Go for the Big Sale. Or Maybe Not.

Conventional wisdom tells us that salespeople should go for the big sale, the record breaker, the home run. And conventional wisdom is usually correct.

But once in a while, going for the "big sale" isn't the best selling strategy. Sometimes the more moderate transaction is in the best interest of the salesperson (not to mention the customer). Will going for the big sale offend the customer so they don't even make a small purchase? Will going for the big sale interrupt an ongoing stream of revenue from the customer (a big short term gain chosen over an even bigger long term gain)? Will going for the big sale effect the relationship with your customer, or your market, or have some other negative consequenceIf the answer to any of these is "yes," then maybe going for the big sale is not the right activity at the present time.

Only wisdom can tell us if going for the big sale is the best action. And wisdom isn't always developed through experience. There are many experienced salespeople who have little wisdom, and many new salespeople who seem to have born with it.

Going after the big sale is a great idea- most of the time.

 

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment. Skip Anderson is the President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies that sell to consumers in all B2C sectors to increase sales by leveraging the buying potential of every prospect and shopper.

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Comments

[d2d print]

Personally, I believe that solely pursing the big sale is unnecessary. I say moderate transactions are the best as they way more consistant.

[sales software]

hunting elephants as i say is worth it, it justtakes a long time but you can lose out big if you dont win, lost opportunity cost can be worse for you if you only bank on elephants. a mix is good or understanding the big deal verses others can be very different. if you come from commodity selling and not solution selling them i would learn from many people and quickly!

[JLB]

I go in every shift and hope for at least one sale. I just as happily take on the small sales that add up over time however I try to wrap them up as soon as possible because the bigger sales require a longer time investment and more nurturing.