SALES SECRET REVEALED: How to DOUBLE your profits with the Double Positive

I Love selling, I started when I was 21 with a national Electrical Retailer in the UK called Currys. They were an old fashioned family firm that had built up their national chain of shops over many years. However, I’d actually started my working life in the motor trade, when as a 13 year old teenager, I took over the Saturday boys job from my older brother. To be honest I loved it, because there I was, a boy working in a man’s world, cars, drinking, smoking and adult male banter… it was great. So much so, that I had made up my mind that I wanted to be a mechanic. My parents were old school, and the fact that I was wanting to take on a four year apprenticeship was music to their ears… “There’ll always be a need for mechanics’ ‘ was often the phrase used.

However, by the time I was 21 I realised the only person getting rich was the garage owner. Whereas, I was having to deal with oil stained fingers, a bad back from leaning over unnaturally, burns on my arms from replacing scalding hot exhaust systems and getting crappy pay… There had to be something better than this I thought.

My education was distinctly average, but I wasn’t thick, so I started to look into the job market. In the early Eighties there was lots of choice, and I spotted this sales job being advertised at Currys. Mmm. I thought, these guys wear smart suits, they deal with cool TV’s and Hi Fi’s, and the shop is warm and dry all winter long — I’ll give it a go. Obviously I got the job. As a side note:- I didn’t take into account that I had to work every Saturday, and Christmas holidays… You worked until the very last second. Scrooge would have been so proud!

So here’s where the story really gets interesting, they had a ‘Sales Training School’ and all employees had to attend. It was near the City of Southampton, in a large country house which they owned. You attended your initial weeks training almost immediately, and then about 6 months later if you showed promise, you attended the ‘Super Sales’ course, which was another week away.

It was a novelty being put up in a small hotel and all my meals being paid for. I’d never known such luxury. The gist of the first course was all about basic sales training, and to this day some 42 years on, those sales fundamentals still ring true today.

Of the many principle ideas this one is still one of my favorites… The Double Positive.

So what’s a Double Positive I hear you cry. Well it’s what’s considered a sales closing technique. One day I’ll write the whole sales journey from hello to taking the money, but the ‘Double Positive’ comes into play when you’ve answered all the questions and it’s time to ask for the order. OK, you could just say do you want it or not, but one, it’s a bit blunt, and two it’s a question which has a fifty percent chance of a no! So how do you use a double positive?

Let’s first discuss the human brain. It likes to answer questions. So what we need to do is feed it one question that has two answers… two positive answers! Here’s an example:-

OK Mr prospect, so I see you’ve fallen in love with the super duper XYZ stereo system, so do you want the 30 watt speakers or the 60 watt speakers?

Mr Prospect is now faced with making a choice, but whichever one it is, it’ll be a yes. For the smart ones in the room, there is of course a third choice of “no, I don’t want either”, but probably 90% of people will choose one or the other of the ‘Double Positive’ if you’ve done your job right. What I mean by that is, you’ve identified his or her needs, answered all their objections and have got them ready to get their credit card out.

Here’s another example that could be used in a car showroom… Right Mrs Prospect, would you like your Range Rover in gorgeous Midnight Blue or the stunning Ice white?

In another situation, you might be wanting to make an appointment with a buyer or CEO. So in this instance you could say, OK Mr Prospect as I said, I’m in LA on Friday, so could I see you at 10am, or would 2pm be better for you? Whichever is chosen, it’s a yes!

If you own a Restaurant you could teach your waiting staff this technique. But first let’s deal with what you and I have heard a thousand times before… Would you like to look at the dessert menu? It’s a dreaded yes/no question, which means that the chance to increase the customers spend is at risk of a simple and blunt — No Thankyou. If your staff asked the client this instead… Would you like cheese and crackers now, or would you like a dessert? I bet the sales of both Cheese and Crackers would rise as well as the sales of Desserts.

So there you have it, the ‘Double Positive’ You can use it face to face, on sales letters, in emails, in fact, the more you start to use it the more you’ll see just how wonderfully simple and profitable it is… You’re welcome.

Chris Jones

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