HOW TO USE THE
“BEN
FRANKLIN CLOSE”
IN THE 21ST CENTURY
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American Commissioners at the Treaty of Paris Conference by Benjamin West
Sealing the deal are, from the left, John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and Franklin's nephew and secretary.
The right side of the painting is unfinished because the British commissioners to the conference refused to sit for their portraits.
Perhaps if Franklin had used his vaunted "closing" technique we could have had a completed painting.
We came away with a new nation instead.
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You know what that is, don’t you?
Of course you do.
It’s a classic espoused by many legendary sales trainers and personal
development folks -- Dale Carnegie, Zig Ziglar, Tom Hopkins and other
less-known folks. There are abundant explanations and demonstrations only a
mouse click away.
But don’t leave here.
Because even if you don’t know the technique –
I’m about to sum it
up for you. With commentary.
The Benjamin Franklin Close is also
known as “The Balance Sheet Close” or
“The T-Bar Close” and, from the
seller’s point of view, it goes something like this:
You’ve made your usual masterful presentation. But the
prospect appears to be unable to make up his or her mind. You feel as if you’ve
tried just about everything in your sales kit but still can’t get them to
commit. So, as the seller in my recent experience did, you say something like:
“We all know how smart
old Benjamin Franklin was. He was a very thrifty fellow and like you concerned
for getting the most value for every dollar spent, wouldn’t you agree Mr.
Steck?”
(Award one-half point for seeking agreement. Deduct one-half
point for heavy-handed use of my name. Deduct 2 more points for not noticing
all the books about Ben in my office.)
“Back in the day, whenever
he was faced with a decision – and he had some pretty big ones – he would take
piece of paper, draw a vertical line down the middle and head one column with a
‘plus’ (+) and the other with a ‘minus’ (-).”
(No points here either way, but there should be deductions in
the name of historic accuracy as we will see momentarily. And the lazy-brain phrase
“back in the day” grates on my ears, but …)
“In his genius he
discovered that by listing all the positive attributes on the plus side and all
the negative aspects on the minus side, the decision would become obvious.
Pretty sound concept, agreed?”
(Lose 2 points for working the “get agreement” strategy too
often. Add back one-half for NOT using my name again.)
“Let me show you how
it works. Since you seem to be having a tough time deciding, let’s list the plusses
– some of the reasons you may want to do business with us. Then we’ll list the minuses.
Fair enough?”
(This getting-agreement thing is getting a little irritating
although it might have been OK here IF it hadn’t been overworked earlier.)
Now, if you’re like the guy pitching me, you get out a clean
sheet of company letterhead and your company-logo giveaway pen and begin to
list everything good about the offer, product, service, whatever. In your best
leading-the-witness style, you get the prospect to say most of them. You take
your time to develop a comprehensive list.
Then you say –
“OK, let’s list the minuses.” And you hand the pen to the
prospect … and push the list toward him … and you say nothing more.
Bing-o/Bang-o!
Usually the prospect can only think of objections couched in terms of price or
affordability. And you’ve got the answers to those down cold, don’t you?
Start calculating your commission!
Or not. If I’ve
done my writing job right, you should be thinking, “But Geoff … do we detect in
your tone and presentation that you have a problem with the Benjamin
Franklin Close?”
Kee –rect! It’s Old World selling that is –
Destined to fail.
In fact, as an Old World kinda guy myself AND a Ben Franklin fan, while I was
almost entertained by having it trotted out, I was mostly and ultimately
annoyed.
The reality of 21st
Century selling is: In this computer-info-powered age, any real customer …
… seriously intending to buy
… who has done their prep before you call
… and who has allowed you in but isn’t responsive after
you’ve presented
…has pretty much made up his or her mind.
You’ve just not been
told the decision.
And I maintain this Death-of-a-Salesman-era closing ploy is
unlikely to swing things in your favor.
So do you just forget about the Benjamin Franklin Close
and never use it?
No! No! NO!
I wouldn’t waste your time reviewing it if I didn’t think there was some
more-than-cautionary –
TGIM ACTION IDEA: Be like Ben. Do what Ben really would have
done. Use the Ben Franklin PRINCIPLE to prepare to get the sale to “Yes!”
before you even walk in the door.
No mystery, it’s in the history: In a letter to Joseph Priestly (the English
scientist who discovered oxygen), Franklin commented about a perplexing
decision that Priestly was wrestling with.
Franklin wrote to his chemist friend that the problem of
deciding inexplicable situations is that "all Reasons pro and con are not present to the mind at the same
time...." As a result, our minds are like a pendulum swinging back and
forth, swayed by whichever aspect of the decision seems to be primary at the
time without being able to arrive at a solution.
To help solve the dilemma at hand, Franklin informed
Priestly that he (Franklin) would divide a sheet of paper into two columns,
listing one Pro and the other column Con.
Then in the course of three or four days he would write in
each appropriate column brief hints about the motives that at different times
occurred to him for or against the decision. If, after careful evaluation, the Pro
column contained more positive features, he would make his decision
accordingly. The same evaluation process applied to the Con column.
Franklin admitted
that his decision-making method was purely procedural, and that it could not
advise him what to do, but only how. He did inform Priestly that "when each (Pro and Con
reason) is thus considered separately and comparatively, and the whole lies
before me, I think I judge better and less likely to make a rash step...."
TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Use the Pro-and-Con Column mindset
as a sales preparation tool. Use it as a strategizing device. Use it to get yourself
ready to make the big sale. Create those columns on a piece of paper or your
digital device, and then start listing …
► …
the prospect’s needs
► …
the decision makers
► …
the questions you want to ask
► …
personal “things in common” to discuss
► …
the benefits and main points you want to cover
► …
why you believe they will buy
► …
the reasons this particular prospect may not buy – and your responses
Thus prepared with Ben’s help, you are now ready to make the
call and the sale without resorting to a default gambit.
And, if on the call you see a bunch of Ben Franklin books in
the prospect’s office and you want to bond with him (or her), relate your
knowledge of the real Ben Franklin PRINCIPLE and lock up
the deal.
One more point in,
well, closing:
Is it stating the
obvious? The decision tool aspect of the Ben Franklin PRINCIPLE is
not limited to business choices. It can be helpful in most areas of daily
living. It works to keep you rational. Taking the time to deploy it correctly
also discourages rash “I want it now” acts.
If you would not be forgotten
As soon as you are dead and
rotten,
Either write things worth
reading,
Or do things worth the writing.
Ben said that (in
his Poor Richard persona). And did
both.
Hope this TGIM helps us do the same.
Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing
P.S. About
those column headings: As Ben says, they should be Pro and Con,
not Plus
(+) or Minus (–) although –
Ben the Scientist did make the choice of which type of
electricity is called "positive" and which "negative" around
1750. In the end further discoveries established that he misunderstood just how
electricity flows, but he was ballpark right for his day. We should all be that
clever.
