What do you Assume?

I was raised to never assume. I was even taught that when you assume, you make an ass of you and me. Get it, an ASS of U and ME. Believe me, it is a whole lot funnier when you are a kid. Even though, as a kid I laughed at getting to say the word ‘ass’ the meaning behind this statement has stuck with me my entire adult life. And that meaning is:

When you assume something about someone else, you are usually wrong, therefore making an ass out of yourself and the other person. I believe that rather than assume something, verify it. Investigate whatever it is and determine if I really know the answer. Typically, assumptions are based upon emotions and fact are, well facts. I have learned all throughout my life, sometimes the hard way, dealing with facts makes the right decision easier. I find the theory that when you assume you make an ass of you and me to be words to live by, in every aspect of my life except for in sales.

When I enter into salesman mode, I ALWAYS assume the sale. Taking an assumptive approach to every customer will instantly increase your sales, and more than likely increase your commissions.

4 Reasons the Assumptive Approach Works

1. Belief

The key to making taking this assumptive approach and making it work with every customer begins with your beliefs. You must:

Believe from the top of your head to the tips of your toes, and at your core that if you do everything right with your customer, they will buy now.

Having this belief puts you in control. If you truly believe that all you have to do is everything right and you will have a sale, then just do everything right. The problem with this theory is that most salespeople do not have this belief. Most salespeople think of thousands of excuses and external factors that will make a ‘no close’ not their fault. However, the great salespeople, the top 1%, the best of the best have this belief. They know in their heart of hearts that it is up to them whether the customer buys or not. And if they are the one in control and they are committed to doing everything right, then it is easy to assume the sale.

2. Confidence

Once you believe you are in control and that this is your deal to lose, you have a newfound confidence. With confidence comes sales. Think about when you are selling a car to a friend or relative. Things like doubt or other negative thoughts don’t ever enter your mind. Throughout the entire transaction, your mindset is always, this is a done deal.

3. Attitude

Now that you have this new confidence a transformation happens. You no longer allow external factors to affect your attitude. In fact, your attitude skyrockets. And with this improved assumptive attitude, the questions you ask your customer, go from open answer with the probability of the customer providing a negative response that goes against them buying and turn into buying confirmation questions.

4. Confirmation

Most salespeople ask their customers open answer types of questions. such as, “What did you think about the car?” or “When are you looking to buy?” The problem with these types of questions is that you have no idea what the customer going to say. You could get lucky, and the customer says what you want to hear, however they may not. Why take the chance?

The pros in this business don’t take this chance, instead they ask confirmation questions. Such as, “The commute to work sure is going to be a lot nicer than in your car, isn’t it?” or “Your kids are really going to love the entertainment system on those long road trips, aren’t they?”

Questions like these confirm not only confirm the customer sees the value in the benefits you are referring to, but they also paint the mental image of the customer owning the vehicle and the satisfaction they will feel from this ownership.

Now that you understand why the Assumptive Approach works let’s take a look at the things you should assume with every customer by step of the sale:

Assuming the sale is easy to do once you believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, take a long look in the mirror to determine why. Don’t consider outside influences when you are looking at yourself, because your belief is about you. Write down any short comings you feel you have and start working on them immediately. The more quickly you believe in yourself, the more quickly you can take this assumptive approach to heart and watch your sales and commissions immediately soar.