Just a Little Misdirection Goes a Long Way
You don't like to be told what to do, do you? I didn't think so, and neither do your prospects.
If merchants perceive they have a choice, then they will maintain their sense of control and will be more comfortable with the buying decision. The key is for you to manipulate the choices they have. It is up to you to help make the decision WHAT to purchase, rather than whether or not to purchase at all.
Instead of saying, "Do you feel our service is something that your company would benefit from?" try, "Do you think the Pre-Authorization Premium would be the best choice for your leasing division, or would the combination of Pre-Authorization and Multiple Check be better?" The merchant still has perceived control, he or she still has a choice to make, and either choice is a sale for you! Focusing the decision making on WHICH service to buy takes it away from whether to buy at all!
The same applies to requests which you are unable to honor. If the prospect says he or she wants a rate of 80 basis points and you can't accommodate that, don't say, "Sorry, we can't do that." Instead say, "That's something we could work with. How about a rate of 99 basis points and we raise your check limit to $1,500?" In reality, you are denying the request, but you are phrasing it so the prospect believes he or she has won the point and maintained control of the sale.
While this overall subject may seem deceptive to some of you, we must all remember, most things we do or fail to do, are based on how the situation presents itself. It's said, "It's all in the presentation." This doesn't mean people are dumb, but rather bad presentations generally have bad results.
