By Mike Pallin, President of The Floyd Wickman Team, LLC, the official provider of Floyd Wickman Programs and products. One of the reasons the Wickman method of selling is so comfortable and low-to-no pressure is the idea of giving your clients choices.

Choices make people feel part of the decision. They make people feel heard and appreciated. Everyone likes to feel as if they have options. Choices are collaborative and consultative. They involve making judgments. Giving clients choices along the way make the final decision easier. In that way, choices help your clients become decisive.

The opposite of giving choices is to manipulate people into a corner, where they think, “Well, what choice do I have?” Master salespeople don’t have to bulldoze their clients with negative emotion, or overwhelm their clients with mountains of data. Choices take all the pressure off.

And choices come from an assumptive approach, a place of positive expectancy, a place of enthusiasm, a place that is attractive.

Here are a few classic Wickman examples of dialogue selling with choices.

When asking for a get-together: “Let’s pick a time when I can stop by and take a look at your house, and while we’re together I can show you the Timing Analysis, so if you do decide to sell now, you will know how long it’s going to take. I can see you tonight at 6 or would tomorrow be better for you?”

The opposite would be, “OK I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

When explaining the law of supply and demand to a for sale by owner: “Everybody pays a commission. You either pay it to the buyer and you do all the work, or pay it to me and let me do all the work and take all the risk. If either way the net comes out the same, which way would you go?”

The opposite, “I’ll bet you I can sell it for the same price you can.”

When asking for a price reduction: “There are only three things we can control to get your home sold – price, location and condition. Which of those three things is the easiest to change right now?”

The opposite, “If you want to sell, you have to reduce the price.”

When preparing Sellers for a price reduction: “What is the maximum length of time you are willing to let go by without getting an offer before we adjust the price?”

The opposite, “If we don’t get an offer in the first week, something is wrong.”

When clients hesitate with a ‘think it over’: “I understand why you might be hesitating. I’ve learned that no one should go forward unless they are convinced of three things. May I share with you what they are? You need to be convinced that the money is right, in other words that it is affordable for you to move. That the timing is right, meaning that now is when you want to get the ball rolling. And that you trust the person you are hiring will do what they said they would do. As long as we are together, which is it in your case?”

The opposite, “Call me when you make up your mind.”

Think ‘choices’ as you master your sales presentations and dialogues, and you will find people more cooperative, more relaxed and more likely to refer you to their friends and family.