanks for sharing nice things. Looking forward to reading next article.
Thanks for visiting, friend. Great you find the selling tips useful for your sales job! Yes, it’s very important to first ‘understand’ the customer’s needs. That’ s half the battle won. Wishing you great sales ahead! And be the best salesperson in your company!