Has this happened to you?
You’re in the process of selling your widgets to a prospect. You’ve turned features into benefits. You’ve given him an amazing demonstration. You’ve attempted several closing techniques.
Overall, you’ve done such a marvelous job of proving the value of your widget, that you’re convinced he’s ready to sign on the dotted line.
Suddenly, he hits you with: "What’s the catch?"
Most people have been taught to believe that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Sometimes, you can oversell to the point where your prospect thinks there has to be a catch.
Your response to this question can be critical. If you say, "There’s NO catch," your prospect will, nevertheless, assume you must be hiding something.
So what is the best way to handle this situation?
First, be prepared for it. Don’t get caught with your pants down. Hesitation or stunned silence will lose you the sale every time.
You may even want to provoke the subject before your customer does with the question, "You’re probably wondering what the catch is, right?"
Then, give your customer a catch that is true yet meaningless to him.
The best way for me to illustrate what I mean is through an example from my own personal experience.
Years ago, I worked for a promotional company that sold coupon books to golfers by phone. The golfer who purchased a book would receive six rounds of golf for the price of one. The deal definitely sounded too good to be true.
My closing technique went something like this:
ME: "Now, I bet you’re wondering what the catch is, right Bob?"
BOB: (Laughs) "Yes, I am."
ME: "Well, you’re right. There IS one catch."
BOB: "I knew it." (Bob tenses, preparing for the worst.)
ME: "The catch is that the golf course owner requests that you call in
advance to book your tee-off time. But you probably do that anyway,
don’t you?"
BOB: "Usually I do, yeah. That’s it?"
ME: "That’s it, Bob."
Bob: "Sounds great."
ME: "Great! So how many books would you like, one or two?"
See how I’ve given Bob a catch to earn his trust – but I’ve made it a catch he can live with!
Try this technique yourself the next time you’re faced with the "too good to be true" scenario.
Find a small catch about your product – create one if you have to. Just make sure it’s a catch that your prospect doesn’t care about. You’ll gain credibility in his eyes and close a lot more sales in the long run.
