This episode delves into an innovative closing technique known as the "pink earmuff close," specifically designed to address the common customer phrase, "we need to talk about it." I elucidate the importance of recognizing that such statements often do not require time for extensive deliberation but rather an opportunity for immediate engagement. By employing a playful yet memorable tactic—putting on bright pink earmuffs—I demonstrate how we can create a distinctive presence that fosters rapport and facilitates decision-making. This approach not only sets us apart in a predominantly monotonous industry but also enhances our ability to connect with clients on a more profound level. We aim to transform the sales experience into one of enjoyment and efficiency, ultimately leading to increased conversions and a more satisfying professional journey.

As salespeople, closing techniques are your bread and butter. One particular and unique technique to make sure you’re remembered is the pink earmuff technique. Sam Wakefield, in this episode, gives a reality check on what the HVAC industry really is without holding back. Sam emphasizes the importance and impact of paying attention to your customer’s choice of words and their surroundings in building a solid rapport. Learn about the things that you should never do in a sale if you want to come out on top and close that deal as he breaks down some of the biggest mistakes people in the industry do.

The discussion within this podcast centers on the pivotal role of rapport-building and effective communication in residential HVAC sales. We delve into the significance of understanding a customer's needs and preferences, emphasizing the importance of being observant in a client's environment. For instance, we explore how the presence of specific books on a bookshelf can provide critical insights into a client's personality and communication style, thereby enabling a more tailored sales approach. Furthermore, we introduce a novel closing technique, referred to as the 'pink earmuff close,' designed to address situations where potential clients express the need to discuss matters further before making a decision. This technique not only serves to break the ice but also fosters a memorable interaction that distinguishes us from competitors, ultimately enhancing our chances of closing the sale. Engaging in this manner not only demonstrates professionalism but also sets the stage for a productive dialogue that aligns with the client's emotional state, particularly during challenging circumstances.

Welcome to Close it now, an H Vac sales training podcast with Sam Wakefield.

Here we'll build your reputation in residential H Vac sales to be the expert influencer in your market.

You'll get insight into the top minds in the industry as they share their skills and hacks to help you on your journey.

This podcast isn't just about selling more, it's about understanding your customers needs and building efficiencies behind the scenes so you can sell more but work less while being top of mind when people think H Vac.

Now let's get started with your host of the Close it now podcast.

This is Sam Wakefield.

Hey, hey, hey.

Welcome back to the Close it now podcast.

Sam Wakefield here.

Today we are going to have some fun.

This is a really cool topic because at the end of the day, if we're not having fun doing this, this is one of the most fun professions you could possibly have.

Getting to meet a million different people.

You're in all kind of houses.

You have to have some element to do sales in the H Vac industry, residential sales.

If you're like me, and I know you are because this is what you're doing, you have to like people, you have to like people.

Watch.

You have to like you really enjoy observing people and learning about people, learning about the different personality traits of people, how people live their belief systems, how they run their lives.

I love when I can go into a house and learn something new about maybe a different culture that I've never experienced or don't know about.

Maybe, who knows, maybe about religion, maybe about something.

The cool thing is if you build rapport properly, there really is no such thing as a taboo topic.

Something you can't talk about.

So this is going to be a fun topic today.

But more importantly, it's a close.

I'm going to teach you a new close today.

How a closing technique to get people past.

We got to talk about it.

When they say, hey, we're going to have to talk about this.

What do we do?

Well, today we're going to talk about exactly what to do.

That's also a lot of fun.

That'll get you past that.

Get a close for you because we want to make a sale, right?

So that's the topic today.

We're going to talk about that.

It's going to be great, so stick around.

Also, if you haven't check in to go to close it now.net and super quick plug, you got to check out our coaching.

The coaching group is growing like crazy insane.

If you really want to up level.

Like really, really supercharge your sales before the season hits.

Check out the next level.

Coaching is high performance coaching.

It's one on one with me and we will customize your sales system to you, to your personality, to your organization, if it's your company or the company you're working in and get you just hitting on all cylinders, turn you into a racehorse, turn you into the closer.

You want to be the one that can drink the coffee.

You don't want to walk into the sales meeting.

You don't want them saying put the coffee down.

Coffee's for closers.

You want them to say, here, have another pot.

Because you're the one carrying the team.

If you want to rise to the top, be the number one person in your organization, there's no reason that you can't.

But you've got to learn the right techniques, you've got to learn the right skills, you got to learn the right system.

So check into the high performance coaching.

Closeitnow.net read a little bit about it there.

Pop me a message.

Will absolutely get you set up and get you rocking and rolling.

The cool part is it's so affordable, it's literally less than the commission on one great sale.

So it's awesome.

It's a great program.

People are seeing wild results from it.

Cool story.

Someone who never sold anything about single stage, very first week of doing one on one coaching sold a top of the line variable speed system from the first week from one conversation.

And that's the kind of results we get.

So let's move into this week's topic.

This week's topic is another closing technique for we've got to talk about it now this is very specific.

When this one comes up, all the different closing techniques and the closing skills, all the methods of closing.

You know, we've talked about the ping pong close in the past.

Go back and listen to that episode.

In that episode, I also cover how to use the porch light clothes effectively because both of those are tied together for the same scenario.

The same scenario, same situation.

But in this one because people respond differently.

So let's set some context for how people communicate.

Your job when you go into the house is to look, listen and learn.

You've got to look, listen and learn.

And by that I mean be observant.

Be observant of the surroundings.

It's amazing how much you can learn.

Every single time I go into a house and I see a bookcase, I always glance at the books on the bookcase.

You can learn what type of person you're communicating with by books on a bookcase.

You can learn what type of person you're dealing with and how they communicate and how best to communicate back to them if you just pay attention.

So what are some things we're looking for?

When somebody uses words, if you find out if they're much more visual, they like to look at things.

They like pictures, they like drawings, they like examples.

They'll ask you, what does it look like?

What does the air conditioner look like?

If they want to see all of these things, they actually want to see visuals communicate with that type of language.

So that's when you tell them, okay, would you mind if I show you this?

That way you know that they are going to receive it in the way that they're communicating now.

If you get there and somebody is asking about noise levels, that sound is important to them, and then they say things like, I've never heard that, or that's when you start to communicate using language surrounding words like hearing and sound.

You start talking about, of course, how quiet the new system is going to be.

You talk about the things you can do to quiet the whole house down, Things with the doctor, whatever it is.

But more importantly, when you're communicating and just asking questions, instead of saying, would you like to see how you then start to communicate with.

Would you like to hear how this will help you with this problem?

Have you ever heard about the different levels of equipment that are available instead of have you ever seen the different levels of equipment that are available?

Is this making sense to you?

Pay attention to how people communicate.

And once you hear how they communicate, once you see how they communicate, reflect that back to them.

This may seem like a very small thing, but I guarantee you this is next level sales right here.

This is an example of some of the things that we really dial in with the high performance coaching.

And we work together on it, of course.

But when you can start to recognize these little keys, it will unlock their instant rapport and trust with you faster than any amount of talking about golf or talking about their car, anything you could possibly ever do.

And more importantly, it doesn't derail from the track that you're on because you enter the house, you're on one end of the track, it's like a train going down the track.

And at the other end of the track is the cell.

It's closing the deal when you start having conversations about duck hunting or saving the whales in yes, those are awesome conversations, but it's not a time or place for it.

So when you start talking about the price of tea in China, it doesn't matter.

Then you are derailing from the track that you're on and you're getting derailed off of the sale.

This is how to instantly build rapport along the way on a subconscious level, which is much, much deeper than anything you can ever possibly do, to try to artificially fabricate rapport.

Because our job is to be friendly, not to be their friend.

When you go to the doctor, they don't expect you to take them out to lunch the next week.

You're not going to talk about all this other stuff.

Yes, they'll be friendly, but they're professionals.

They have a mission.

You have a mission.

When you're in the home, you are a professional.

You're taking them down a very set course with a known destination at the end.

It's not a mystery.

We're not making this up, we're not winging it.

I'm a professional.

And that's the impression that you give to them.

And we cross that rapport barrier so fast by communicating how we see and hear them communicate.

So when they say, those I need to see, they start asking about pictures.

You start using the words, have you seen this?

May I show you what this looks like?

When they want to know about sound levels and they just, in their conversation there, have you ever heard that?

That's when you start using that type of language.

Ask about hearing.

Have you ever heard that?

Or would you like to hear about the different models?

Would you like to hear about how we can solve this problem for you?

And so it's just such a key.

So that was a little bit of a sidetrack from where we are headed with this close, but it's so much fun.

And this is really where the next level sales comes in.

This is the inner game.

This is why when I walk into a house and all my friends that are top level comfort consultants, that are crushing it, people doing 2, 3, 4, $5 million a year, those kind of numbers, these are the things we talk about when we get together.

We don't talk about, well, how do you present this?

The fun stuff is when you've learned your system and you get past the basics, man, and then you can start paying attention to, okay, game on.

This is the chess match.

This is the psychology that is just a blast to play in this arena and just learn what makes people tick, what makes them think, what makes them operate.

And when you can crack that code, man, that's when this whole H vac sales thing just Turns into fun.

And that is where we're going with this, recording fun.

Because if you're not having fun doing this, you've got to find something else to do, because that energy will come across every single day.

People want to work.

It may be a bad situation that you walk into.

People may be upset at the situation, but they're never upset at you.

If they come across as being mad or angry at you, it's displaced anger because they're mad at the situation.

I.

A lot of times people are mad that they let this type of situation come up and they'll tell you every single time, man, we knew this was coming.

We just failed to do anything about it.

Very, very seldom is it a total shock that they didn't expect.

So they're mad at the situation.

So what can we do?

We've got to change their energy.

We've got to get them out of the place of anger.

People who purchase out of a place of anger, a lot of times don't make good decisions.

You'll also find that they're very hesitant to make decisions.

If they're still functioning in that place of anger.

If they're functioning out of that place of.

They're just mad.

They're mad at the situation, they're mad at the world right now.

It's going to cost them money, all this stuff.

We've got to get them past that.

How do we do that without being some weirdo comedian who comes in and starts cracking corny jokes?

Because absolutely do not do that.

Do not go in and start cracking corny jokes.

That is one of the very worst things that you could possibly do in a home, is go in and start telling dirty jokes or bad jokes or corny jokes or any kind of jokes.

Don't tell jokes in the house.

But we can bring fun into the house.

We can by one, by our attitude.

We enter the world in the place that they're at, with the level of seriousness of, listen, we don't take this lightly.

This is a very serious matter for us.

But through the course of the conversation, bring some levity into it.

Bring some fun, joy and laughter into the conversation.

Because increase their level from anger and being mad into lightening up a little bit.

So what is this close that I keep referring to this?

I like to call the pink earmuff clothes.

The pink earmuff clothes.

So context is you've got two decision makers at the table and they're both sitting there.

And when you hear these words, this is when you turn the magic light switch on.

You hear these words.

They say, we need to talk about it.

This is not a think about it conversation.

Some people need to think about it, but this is when someone uses the word talk.

We've got to talk about it.

Now.

I want to caution you, and this is something that most salespeople fall into this trap.

Do not fall into the trap of falsely assuming that when someone says, I need to think about it, I want to talk about it, any of those kind of things, they mean it needs to be overnight and go to another day.

Because if you fall into that trap, what happens is you normally say something like.

And raise your hand if you've ever heard this.

Okay, great.

When would be a good time to follow up with you?

Tuesday?

Thursday?

Tomorrow?

This next week.

So what you're doing, you're totally taking the pressure off for one.

You're basically conceding that they're not going to make a buying decision.

Right now.

You're just backing up.

You're shriveling up and backing away and saying, I give up, you've won, you've bested me.

I guess I'm not a good salesperson.

I'll just go and follow you up like a used car salesperson for the next two, three, five weeks, six months, whatever.

And you can keep ghosting me and not responding to my text message and not picking up the phone when I call and not responding to my emails until I just give up.

It's basically what you're saying when they say, well, I want to talk about it or I want to think about it.

When you say, okay, well, when can I follow up next?

That is the worst possible thing you can do.

Stop it.

Stop it right now.

Because here's the thing, most of the time we assume that it means a lot of time to think about it or talk about it, but that's not true.

They don't need that much time.

People can figure it out right away.

They can think about it.

People think quickly.

Even slow thinkers can decide pretty quickly.

So when someone specifically says, we need to talk about it, how fun is it if you say, okay, no problem, I come prepared for that.

And you reach down into your bag and you pull out if you've ever seen those like super heavy duty earmuffs for like pilots or like a shooting range or the super.

The like hard plastic heavy duty headphones that you can't hear anything out of, but they're bright pink and you say, okay, no problem, I come prepared for that.

And you put them on your head, you put them over your Ear before you put them on.

You say, okay, you guys go ahead and talk about it.

I won't be able to hear you.

I'll just put these on and just wave at me once you've talked about it.

And you sit there and you right at the kitchen table, you don't move.

You put these headphones on your head and you just start, you know, make notes on your paper, shuffle your papers and say, okay, go ahead, y' all talk about it, then let them talk about it.

That is how to be memorable.

That is how to absolutely be memorable.

In the house, for one.

Because I guarantee you, I guarantee you, there is no one else unless they're listening to this podcast right now.

There's no one else in your town or your city or your province or probably even your state that's doing this.

Unless you're in my state, of course.

Because this is how to be memorable.

This is how to do something different.

I mean, how many times does.

When we really back up and we look at our industry, it is the most boring, dang industry on the planet.

Everybody does the same thing.

Everybody talks about the same thing.

Sure, there's a level of excellence that we work on that we're higher than a lot of the companies out there.

But at the same time, you get all of the best companies in town in the same room.

We're doing the same dang thing.

How can we do something different?

How can we break the mold?

How can we make an impression?

How can we shake things up to the way that people are going to want to do business with you?

Because it's business done differently?

How do we do that?

Well, this is one simple, fun way to do it.

All it takes is finding the right headphones.

They don't have to be pink.

They can be purple.

They could be blue.

Don't make them black.

Make them a bright color.

Make them some crazy color to match your company logo.

It doesn't matter.

Find some.

Do this.

This will be funny.

It will be fun, but it will also be memorable.

And you know what?

It's amazing what happens.

People, they say, okay, well, we will.

So they talk about it, and a couple minutes later, they wave at you or tap you on the shoulder because you really can't hear them.

Because those are really good headphones.

And they've made a decision.

They picked one.

It's so cool.

And honestly, I feel like this is more than a 1 percenter, but it's a big one.

How can we be different in the marketplace?

Our industry is so stagnant.

When it comes to sales.

And it's the most boring thing in the world right now in all of the marketplace.

How can we be different?

Let's change the way that we do business.

Email me samoseitnow.net, go to closeitnow.net, email me.

If you have create crazy ideas, let me know.

Let's turn it into a podcast and we can raise the level of everyone.

This is such a fun conversation.

Let's change the face of our industry and do something different.

This is a message to all of you out there who are tired of being boring.

You're tired of doing the same old thing and getting the same old results.

Let's do something different so we can get crazy different results.

So that is my message today.

Go out there, do the crazy thing.

Do the wild thing.

Do the different thing.

Make an impression.

Because that's how people will remember you.

Thanks for listening to Close it now with Sam Wakefield.

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