The "Restaurant Makeover" Close

Ok, let's pick it up where we left it last time.

I think the "Restaurant Makeover" close is so great, because:

- When you are about to discuss your fees or your project budget, you prospect is on the defensive and is bracing up for a touch negotiation. And when you say, "What would happen if we didn't come", you immediately take their attention away from the money and make them focus on the problem they have. It's no longer "about the money". It's a "do or die".

- You get a yet another chance to confirm that they really are a good prospect for you. If they are happy with status quo, the best thing you can do is turn around and walk away. If, on the other hand, they start sobbing and drop on their knees begging you to help them, you know you're in the right place.

- People buy on emotion and justify their purchase later by logic. You question requires a very emotional response and when it does, the deal is in the bag.

I can think of a several more (lesser) reasons why this close is powerful. It will work in almost any selling situation. The key is to use it in your business.

I most certainly will.

Lessons from Restaurant Makeover

I was watching another episode of Restaurant Makeover today. If you're not familiar with the show, they take a failing restaurant and send there a chef and designer, and then re-build the entire store in 6 days.

One of the key (and somewhat poignant) moments of the show is when the chef and the designer ask the owner to pony up cash (usually $15K, matched dollar-to-dollar by the show) for the project. Today I noticed that every time they talk money, the designer asks this brilliant question:

"If Restaurant Makeover didn't come, what would've happened here?"

This line is brilliant in so many ways I think it's worth of a separate post to talk about it.