The first tuxedo I bought was sold to me by a gentleman I had gone to, intending to rent. He took a brand-new tux out of the warehouse and started marking it. I told him I wanted to rent it for a wedding, but he said not to worry because he wanted to have a new one available for rent in my size.

“He must have understood me very well because I felt comfortable wearing a brand-new tuxedo, which was exactly my size and at the rental price. When it was ready and I went to pick it up, I tried it on again to make sure it was OK. He gave me a shirt, a belt, and a bow tie to wear. The whole outfit looked amazing.

“Guess what happened next? He asked me how many children I had and how many there are in my extended family. And before I knew it, he ‘proved’ that with so many weddings coming up in the future, it would be more profitable to buy this tuxedo made of mohair and silk, which ‘actually fits like a glove’, than to rent it every time.

“What the tailor said turned out to be true. Looking back, I think that even if I didn’t save money, buying it saved me from rushing to rent a tuxedo every time I had a wedding or an event to go to.” This story was narrated by Joe Girard, the best salesman in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records.

Selling is an art. If artists find it difficult to finish a work of art, the same happens with a salesperson while closing a sale or a deal. Why? Because the customer can back off, even at the last minute.

Most people act defensively in the presence of a salesperson. They see them as someone who wants to shift money out of their wallet into their own.

Fear of making the wrong choice and losing money is greater than the fear of losing out on an opportunity. So, it’s easier for the customer to say no.

They react defensively or escape. Everyone measures themselves in terms of “pain”. How much something will “hurt” them if they don’t have it. They put themself in the worst situation they can imagine. The pain stimulus deals with it and alleviates it, so they don’t hurt anymore.

The brain only has two stimulus networks: approach or avoidance.

What does avoidance mean? We avoid bad feelings, sadness, or deep disappointment. This is a message to do something to return to a neutral state. On the other hand, approach means gain. If you don’t have it, you’re fine, but if you do, you think you’re the best version of yourself. By the way, avoidance is twice as powerful as an approach. That’s why we encounter it the most.

Research has shown that customers do not buy for seven reasons.

  • I don’t need it.
    People don’t always buy what they need. If they did, we wouldn’t be the over-consuming society we are today. So, you sell what people want.

  • I don’t want it.
    The customer would usually say, “I’m not in the mood for it.” This is the most difficult category.

  • I haven’t got the money.
    Nobody wants to be in debt. They’ll only go that far if what they’re buying will help them either make money or improve their life or alleviate some of their “pain”. If your product does not do any of these three, it’s time to leave.

  • I don’t think it’s worth the price.
    Here, the right answer comes from the legendary Tom Hopkins, a distinguished salesman and author of the bestseller How to Master the Art of Selling. I’ve learned something over the years, you know. When people spend money, they want three things: the best quality, the best service, and the lowest price. I know that no company can offer all three. No one can offer the best quality and the best service at the lowest price. So, for your own benefit, which of the three would you be willing to sacrifice in the long run? Good quality, excellent service, or the lowest price?

  • I don’t trust the salesperson.
    Why not? Because they’ve been deceived in the past. So as a rule, they doubt the real impact your product will have on their lives. The best way to dispel this fear is to make a list of satisfied customers who would be willing to receive a phone call from the potential customer. A UK electronics chain has its employees call customers five days after they’ve made a purchase to find out if everything went well with delivery and installation and if the device works okay. Closing the sale immediately after – if the answers they received were the desired ones – they ask the customers if they would be willing to accept a phone call from someone considering buying the same device. Sixty percent of them answer negatively but the 40 per cent who answer positively make for an easy sale to new customers because while a customer may be wary of a salesperson, he or she is particularly open to someone who was in the same position as them a few days ago.

  • I am afraid I am committing an error.
    Here again, a lot of questions are required. They must trust you. It’s logical! You are a start-up, and they’re a company executive. Every high-risk decision must be accompanied by an appropriate incentive. So, you need to know what you’re offering extremely well to prove the added value of your offer.

  • I don’t quite understand the product I’m buying.
    In this case, the customer simply postpones by saying, “Why close the deal now and not in six months?”

The answer, in this case, is that I could have had children 10 years later, but I’d have been in my forties, not my thirties, and under different circumstances, would have had less stamina. I could have bought my house 15 years later, when my finances were better but then, I’d have been 50 years old and wouldn’t have enjoyed it like I have been doing for the last 15 years. ‘Later’ is always more convenient in the mind of the customer.

But what you lose in the meantime needs to be factored in. Don’t waste time.

Some say it takes a lot of small things to make a deal. People like Chris Voss, writer and speaker, say, “Go along with ‘no’ until you get a ‘that’s it!’”

In the 1980 US election, Governor Ronald Reagan debated with President Carter and followed the following strategy precisely. “Are you better off than four years ago? Do your children go to better schools? Does the state give you better services? Do you pay less taxes? Are you happier than four years ago? If so, vote for Carter again.”

The election was won by the candidate who got consecutive negative answers until the “that’s it!”

That’s when you close the deal.

Excerpted with permission from The Art Of Selling: Strategies For Start-up Success, Lefteris Papageorgiou, Fingerprint Publishing.