The Three General Categories of Hinges

If you know the MP in which the hinges occur, you will know what strategies and tactics to use to remedy them. The three general categories of hinges tell you where they occur and how they form. They are natural, leveraged, or hidden hinges.

Natural Hinges

If you must contend with hinges, natural hinges are the most desirable. They arise in MP 2: Measure Potential. Although they might have an adverse effect on your selling efforts, customers are unaware of any potential problems. They do not view these hinges as problems because they surface during the natural flow of MP 2. They occur before you attempt to obtain MPC 2: Potential Confirmed—and before you mention specific products. Customers consider them to be nothing more than details about their goals, measurable benefits, filters, and systems of evaluation. While you might deem these details to be potential problems, customers do not because they are without any specific products to reference them to.

You weigh the effects of natural hinges and determine how they affect customers or you from achieving their goals. You think about how to handle them on a proactive and strategic basis at your office, rather than on a reactive and tactical one in front of customers. While not a problem yet to customers, any potential inability to achieve their goals that surfaces can jeopardize your ability to provide value if ignored or mishandled.

Example

One of Olivia Ontime's other goals is to increase productivity by 15 percent. She tells Steven Smartsell during MP 2: Measure Potential that any purchase must not exceed her $50,000 budget (funding filter). Steven knows his products typically cost $75,000. At this time, Olivia does not consider the budget constraint an issue because Steven has not yet mentioned any specific products that exceed her $50,000 limit. However, Steven knows that he must solve the potential problem that Olivia's budget figure is less than his products' price range to earn a sale.

Steven also knows better than to address Olivia's budget issue without first reviewing the specifics of his Quick-Entry Sales Management (Q) sheet. Therefore, he returns to his office to review his Q sheet. Either by himself or by using the resources of his sales team, the details from the Q sheet will help him plan how he will handle a hinge that has arisen during MP 2.

Leveraged Hinge

When customers use details of your products to leverage their concerns, you have a leveraged hinge. Therefore, a leveraged hinge occurs when you mention specific products and services as solutions in MP 1 and MP 2 before you know the details of goals, measurable benefits, filters, and SOEs. Customers block your attempts to obtain MPCs and do not agree to your calls for action. Sales opportunities start to regress into the brinkmanship selling mode. You must defend your product selections while discussions about undesirable features, prices, delivery dates, and budgets dominate the sales calls.

Example

In sharp contrast to the previous example, Steven now pursues the first product-positioning opportunity that surfaces when Olivia mentions her 15 percent productivity goal. He tells her that one of his specific services, ProdoGain, deals with increasing productivity. He mentions this service before he quantifies her productivity increase in dollar terms or knows the details of her filters. Buyers and sellers beware.

After Steven explains its features, Olivia asks Steven what the service costs. He states about $75,000. Olivia tells him that she cannot spend more than $50,000. Olivia now leverages her budget hinge against the price of his service. Now Steven must defend his price—without knowing any measurable benefits. The focus shifts from productivity goals to price. Olivia probably views any additional information Steven requests as an attempt to justify his budget-busting price. Steven cannot obtain MPC 2: Potential Confirmed.

Note

As the "Handling Hinges" section illustrates, the most effective way to deal with hinges is to make Column 2 benefits measurable to offset concerns that arise in Column 1 over price, delivery, relationships, and costs of changing suppliers.

The good news is that salespeople create leveraged hinges, not customers. The better news is that more often than not, you can prevent them from occurring. You can make them surface as the more innocuous natural hinges, if you conduct MP 1: Spark Interest and MP 2: Measure Potential more thoroughly—and avoid mentioning specific products. For instance, in the previous example, all Steven had to do in MP 2 to make the budget hinge natural instead of leveraged would have been either of the following two things:

1. Not mention specific products or services.

2. Keep asking questions that gathered details about Olivia's goals, measurable benefits, filters, and SOEs. (If you review the MP 2 dialogue between Steven and Olivia in Chapter 6, you will see how many times Steven needed patience and discipline not to interject product discussions.)

In MP 1 and MP 2, if you encourage more measurable customer input and less product output, you can avoid most leveraged hinges.

Hidden Hinge

Hidden hinges are either leveraged or natural hinges that customers do not want to disclose. They believe that disclosure creates negative impressions of them or their company, or your products or company. Hidden hinges are typically caused by customers' reluctance to admit the following for this sales opportunity:

• They cannot make the purchasing decision.

• They cannot get the funding.

• They have already committed to one of your competitors.

• They do not feel your products are justifiable or beneficial.

Typically, neutral or negative customers bring up hidden hinges faster than positive customers do. They usually like to reaffirm and challenge you on why they do not conduct business with your company. They feel you justify their decisions when you cannot change their minds in ten seconds. Here is where it is essential to have a Spark Interest statement or references with documented and measurable savings at one's fingertips.

Positive customers are usually more reluctant to discuss negative issues with you. They feel it might jeopardize your friendship. Instead, they use smokescreens to conceal their hidden hinges.

Smokescreens

Smokescreens are business issues that customers claim are beyond their control that prevent sales from occurring. It is ironic (and unfortunate) how sometimes your personal relationships work against you. The customers make unilateral decisions to spare your personal feelings. They do not disclose the professional reasons why they do not want to conduct business (which is another reason why you want professional bonds to be as strong as personal ones).

Note

Qualifying customers first on their ability to achieve their goals, not buy your products, encourages them to share information. The more information customers share, the less reason they have to create smokescreens. Constantly reinforce to customers that you seek disclosure about their ability and authority to achieve their goals, regardless of the outcome on you.

You usually sense a hidden hinge when customers:

• React adversely to a clarifying question that seeks a better understanding of their smokescreens

• Dismiss without consideration your handling of the smokescreen

• Keep bringing up one smokescreen after another, regardless of how they are handled (like a hurdle race that never ends; as you clear one hurdle, another pops up)

• Will not make goals, benefits, or filters measurable or discuss SOEs

Example

Steven asks Olivia if she can increase her budget. She says no. She does not want to admit to Steven that any project over $50,000 needs corporate approval. Olivia feels embarrassed that she will no longer be the final decision maker.

Again, the "Handling Hinges" section explains how to address hidden hinges. Hint: Using yes-or-no questions does not work very well.