Joe went to the hardware store on a fact-finding mission to look at a new gadget he had heard about. He asked the clerk were to find the whatchmacallits, but instead of pointing, the clerk led the way, picked one up and asked, “How many?” This is an example of The “Assumption Close” at work. Joe came to him, Joe asked for the product by name. No need for a pitch. This was is a sale standing there ready to buy, right? The clerk closed the sale by asking “How many?”, reaching in the bin for more.
Joe stood there dumfounded and managed to stammer, “Well, ah, one”. Sitting in the front seat in his car in the parking lot Joe examined the whatchmacallit (which is what he wanted to do in the first place). It wasn’t what Joe had thought it might be. But since Joe had asked for the product by name and accepted the Assumption Close, he felt stuck with it, reluctant to take it back. Joe went home with a whatchmacallit he didn’t want.
The Assumption Close will work in any business. There is nothing to remember, just set about your business as if the sale was already made. By “assuming” the customer is going to buy it, your questions are all after the fact. Not “Can we deliver it?” but, “What time do you want it delivered?”
Funny thing, the assumption flows right to the customer, removing that part of the sale where the customer might be able to say no. With the Assumption Close, the customer has to “back out of the deal”, not say “no”. Backing out is a whole lot harder.
Newspaper and yellow pages ad people use it everyday. They walk in with no doubt whatsoever that the prospect is going to advertise. The only questions are how much and when. Their “technique” is simply to announce their presence and ask “Gotchayur ad ready yet?”
In many small businesses, Daddy got the store from Granddaddy and Sonny continues the tradition. The advertising people have been coming in for three generations; even Sonny assumes the they are “entitled” to his business.
The magic of the Assumption Close is so strong it transcends the selling process, eliminating most of it. It is safe to conclude every person reading this article has fallen prey to a skillful use of the Assumption Close. Maybe at the hardware store, maybe for a Yellow Pages ad. Provided the product is beneficial, there was no backlash.
The Assumption Close is just another tool in the sales arsenal that you should know and practice.
Who knows, maybe Mickey Dees will adopt it, too, and instead of asking “You want fries with dat?” they might proclaim, “You want your fries super size or regular?”