I received an email from one of my dealers recently asking if I had any specific information on how to handle one-leggers or “single opportunity” customers. While I have always considered them buyers like any other customer I didn’t have anything in writing and it brought up an interesting point. It also reminded me of a personal experience I had when I was on the line selling RV’s.
The question is - can you close a single opportunity? The answer is, of course you can. But not everyone will. Any salesperson or manager, including myself, that has been in the RV business for any length of time undoubtedly has closed these customers, but why is it that some sales people will never close these customers?
It’s simply a matter of mindset - the way a salesperson thinks about a given situation or customer. Many a manager has beat his head against the desk trying to change the mindset of strong willed sales people wanting to do things their way.
Single opportunity customers can and will close if given the opportunity. They should be treated as buyers and nothing less.
I remember one day personally selling a used motor home to a female single opportunity who was married, on the first visit and front rolled the unit. Unusual but real story. I really didn’t do anything more than ask a few key questions, treated her like a buyer and proceeded with the process. I assumed my personal mantra, “Their going to buy - Their going to buy from me - Their going to buy today - Their qualified - They can afford it, that’s it period.”™ It may sound odd or silly to some but it closes deals by helping me create and maintain confidence and assume the sale until the customer proves otherwise. I figure the moment anyone in sales doubts any of those thoughts they need to get out of the deal and get help. Reread them and tell me if you don’t agree.
It turned out my single opportunity female customer was the VP of marketing and sales for a major eyeglass manufacturer pulling down $250k a year and platinum credit. She was buying the motorhome on a whim as her husband and son were at the Nascar races and were uncomfortable in the pits. Good money down, platinum credit, VIB deal (back in the day) etc. After the sale we followed her to California Speedway with the unit and all was well.
Most single opportunities however are not treated as having the ability to buy “today”. Many salespeople feel the best they can hope for is a be-back and that might be true, but why not try to close?
Salespeople often will not attempt to close because they don’t know how to, or don’t believe they can close a single opportunity. What these situations demands is a change of mindset; the way we think about these customers.
Often times just the opposite happens. In their rush to “get back on the tape”, they short change the customer and offer little or no customer service. This can make the customer feel like an “interruption” of our busy day as opposed to “being” our busy day.
If a salesperson knew that every “all parties are here” customer they get, was not going to buy on the first visit, but might return and buy, how would they handle them?
In contrast, with a single opportunity, if they knew they were going to buy today, how would salespeople handle them?
So managers; do you teach your salespeople to handle single opportunity customers and just as important, do they get it?
Salespeople, what do you think of one-leggers and how do you handle them?
I look forward to your comments.
Chuck Morgan
http://www.rvsalestrainingonline.com
Posted under rv sales
This post was written by admin on August 20, 2009
Chuck, this is a good blog and a good topic to comment on.
The truth of the matter is that no matter if you have both there or not, it is possible to sell that person (one legger). The likelihood, that one person will buy without their spouse present, is different than if both were present in most cases however. Those are the facts.
You are right though, most salespeople automatically think that just because it’s a “one legger” it will end up in a NO SALE, and that is exactly what happens when they have that attitude.
Me, when I get a one legger, I ask questions to find out if I will need both or not. If I need the other spouse to proceed, then sometimes, it’s a matter of just taking the RV on a demo and going to the other party! The other thing you can do is use the telephone to call the other party. You can get them on the phone and help bring the sale to a close.
One last thing you can do, is make a deal “contingent” on the RV being as described. Give them an out, if for some reason she doesn’t like it. Most times, they end up buying the RV.
Jeff Agans