Appeal to Higher Authority

This is one of my favorite closes.  Not because I use it alot, or because it's used on me alot, but because in the world of business, it is so powerful.  It can shut doors or open them when negotiating.  Once you know to watch for it, you can disarm the sales person very quickly.  Or you can get yourself out of a jam quickly.

Appeal to a higher authority is simply letting the other party know that you are not the decision maker, or that the decision is so exceptional, that you have to get special permission.  It is often used with other closes.  For example...

Customer: "I would like to purchase that car, but the price is too high.  Can you come down $500?"

Salesman:  " Ohh, I am not authorized to make such exceptions.  Let me ask the manager"

10 Minutes later Salesman comes back out of the manager's office.

Salesman:  "I would love to give you $500 off that car, but the manager only authorised a $300 discount if you make the purchase today!"

Customer:  "Ok!  $300 is better than nothing!  Where do I sign?"

In this case there was no one in the manager's office.  The manager was on vacation that week.  The salesman simply used his office as a prop.  He had the power all along to say yes or no, but he knew he was offering a fair price.  Rather than being the bad guy, he let the manager be the bad guy.  He simply offered what was fair.

He also used the Take away close.  He let the client know that the offer was only good for a limited time.  This gave the buyer a sense of urgency.  It was now or never - take it or leave it!

The appeal to higher authority in many instances.  You can appeal to your spouse, the board, your boss, a partner. I have asked my wife to "appeal to a higher authority" (me) when certain salespeople come around.  She hates saying "no", and ended up purchasing some things from some very sharp sales people!

I simply told her "No,you are not allowed to buy anything without my permission, or I will be mad at you" Now, I would not get mad at her, and she knows that. But it allows her to simply say "No, I can't or my husband said he would be mad at me!"  That puts the sales person in an awful place!  If he persists, he could jeopardize the peace in the home and put the fair damsel in harms way! She has used the appeal to higher authority several times and was very thankful for it!