This is a guest blog post by Pure Chat’s Sebalis Davis. Sebalis is responsible for business growth at Pure Chat. Pure Chat offers a live chat tool which allows you to chat with visitors on your website and turn them into customers. The company is located in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Aggressiveness is the key to selling! Well, at least that is what is preached by a lot of managers. They tell you to approach your leads as soon as they are within striking range, and don’t let up until they buy or give you a definite “hell no.” Even when the former happens, salespeople are often told to continue sending collateral until they come back to buy again. Is this the best approach? I won’t make the call, but I will paint this picture: Think of a Prospect as someone you’re interested in at a bar. Will you really close the deal by aggressively pushing yourself on them?

Unless they are desperate (an unqualified lead) or you are Brad Pitt (a company whose leads all are inbound), you’ll push them away before they even tell you their name. In the same way, you may come in with a glorious solution, firing off every feature. However, the prospect could be looking for something a lot simpler, and be turned off immediately. A connection is needed before that person is happy to give you their information. You don’t need to be 100% caught up on their biography, but a little relevant information will allow you to steer the Conversation in the right direction.

“Unless they are desperate or you are Brad Pitt, you’ll push them away before they even tell you their name.”

The interest of those who are looking over your product features can vary. Your arsenal needs to be up to date enough that you can see what a prospect is looking for, in order to approach with a witty pick up line that peaks their interest right away.

Good selling technique is about “having a casual conversation coupled with good questions about what’s important to [y]our prospects” (Success Resources). If you know what a lead is looking for, it is much easier to ask questions, such as “why” or “how will you plan on using this?” The relevant questions, the more that is uncovered. And, most of all, more trust evolves with the conversation.

Persistence is certainly a great trait to have, but there is a line that can easily be crossed into the pushy zone. With aggressiveness, the customer may make an early decision but still “resent being pressured”, or even “find a way to get out of the deal or delay until the pressure is off” (Inc.com). If you’ve had a prospect flip flop after the initial conversation, or never respond/delay to the next sync, you may have crossed the line to the dark side.

Assertiveness should be what you’re striving for. Put away the gun, but feel free to swing the pillow hard when you’ve found your opportunity. Show confidence in the sales process and make sure to solidify concrete next steps. Don’t dictate the entire direction for the customer, but don’t let them set the schedule either. Agree on the specific next steps and get the game plan in order. “The assertive approach is neither pushy nor flaccid, but instead creates a discussion that helps you and the customer better understand what’s going on, and what you can do to help the decision-making process along.” - Inc.

What happens if they still say no?

Of course, there is no 100% conversion rate. Not everyone will say yes. When you get a “no”, put your pillow down and politely thank your prospect. At most, you can even say something like, “I definitely understand. Thank you for your time. If I may ask, is there a specific reason this product/solution won’t meet your needs? It’s totally fine if you want to keep that to yourself.” More than likely, the customer will respect that and may even open up about their objections. The respect shown could bring them back to you in the future (I recently bought a vehicle from a saleswoman whom I had dealt with a year ago but went a different route, as I remembered her level of respect and professionalism). Even better, those objections could present another opportunity! Knowing what your buyer wants opens up many doors, and this is what you need vs. banging them down. Use awesome analytics tools to find out what they’re looking at before the conversation. Then, use live Chat software to engage with them while they are browsing. If a customer is prepared, you should be too. Hearing their questions and asking your own will allow you to build a genuine connection; it will be clear what to bring out of your arsenal for the ensuing sales process.

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