Sales Tip: Demoing bigger products

Dec. 13, 2024
Replacing a broken tool with a new one is an easy sale, but bigger tools and equipment take some special preparation.

With the quick demo of a simple product, like a dead blow hammer, there are probably three or four features/benefits to hit on that will close the deal. If your customer needs to replace their hammer, then your dead blow hammer will almost sell itself. Just be sure to follow those three to four features with the benefit those features have for that individual.

However, the demonstration of the massive tool storage system needs to be thought through in advance—planned, staged, and professionally executed.

Set the stage by inviting the prospect onto your truck where you can close the door to create a quiet environment, allowing you and the prospect to focus 100 percent on this potential sale. If you have a cup of coffee or a soda available be sure to offer it to your prospect. The objective is to get the individual relaxed and focused on you.

Present your tool storage system in logical order. Maybe start at the bottom (wheels) and work up — wheels, slides, drawer sizes, the material, etc. Do not begin with your best and most important features. You want the prospect to get comfortable with your feature, advantage, benefit, and trial close pattern. You want them to get in the habit of agreeing with your trial closes that these benefits are good for them. Your objective is to get the prospect in the habit of saying yes. If you hit them with the best and most important benefits first, you will run out of things to talk about pretty quickly.

Never ever hand the prospect a piece of literature or a catalog until the end of your presentation or at least only when you have something you must show them in the literature. And once you’ve shown that feature, take the literature back from them until the end of your presentation.

It is a sales skills fact that as soon as you hand the prospect some literature, they go deaf, start looking at the literature, and quit listening to you.

Be prepared for the normal questions and objections. Build them into your presentation so you answer them before the customer has a chance to ask them. This way you control the question and can shape the answer to your product’s benefit.

  • Feature: Our storage unit side is made of XX-gauge steel.
  • Advantage: We’ve been manufacturing high-end storage systems for 50 years and our engineers design our products to have the perfect strength and weight steel to fit a professional’s needs.
  • Benefit: I imagine you agree that is the best way to manufacture a great system, don’t you?

The above is a lot better than having the prospect say, “The other system I’m looking at uses XXX-gauge steel, why don’t you?

In the end, the more you can impress your prospect that this product is going to benefit them personally the easier it will be to close the sale.

About the Author

Alan Sipe | President, Toolbox Sales and Consulting

Alan W. Sipe has spent the last 42 years in the basic hand tool industry including positions as President of KNIPEX Tools North America, Sr. VP Sales and Marketing at Klein Tools, Manager Special Markets at Stanley Tools and sales management at toolbox manufacturer Waterloo Industries. Currently Sipe is the owner of Toolbox Sales and Consulting specializing in sales strategy, structure, development and training. Sipe can be reached at [email protected] or 847-910-1063. Connect with Sipe on LinkedIn.

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