The Reduce-To-The Ridiculous Close
The Reduce-To-The Ridiculous close is one of the oldest closes used and the one everyone talks about. The main factor for its success over the years is that it makes high priced goods or services more affordable by stretching out the payments over months, year’s etc. Certainly, the prospect must find value in the product they are buying; it also has to be a reasonable payment schedule when purchasing high priced goods or services.
Let us examine a couple of instances where the reduce-to-the ridiculous close would be advantageous.
- Almost everyone has bought a new automobile in his or her life. We all understand that a car is an expensive purchase. A majority of the public cannot walk into a dealership and just pay $20,000 for a new car. However, if you stretch the total amount of the car over a five-year period, then the monthly payments become $350.00 per month. Obviously $350.00 a month is much more affordable than $20,000.
- The other obvious example is when someone buys a house. Home mortgages range all the way from $20,000 in some places all the way into the millions in others. Unless one is very wealthy, odds are they will stretch out the price of the home over a 15 to 30 year period.
The exact wording of the reduce-to-the ridiculous close is completely up to you and what makes you comfortable. I can tell you that it is an extremely effective close. It allows you to give your prospect a different perspective on the true cost of their purchase.
This close has been used numerous times on every consumer in every store throughout the world. The key is getting your prospect to focus on the monthly cost rather than the total cost of the item. People budget, for the most part, on a monthly basis. That is the entire key to the reduce-to-the ridiculous close, take a product that the customer views as too expensive and make it affordable.
FINAO - Brad Huisken - President, IAS Training
