“A…..B…..C….Always Be Closing!”
This memorable, and highly quoted line from Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glenn Ross has served as an excellent barometer for the level of performance one can expect from an existing or prospective sales professional.
The more passionate and sincere one recites this line, the more likely they are a knuckle dragging moron who, if they were not on your sales team, would be locked in some facility, with the most challenging part of their day occurring when the pudding arrived and they had to decide which end of the straw was the one most appropriate for their mouth.
Ok, maybe I am being just a tad harsh.
In case you haven’t seen the one time that the words “Good” and “Baldwin” can be used in the same sentence, here it is.
THE LANGUAGE IN THIS CLIP IS NOT SAFE FOR WORK
I’m guessing its the amount of “indoor time” that New Englanders have during the winter months, but shortly after starting my career with a company based out of Boston, I realized that the majority of the sales people in the company knew almost the entire script from either “Glengarry Glenn Ross” or “Boiler Room“. Some viewed these as “movies”, others as “how to have a career in sales”.
To me, it is not only OK, but quite admirable, to know the script from “Blazing Saddles” (or “Airplane“), the theme song from “Monday Night Football”, or key scenes from any Monty Python movie. But a movie staring a Baldwin brother? Are you nuts? Heck, I can’t tell which Baldwin is in “30 Rock” and which one is flunking out of rehab.
So back to “A…B…C”. why is this “The Mark of the Schmuck”?
The true sales warrior knows that there is a time to open, time to listen, and a time to close. Try to close too early and you will lose your deal.
You ever been on a date with someone who said “I love you” waaaaayyy too early? How did that make you feel? Did you feel overwhelmed with good luck and fortune to have this beautiful soul in your life and finally you were ready for that long term commitment that you have been working most of your adult life to avoid? OR, where you contemplating which would give an easier escape:
A) Crawling out the Bathroom window
B) The “I just realized I am gay” monologue
Don, one of the Baldwin fans, was famous for talking about how “he would not lose on price” in the first call with the prospect. This would be the relationship equivalent of talking about baby names during the appetizer during dinner on a blind date.
The Sales Warrior practices “A….B…..L….” Always…..Be…Listening….
Whether your selling widgets, gidgets, or gizzards…..listening to the prospect and trying to empathize with their need and or pain will generate far more success than relying on a movie that most people with milder winters have never seen.
Technorati Tags: Glenngarry Glenn Ross, Boiler Room, ABC
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2 responses so far ↓
bantam // January 28, 2008 at 3:16 pm |
Team America did a ‘good’ job of making fun of Alec ‘Baldwin’.
Russell Piazza // August 9, 2009 at 3:40 am |
I just read this lads comment on how anyone who subscribes to the A…B…C theory is a “knuckle dragging moron” The post is called “mark of the schmuck” The author seems a bit schmuckish to me. He says that trying to close to early will kill the sale. It’s this comment that best illustrates this fellow’s complete lack of understanding. Any top producer is “Always Closing” To Always Be Closing means that we are closing from before we even show up at the appointment…always looking …listening for buying signals…everything we do is aimed at closing. From preparing for the appointment, to showing up on time, to conducting a great presentation, asking the right questions, deep listening, every word we say every idea we communicate — everything is focused on one thing. “Get them to sign on the line which is dotted”. I thank my lucky stars frequently that I sell against folks like the author, I pray they never get fired or quit . Russell Piazza – President – HyperProfit Tactical Sales http://www.hyperprofittacticalsales.com 805-338-2487