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We’ve all heard the sad tales about salespeople who did everything right and still didn’t get the business because they never asked for the order. Effective closing techniques are always a topic of special interest in my workshops, as if they’re the magic formula for selling success. Knowing how and when to close on your prospect is a skill necessary for making sales. But there is a lot more to closing than many salespeople seem to think. Closing is much more than a final question after all the selling is done. More than an end-game strategy A Close is a preplanned question that brings a prospect to the next level in any part of the sales process. It establishes agreement (or that there is still disagreement) each step of the way. Closing should occur all throughout the selling process. Some closes are easy to get agreement on, while others address larger hurdles that will take more effort and time. You might want to set up an appointment next week, or to ask for some information about their company, or to have them read the media kit you leave with them, or to get an approval from their boss. Each of these steps forward requires the prospect’s buy-in and is an example of a time when a sales rep must close. You are not in a “one-time, show the product and make the sale” endeavor. It’s a long-term, relationship-building process. But you must make sales to be successful. Well-timed closing speeds things up by continually moving the sales process forward. Persistence is necessary, but it isn’t enough. I can remember a prospect that I called on for a long time. I researched and called and sent him useful information. After a few requests he granted me an appointment in which I asked a lot of questions and listened with all my active listening skills. His attitude was positive. I left him my media kit and went on my way feeling hopeful. The next day I sent him a follow-up letter outlining the points we discussed. About a week later I called to continue the conversation. It took a number of weeks before I was able to catch his attention again. When I did, I asked him what he thought of our media kit and the information that I had left. He apologized and told me that he hadn’t had time to look at the materials but that he was interested and would call me after reading them. You know the story. A few weeks later when I hadn’t heard from him I called again. Again he was polite and encouraging, and again he hadn’t had a chance to think about my magazine. This could have gone on for months, but I was ready this time and brought up the needs that he had shared in our first discussion and the consequences of putting off addressing them in light of the solution that I could provide. I asked for an appointment and his promise that he would look at the data I had left to support my position – before the appointment. I attempted to create a sense of urgency and get his agreement to act in a given timeframe for his benefit. He read the data and was ready for that meeting. I believe it was because he agreed to my specific request that then became a priority for him. It got him off the dime. My agenda was moved up on his list. Our relationship moved to the next level. That was a close. A small close, but an effective one none the less. It was the first of many closes that eventually lead to his giving me the order. When you close, you are asking for a decision and a commitment. Closing asks for answers that clarify intentions. It defines the progress made up to this point and moves the thought process closer to the goal. Closing Design There are a number of closing practices that enable you to close successfully. They get you thinking about what you want to reach agreement on and when you want to close. As we’ll see next month, you’ll want to close at particular points in the sales discussion, not indiscriminately. Listen and develop the feel for when to ask for agreement. When you hear indications of this agreement, ask for commitment to your plan of addressing their needs with your benefits. Closing well depends on your ability to listen. There are seven practices that lead us to more effective and successful closing.
Next month we’ll begin to discuss these principles used in successful closing in Part 2 |
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