By Troy Harrison – Sales Navigator
I was in a furniture store last week, and I experienced a perfect example of what I call “back-loaded selling.” The salesperson approached me within thirty seconds of my arrival and immediately launched into his pitch. “This is our best-selling sofa! It’s on sale this week only! The leather is top-grain, the frame is hardwood, and we can get you zero percent financing!”
I just stared at him. The truth is that I wasn’t shopping for a sofa. I was looking for a coffee table.
That salesperson had just demonstrated the fundamental flaw in back-loaded selling – he put all his energy into pitching and closing before he understood what I actually needed. And predictably, when we told him we weren’t interested in a sofa, he launched into objection-handling mode: “But you haven’t even sat on it! What if I could get you an even better price?”