The other day, I had to deal with a rather pushy salesperson. She was trying to get me to final-commit to a deal that I had already decided to make, but at that particular point in time I still had not executed the paperwork and signed the check.

I had every intention of doing this deal --- I had already rationalized the payback and I believed that I was making a good investment.

But you know how it is when it’s time to actually pull the dough out of your bank.

As she was pushing me to do these very things, however, I became annoyed. For one thing, I felt like I was being patronized. Further, she had this compulsion to continually let me know how successful she was as a business owner. In time, I really began to personally dislike her. She never got the contract or the check.

Later on, I called the owner of her company (a friend and a great guy) to say that he himself could drop by my office any time he liked to pick these items up, because even while I was sold, I simply was not going to give the sale to her.

He was lucky. Most buyers would not have done this deal.

He commented, “You know, you’re not the first person to tell me how intensely aggressive she is. But on the other hand, my other sales guys have been so weak at closing that I had to bring her on board to at least show them how it’s done.”

I grasped this completely. Because thirty-five years of selling has taught me exactly how difficult it is to cover that “last (sales) yard” … those thirty-six inches between the one and the goal line. How many times do you see an NFL game where the ball gets to the one but no further? You truly need some special individual to force it to pay dirt.

It’s the same with selling. Here are a couple axioms:

• The closer you get to closing, the more “reasons not to buy” will crop up in the client’s mind. In other words, rational arguments begin to take a back seat while issues that cannot easily be resolved via fact and logic tend to rule the buyer’s mindset, and,
  
• The closer you get to closing, the more scrutiny your deal receives from the people in the buying organization who actually appreciate how hard it was to earn the money that you want.
  

One should always avoid selling directly to the individual whose money it is, and instead do whatever you can to sell to one of his or her subordinates. While still very strong in protecting the owner’s money, this individual, by definition, will not fight for the money as desperately as the owner. (Unless, of course, that money is from angel or venture capital investors.)

 
So, your closer has to be strong, but not too strong. And your salespeople always have to remember the old bromide that one never, ever, ever stops selling the merits, benefits, and overall bliss that will result from using your company’s products and/or services.

To illustrate, just look at how college football coaches recruit. Even after they receive a verbal commitment from their heralded all-world class quarterback, they nonetheless continue to barrage that prospect with e-mails, text messages, and personal visits from every and any individual associated with that university who can provide just one more compelling reason why that athlete should go to good old State Tech.

Overkill, you say? Not at all, because every time you ask someone to buy anything of significance, you are also asking that someone to make a huge commitment to something that will:

1. Cost them their money … and,
   
2. Change some facet of how he or she currently behaves and/or does business.
   

We all know just how much people are loath to change. Most people, anyway.

Stop and think for a minute about the self-made entrepreneur who remembers each and every dime they ever earned. (Over the years, I’ve interviewed hundreds of entrepreneurs, and so I know that this is true.) As such, they are loath to spend this money. So, this is not the individual you negotiate with. Instead, you want to bargain with someone designated by the founder/owner … someone who while cognizant of his or her bosses’ beliefs nonetheless cares just a little bit less about the money and therefore is much more likely to eventually capitulate during a long and strenuous negotiation.

And as to the question of ‘pushy vs non-pushy.’ Well, first of all, never forget that buyers make a commitment to buy because they at some point are convinced of the value and the payback of the purchase to either them and/or their organization. After this, it is a matter of getting the contract and of course, the check (I personally prefer a money commitment to any piece of paper).

But the longer that this latter step goes unfulfilled, the more reasons the buyer will create in his or her mind to not go through with the deal. First among these reasons is, “Well, it’s been a week since I didn’t write that check and things seem to be moving along pretty well around here without that new product/service.”

And of course, things can and will change dramatically and quickly in any buyer’s environment. For instance, the buyer could become ill. She could suffer a business reversal. Competition may demonstrate a better, faster, cheaper solution. She may even have big troubles on the home front.

Fail to close and all of these issues (and more!) are in play. Push too hard and you might lose everything, but at least by pushing, you make room to sell the next deal – one way or another.