Most people know that new sales online have been increasing.  In 2018, e-commerce increased 14.2% from 2017. The increase has been steady for years while we see retail stores struggling with stores closing in large numbers. This includes large retailers like Kmart and Sears but also involves smaller stores in strip malls. 

However, an interesting statistic is that, though retail sales in brick-and-mortar stores have been stagnant while e-commerce has increased; the increase is clearly at the expense of growth that would have occurred in traditional stores.  It is also true that while traditional stores have suffered decline, there is still a tremendous amount of retail activity. Over 90% of sales are still conducted through traditional storefront locations.

When a prospective client asks for my opinion, usually they simply want me to affirm what they’ve already decided to do. They really don’t want an independent perspective. We see an example in scripture where a prophet of the Lord was pressured. “Meanwhile, the messenger who went to get Micaiah said to him, ‘Look, all the prophets are promising victory for the king. Be sure that you agree with them and promise success.’ But Micaiah replied, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, I will say only what the Lord tells me to say.’” (1 Kings 22:13-14, NIV)

Clearly, the messengers only wanted Micaiah to affirm what the other advisors had already determined was the correct action. Unfortunately, the king ignored the prophet’s advice which was the opposite from the other prophets and the king was killed.

When I work with clients and their businesses, I try to point out different options with the pluses and minuses of each choice. For example, one client wanted to hire a family member.  I asked the question, “If you needed to fire that person, how would it impact family relationships?” The client admitted it would be serious and make for a very difficult Thanksgiving dinner. My advice was not to hire the person because the consequences of the arrangement not working out would far exceed the temporary pleasure of hiring a family member. Despite my advice, the client hired the family member.  Six months later, my client had to terminate the relative.  It took several years to heal the relationship.

The free market is a large auction where buyers compete with other buyers and sellers compete with other sellers. Few have such a unique product or service that only they can produce.  Even in those instances, we need to be careful that a high price doesn’t push buyers elsewhere.

For example, I’m doing a research project and wanted to buy several books. One book was $75 new, but I found a used copy in “acceptable condition.” I really didn’t care whether the book was dog-eared or marked up; $12 was better than $75. Another book listed for $25, but I was able to purchase a used one for $5.  Without the information Amazon provided, I wouldn’t have been able to make those decisions.

A staff member, who reported to me, had messed up; and I was explaining the situation to my boss.  To lessen my responsibility, I said something like, “I didn’t know.” The immediate response from my superior was, “If you didn’t know, you should have known.” In retrospect this rebuke was spot on. In fact, I’ve stolen this response several times when I dealt with colleagues.

There is great power in a rhetorical question. Bernie Cornfield proved it.  He pioneered the selling of mutual funds in the 1950s. He started with the question, “Do you sincerely want to be rich?” The short answer for most people was, “Yes.” He used this rhetorical question to power his organization that employed 25,000 salespeople at the height of his success.

Rhetorical questions can also be very powerful in closing sales.