I wanted to add a fourth dog to our family and my wife was dead set against the idea. The first thing I did was agree with her. “You’re right, honey. The last thing we need is another Great Dane.”
With a raised eyebrow, she asked, “You agree with me?”
“Absolutely I agree,” I professed. “You’re right. There’s no sense in us having four dogs.”
That was the moment when she looked at the picture of the puppy and a little smile crossed her lips. “He is so cute.”
Done! Dog number four is in the house! Do you get it? Agree, acknowledge, make the other party right, and then close the deal.
There is no single rule that salespeople violate more than this one, and it happens to be the number one rule in selling any product. AGREEING is THE ROAD TO MORE SALES! This needs to be drilled and practiced because people are inclined to disagree in order to satisfy their gluttonous craving to be right.
THE AGREEMENT CHALLENGE
You have to really practice this, and it’s best if you practice with a friend, family member, or work associate. You can even record different scenarios on a digital recorder and practice handling them whereby you agree first, then handle.
This is the drill: Try to agree with everyone you talk to for a single day. Try this around the house, as you’re given endless opportunities every day to do the exact opposite of what I’m asking you to do in this drill. I’ll bet you can’t even make it through one day without violating this very vital and basic rule of selling. Try it! If you find yourself disagreeing outwardly with any person, then start over and keep at it until you can get through a whole day agreeing with everyone.
I know people who started this exercise at 8:00 a.m. and by 8:30 a.m. had already failed.
Your kid says he doesn’t want to go to school today. Handle him by agreeing first. “I understand what you’re saying because I didn’t want to go to school on Fridays either. Now get dressed, my little buddy, and let’s get to school.”
Your husband wants to go see a new action movie, but you’d rather go out for a romantic dinner. Agree first. “You’re right. It’s a great night for a movie. Why don’t we go down to that new café first and get a bite to eat?” Once you’ve agreed, it’s possible to suggest alternatives that are more suitable for you. Now that you’re at the café, you’ll either learn to sell him on something else or you’ll have to go to the action movie. Either way you are going to spend time with your spouse, and so both of you win.
A client tells you, “It’s too much money.” Now it’s for real! “I agree it’s a lot of money. Everyone who invests in this product agrees that this system is a big investment when they’re buying it. That’s why you should get it installed so it can start making you money right away.”
“A new roof is a lot of money,” the customer objects. “I agree it’s a lot of money,” you reply. “Your new roof is going to last for thirty years and there won’t be any more leaks or costly repairs. You will have to do it sooner or later, so let’s get it done now.”
“The bedrooms are too small,” the buyer says. “You’re right,” you agree. “That’s one of the first things I noticed, too. What do you think can be done about it?”
Agree and then offer the buyer an opportunity to find the solution before you offer one to find out how much of an objection it actually is.
“We never make a rash decision!” the customer says. “And I agree with you,” you say. “To make a rash decision would be the wrong thing to do, and I wouldn’t want you to do that. However, you have been thinking about upgrading for some time now. You’ve used the same computer system for ten years and it’s time to update it. If you would have done it nine years ago, it would have been rash, but now it just makes sense.”
Agreeing with the customer is senior to all other rules in selling! Agreement is even senior to closing the deal. I can’t believe I’m saying that because I see the close as something SACRED. However, if you disagree with someone before the close, you risk never getting to the point where you can close. Show me the top 1 percent of all salespeople in any industry and I’ll show you people who are masters at agreeing with their customers first and closing them later on what they wanted all along.
Salespeople are constantly trying to sell and negotiate by disagreement. This is no different than trying to swim against the current. In most cases the person doesn’t drown from water in his lungs, he drowns because he’s exhausted from fighting against the water itself. Most salespeople drown in the negotiations from the exhaustion of trying to overcome every objection. Start the sale from a position of agreement, continue to agree, make the buyer right—close later.