I used to drive by a car lot that sold old convertible Mercedes. It was just a shack with about 10 cars in a tiny yard. But the place seemed to turn those cars over every week. There were always some new ones every time you drove by. So my curiosity made me stop one day to see what the prices were, and what these old cars were like. The salesman/owner was about 70 years old. He immediately gave me a key to the car and told me to drive it once around the block. I came back, and he gave me the line which has defined my sales pitch ever since: “What have I got to do to get you to buy this car today”. It doesn’t sound like much, but it is one of the great sales questions of all time. Here’s why I consider it genius:
It Assumes That You Definitely Want The Product
He didn’t ask what I thought of the car. He assumed that I liked it and that made me assume that I liked it, too (which I really did). His confidence in the product made me feel more confident that it was a smart idea. Studies have shown that most buying decisions are done on impulse, and then the consumer tries to rationalize it later. He was helping me in this process.
It Puts Your Focus On Closing The Deal
Your response to the question lays out the next steps to closing. If you respond,” I’d have to buy it for $10,000″ or “I’d need a 80% loan and I’ve got bad credit”, you have set in stone the next steps to closing. If he solves those factors, then the momentum is there to close – you laid out the conditions, not him.
It Puts A Timetable On The Deal
The word “today” makes it urgent. You’re talking about the conditions to get it done today, not next month or next year. You are immediately thinking “right now”, and it creates a sort of consumer excitement, like the deal may not be available later.
Let’s Overlay This On To Renting A Billboard
Most every advertiser would take a billboard for free. Why wouldn’t they. Nobody questions their effectiveness. Not one business in America would turn down a free billboard. So you can skip over that “what do you think” part. Billboards have been around forever, and everybody knows what they are and how they benefit business.
The “what do I have to do” relates to price, or term. Those are the only two variables to block the sale. And the advertiser’s response to this question can often amaze you. I once had a potential customer reply that they would rent the sign for $450 per month, but not the $500 I had been asking. Of course, I already had assumed a much bigger discount than that. Or I have had them respond that they won’t sign more than a one year lease (as if I would be asking for more anyway).
And “today” means I want to sell it right now. And the advertiser normally understands that urgency, that sense that you are really willing to cut a good deal to get it sold right now.
Conclusion
If you use the sales pitch “what have I got to do to get you to rent this billboard today?”, you will find that you rent more faces than you ever have before. Give it a try, and see how it impacts your sales. I did, and it improved mine enormously.
And just in case you were wondering, I never bought that car. I couldn’t possibly afford it as I was just starting my billboard company and paying myself a salary of $1,000 per month. And the guy I met with died a couple of years later, and the car lot was abandoned. But somewhere in Heaven, there is a guy selling the heck out of old Mercedes convertibles!
Tags: billboard sales
