Should you be a little pushy or not?

Back in the old ‘70s, the main philosophy for sales professionals recommended pushy behaviors, aggressive tactics, and high-pressure strategies. The boiler room, as they used to call it. It took us a lot of years before we figured out it was not effective. So, the pendulum swung in the other direction. Now, the philosophy recommends applying as little pressure as possible, making the client feel king and in control of the sale process. The results were good, but probably not as convincing.

So, what do you do? Of course, aggressive tactics never pay off. Nobody will ever recommend that. Yet, should you apply a little bit of push or not?

It depends.

First, let’s define “pushy” behavior. We define pushy behavior as the application of some pressure to increase the speed of the buyer's decision, whether this decision is to schedule a meeting or to close a deal. Is this good?

It depends on the perceived uncertainty of the buyer. Whenever buyers perceive high uncertainty, pushy behaviors are always bad. Buyers are not certain of whether they want to buy the product, and you are forcing a decision that is not ready. It backfires. Buyers become irritated and it lowers your chances of closing.

On the contrary, whenever buyers perceive low uncertainty, pushy behaviors, within certain limits and properly expressed, can be good. Paradoxically, buyers could be certain that they want to purchase your product. They can be certain that your product is better than the competition. And yet, they still don’t buy. Why would they not buy if they believe your product is better than the competition’s? Because your main competitors, in this case, are not companies offering similar products. Your main competitors are company problems. 

Let me explain. Your buyers most likely live a hectic life, and in their jobs, they are pulled in thousands of different directions. Now, after the meeting with you, they might have developed a certain judgment that your product is good for the company. Yet, a pressing problem of high urgency comes. Then another, and another. Days pass. When the buyers think back about your product, certainty has diminished. They don’t remember as well the arguments you built to illustrate the benefits. Certainty has turned into uncertainty. Now, your product is no longer high on the priority list of items to worry about. They don’t buy anymore. Selling does not only require being better than your competitors. It also requires being at the top of the buyers ' minds. And lots of problems compete to get a morsel of attention from the buyers’ minds.

That’s where applying pressure, in the sense of increasing the speed of the decision of buyers, is in their best interest. The buyers are certain that the product is worth the price. But if time passes, they forget. Helping them make a faster decision prevents certainty from turning into uncertainty and helps buyers make more rational decisions.

So, how do we do it? 

- Assessment. It all starts with understanding whether buyers are certain or not that the product is worth purchasing. If you perceive uncertainty, never apply any push.

- Clarity. Make the outline of the sales process clear. When they can expect you to follow up and how.

- Permission. Still, always explicitly ask for permission to follow up.

- Kindness. By all means, gentleness is always beneficial in sales, but even more when you are applying requests to speed up decisions.

- Justification. Make clear why you are seizing some control of the sales process. Make it clear that it’s not because you want to force an uncertain decision, but because you believe that keeping the conversation alive without letting time pass can be in the best interest of the buyer. Indeed, it is, so it’s not a lie.

- Moderation. Always apply pressure with moderation. See the reaction of the buyer and immediately stop if you perceive an adverse reaction.

And here we have our nice recommendation! Pressure is always bad when clients perceive high uncertainty. Pressure, applied effectively and moderately, can become good when clients perceive low uncertainty. Make stellar presentations that lower buyer uncertainty and then apply moderate pressure to ensure the beautiful arguments of your presentation are not forgotten, and the buyer avoids purchasing something that would benefit the company.

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