Chapter 11 – Obtaining Commitment
CHAPTER 11
OBTAINING COMMITMENT
Outline of Chapter
I. Obtaining commitment today
A. Part of the Process
C. Shipping costs
D. Presenting price
III. When to attempt to obtain commitment
A. Buyer’s comments
1. Buyer questions
2. Requirements
B. Nonverbal cues
IV. How to successfully obtain commitment
A. Maintain a positive attitude
D. Sell the right items in the right amounts
V. Effective methods
A. Direct request
B. Benefit summary
VI. If commitment is obtained
A. No surprises
B. Confirm the customer’s choice
Chapter 11 – Obtaining Commitment
VII. If commitment is not obtained
A. Some reasons for lost opportunities
1. Wrong attitudes
B. Discovering the cause
C. Suggestions for dealing with rejection
1. Maintain the proper perspective
Chapter 11 – Obtaining Commitment
Teaching Suggestions
1. First, try to get the students’ perceptions about closing. Do they think it is necessary? Devious?
said yes. Yes, he exaggerated but ask if they’ve ever thought about the importance of closing
something that it would seem most people would want – a seat at a ballgame. Then talk about the
need to upsell – maybe the closing is for a higher value seat or package.
This is a good time to discuss the Opening Profile. What is Danny’s approach to closing? Segue
2. Discuss why obtaining commitment is important. State that the goal is still to help the buyer solve
real problems, not just to sell your merchandise. Have the students name some products/service
that they recently really needed to purchase
to sales revenue.
3. Talk about when to attempt to obtain commitment. Note that there is no one psychological
moment that you can not miss or you lose the sale forever! Go back to the examples they
provided about products/services they recently really needed — was there only one right time to
close?
4. Spend time talking about how to successfully obtain commitment (attitude, customer sets pace,
assertive not aggressive, right item in right amounts). Go back to any horror stories
(from suggestion #1) and use those to illustrate the difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness.
Bring up the point that many sales trainers emphasize the importance of the seller maintaining
complete control including the pace of the interview. Do your students agree? How could that
help you gain commitment more easily? How could it hinder your attempts?
In reality, control should not be an issue. In a win-lose or parent-child or teacher-student
5. Discuss the effective methods listed in the text. After you describe a method, have the students
provide a clear example. After discussing the four methods, ask students if they appear devious,
manipulative, etc. If so, ask why? How would they suggest obtaining commitment? What method
do they like someone else to use on them?
6. Talk about what to do if the buyer says “yes.” Although this would seem easy, many salespeople
make serious mistakes here (e.g. not thanking for the order, acting cocky, acting surprised).
7. Talk about what to do if the buyer says “no.” It is important for students to learn to deal with
Chapter 11 – Obtaining Commitment
8. We added some additional coverage on trial offers. Distinguish between a trial close (taking the
buyer’s temperature) and a trial offer (a free period to try the product). In our experience, trial
offers can be very risky and expensive. If there is any reason to want to go back to the old product
9. Summarize what was covered:
• Obtaining commitment is necessary.
Chapter 11 – Obtaining Commitment
Suggested Answers to Ethics Problems
1. One buyer stated, “All closing methods are devious and self-serving! How can a salesperson use
a technique but still keep my needs totally in mind?” Comment. Integrate into your discussion the
concepts of persuasion versus manipulation.
Most buyers expect you to ask for the order. It should be a natural part of the conversation, and
2. A customer asked the salesperson “How do you intend to solve my problem?” The salesperson
told the customer his approach, and provided a timeline on when each step would be completed.
When asked for the sale, the customer said, “Oh, I’ll just do it myself.” Now that she had the
process spelled out for her, she felt she no longer needed the salesperson. Was her behavior
appropriate? Why or why not? And whether appropriate or not, how can salespeople avoid such
situations?
This actually happened to one of your authors and the offending party was a close friend. I’ve
heard of worse cases, though, such as asking for a design, then using it but not paying for it, even
Suggested Answers to Questions and Problems
1. Review the closing methods in Exhibit 11.3 and write a nonmanipulative and a manipulative
version of each. What is the difference?
In many regards, the language of each version may not vary. For example, a standing room only
2. “The ABCs of closing are ‘Always Be Closing.’” Another version is “Close early—close often.”
What is your reaction to this time-honored statement?
3. Harold Bumpurs, a professional purchasing agent, says he’s never noticed any tricky closes. His
perception is not due to the smooth closing skills of the salespeople who call on him but due to
the total skill set they have developed. Prioritize a list of selling skills from most important to
least. How much time should be spent improving commitment-gaining skills as opposed to
developing other skills? Why?
Chapter 11 – Obtaining Commitment
The other three primary skills are listening, questioning and presenting, although students may
4. You’ve made six sales calls over a month with one prospect, qualifying needs with three separate
influencers, and you finally get through to the decision maker. You make your presentation and it
seems to go well. All of the influencers are there; they are all nodding yes, so as you wrap up, you
ask when they’d like to get started. The decision maker replies, “I’d like to think this over.” Two
of the influencers look surprised while the third looks confused. “OK,” you reply, “is next
Tuesday OK to check back?” How could you improve on your answer? Be specific; what exactly
would you say?
How about asking: “How does it sound to you right now? What concerns do you have? Is there
5. One sales manager who worked for a refrigeration equipment company taught his salespeople
the following close: Ask questions that allow you to fill out the contract. Assume the sale is made
and hand the contract to the buyer, along with a pen. If the buyer doesn’t immediately take the
pen, drop it and make the buyer pick it up. Once the buyer has the pen in hand, he or she is more
likely to sign the contract, so just wait silently until the buyer does.
a. Would you label this seller as assertive or aggressive?
Probably aggressive. The seller seems to have the notion that he is the best judge of the
customer’s needs.
6. You’ve identified a process by which your company could recycle packaging material, saving the
company about 10% of the packaging costs. But when you talk this over with the person in charge
of shipping, he says, “You’re just a sales rep! Go sell something and let me do my job!” What do
you think is driving his reaction? How would you respond? What would you do next?
While many specific factors could be influencing his behavior (including a bad pastrami
sandwich), two are most likely. The first is simply too much pressure to do other things and not
enough reason to spend time looking at this one (perhaps because of how his performance is
Chapter 11 – Obtaining Commitment
7. What makes a Mercedes worth more than a Volkswagen? How would you convince someone that
it is worth more if she or he knew nothing about the various brands of cars? How would the
buyer’s lack of knowledge influence how you try to gain commitment?
While some might argue that the difference is all perception, one would hope that there are
8. Todd Pollock, sales rep for the 49ers, says he hears no 10 times, sometimes 20, for every yes.
How do you deal with that rejection? What strategies would you try if you were in Todd’s
situation? (By the way, – since Todd shared that comment, he’s been promoted twice so he’s a
good salesperson).
Salespeople tend to handle rejection in different ways – some ways are “adaptive coping” and
9. What would you say to a friend to gain his or her commitment to go on a spring break trip?
Describe exactly what you would say to your friend, using each of the following methods (make
any assumptions necessary):
a. Alternative choice
Which would you rather do – go to Daytona Beach or Destin?
Chapter 11 – Obtaining Commitment
10. A customer is willing to order 100 cases listed at $20 per case in order to get a 15 percent
quantity discount. Terms are 2/10, n30. The customer pays five days after receiving the invoice.
How much did the customer pay?
Suggested Answers to Case Problems
Case 11-1: AB Reddy
Questions:
1. What form of closing did Patsy use to gain Dave’s commitment to the idea? Was that
appropriate? Why or why not?
Patsy uses the direct approach with “Will I have your endorsement at the meeting?” Some
students may also point out that she uses an assumptive approach with “But we’ll probably also
need someone there from logistics, right?” These approaches are effective; Dave appears to
2. List how you would attempt to obtain commitment using three other methods of your choice.
3. Although you have been shown only a portion of the conversation, evaluate Patsy’s performance
in terms of the following:
a. Selling benefits, not features
From the portion we have, there isn’t much reference to what the increase in demand means to
Dave. Perhaps it is too obvious to require comment, hut there are not many benefits in this
presentation
Chapter 11 – Obtaining Commitment
Case 11-2: Blue Onion
Questions:
1. Assess Mary Kate’s style. Is her style something Sean should emulate?
Some students will say no, that she was too aggressive and pushy. There are some elements,
though, that are worth emulating: she was prepared with the paperwork, and willing to tolerate
silence. Further, she really believes that her solution is the right one, but did that conviction take
her too far?
2. Blue Onion’s implementation team will need to work very closely with Jack and his people, and it
doesn’t appear that Jack wants to be helpful. What could Mary Kate have done to avoid this
situation? Assume this meeting was called by Shirley. How could Mary Kate have handled it
differently?
Jack is clearly not a proponent and this purchase, as presented in the case, probably represents a
End of Chapter Role Play Case
There are three closing situations. In the BancVue situation, the buyer was instructed to hesitate
In the GelTech case, the buyer is instructed to refuse to buy but to ask for a trial version. How
many salespeople gave in without probing? What if the request was an excuse to end the sales
call? When can the salesperson expect a decision if a trial is given, and how will the customer
use it?
Chapter 11 – Obtaining Commitment
buyer’s part. The salesperson should then close for the next meeting, this time with the right
representatives.
BancVue
GelTech
Today, use the same needs you’ve had all along. However, here is a new objection you can use.
“Our salespeople want iPads – they say they’ll have all the info they need on that.”
Chapter 11 – Obtaining Commitment
EXERCISE 11-1 OBTAINING COMMITMENT: A REPORT ON BUYER’S REACTIONS
Interview a purchasing agent, a department store buyer, or the owner of a small business, and ask for
conclusions in one or two paragraphs below.
Chapter 11 – Obtaining Commitment
EXERCISE 11-2 OBTAINING COMMITMENT IN THE JOB INTERVIEW
Assume you are interviewing for a sales position with a firm that you are really interested in. You have
You now need to obtain commitment. What is your goal (i.e. what exactly will you attempt to get
the manager to agree to do?
Given your answer to #1, outline exactly what you would say using each of the following methods.
Benefit summary method:
Chapter 11 – Obtaining Commitment
4.
Balance sheet method:
5.
Probing method:
6.
Alternative Choice
7.
If this were a real interview situation, which method would you recommend using? Why?
Chapter 11 – Obtaining Commitment
EXERCISE 11-3 OBTAINING COMMITMENT: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
List the titles, author, and source of all materials you found:
Chapter 11 – Obtaining Commitment
The following are quotes from several sources:
“Forget 150 ways to handle objections or 50 ways to close the sale. These are commando selling
techniques or gimmicks that make up for not being good.”
Based only on your research, so you tend to agree or disagree with these quotes? [Be sure to include
Chapter 11 – Obtaining Commitment
What are your personal beliefs about the importance of commitment and closing techniques? Be
described in Exhibit 12-3.