“Always be Closing” - A quote made famous by Alec Baldwin’s greatest sales manager EVER character in the movie Glengarry Glen Ross. To a lesser, more light hearted extent, was the mantra of Robin Williams’ car salesman character in Cadillac Man. Always be closing, always be closing, always be closing, a.k.a. ABC.
This direct, hard charging, take no prisoners approach to getting the sale was the perfect war cry for the 1980s and ‘90s. That era was known as an up and down roller coaster ride of high highs and low lows. When things are going good, everyone wants on board (purchase), and when they are going bad, they abandon ship (sell), either way the ABC salesman got paid.
Looking back, you can understand how many salesmen and specific industries developed a “shady” reputation, and who could blame people? If you stop and think about it, this entire approach to selling is flawed and one-sided right from the start. The salesman puts his and the needs of the company ahead of the client buyer.
Fast forward to 2008, when the American mortgage bubble burst. Many, many people, both north and south of the border, lost a lot. How do you think a salesman would be accepted trying the “ABC’s” on a potential client who has just lost their job or a large chunk of their assets? It would be carnage for the salesman.
When times get tough, people have less trust in strangers, they tend to shrink down their inner circle and take advice from the people who truly care.
If the mortgage meltdown taught us anything positive, if you genuinely care about their needs and are truly invested in their well-being, people will trust you. If it wasn’t apparent at this point, the ABC’s of selling in the 90’s needed a complete revamp.
ABC’s of 2015
ALWAYS BE CONNECTING
While I don’t think Alec Baldwin’s character would be particularly impressed with this current trend, there is little doubt that client contact is No. 1 in the sales world. The implementation of the different social media platforms into pretty much all business plans has client “touches” happening numerous times per day.
The Good News: Never before has getting a message out to the masses been as easy, cost-effective and efficient as it is now.
The Flip Side: The only thing that social media can’t do, is give the client the “care” that they are looking for. Blog, tweet, post on Facebook and Instagram, email and text to your heart’s content. The fact is, those tools will never, and we mean never replace the “knee to knee and toes to toes” in person attention that all clients crave.
It’s called CONNECTION and it’s the new reality for business and we are completely ok with it!
Speaking of connection, we would love to hear from you!
Please feel free to share any of your favourite or not-so-favourite sales or customer service experiences.
Thank-you for visiting.
THEbTEAM.
Many thank-yous to Nick Fewings for the photo.