Business Success - The Latest Closing Techniques

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The Latest Closing Techniques

Chris Lytle, CSP, Author of The Accidental Salesperson

How to know the difference between a closing question and a closing line.

Many Salespeople are anxious to learn the latest closing "line" or the newest closing "technique". The ability to close is a survival issue. Companies do not pay salespeople for sales calls that end in "No" or "Maybe". More and more salespeople are recognizing that closing is not just a line or technique. One good definition of closing comes from Effective Selling Through Psychology (V.R. Bozzota, PhD, R.E. Lefton, PhD and Manuel Sherber). They define closing as "moving toward commitment".

Top salespeople realize that they will be closing smaller things with the client before they close the order. First they close on an appointment of sufficient length to conduct a sales interview. Salespeople must close on the meeting before closing on the sale. Not doing this is the fastest way to fail in sales. Experts advise that until you've sold the client on the meeting, you should not present your product or service.

After salespeople "close" on the meeting they move toward a commitment to share information. They close the prospects on discussing their business. Once they have found a need, they move toward commitment by restating the need to make sure that if the need is filled, the prospect will buy. Salespeople who follow these steps have very little trouble closing.

You can't close what you don't present. Many salespeople make sales calls without making sales presentations. A presentation must have three elements: First, you must discuss a specific schedule. Second, you must discuss the price or the "investment". A third element that improves closing is an idea. A fast way to improve closing ratio is to make your offer more tangible by writing it down. The evidence suggests that written presentations improve closing ratios for five reasons: (1) writing forces the salesperson to be specific about the buyer's needs; (2) it requires a salesperson to do homework; (3) it gives the prospect a rationale for action and short-circuits objections; (4) salespeople sell themselves and mentally rehearse the sale when they write it down and (5) salespeople become even more enthusiastic. A written presentation shows clients that you've thought about their business.

Sales meetings can hurt sales. Sales managers can contribute to low closing ratios by focusing on selling packages or specific items. Problems arise when those salespeople go to the clients and pitch a specific product instead of closing on the meeting, then gathering enough data to learn whether the prospect needs the product. They are closing out of order. They come in closing the sale before they have secured commitment on smaller points. Imagine going to a doctor with a minor complaint. Before you've had a chance to explain what's wrong, the doctor picks up a syringe and fills it with penicillin. The doctor explains, "I have given a lot of penicillin to people so I am giving everyone a shot." The doctor's behavior is analogous to that of salespeople who present their product or packages without diagnosing.

The new attitude about closing. Closing is something you are always doing. You are always moving forward, getting commitments, and closing. Close on the meeting. Close on the data gathering; convince people to give up time and information before they invest money with you. Then when you know what they need, close on that. A doctor's diagnosis includes temperature taking. Moving toward the commitment (closing) requires a lot of temperature taking. Some advocate seeing how "hot" a person is to buy before risking a direct closing question that may end the call. To take a prospect's temperature you might say, "We've discussed several points, and you seem interested. On a scale of one to ten (ten being high), what is your interest level?" If the client answers, "Ten", then you will have a sale. Usually the client will answer, "Seven". In that case, you ask, "What do I have to do to get a ten?" And listen.

Know when to quit. A commonly asked question is, "When should I walk away?" Billion-dollar life insurance producer Joe Gandolfo quotes a Kenny Rogers song, "You've got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them". Salespeople who sense that their company cannot help a person after gathering data should, with the help of sales management, decide to quit calling on certain accounts and devote more energy to the selling of others. One graceful way to walk away is to say, "I don't think I can help you, but I hate to lose a prospect. Who do you know that I can help?" Then get two names and leave. Presenting products to a client who cannot benefit from it is poor time management.

Successful salespeople don't worry about closing. Gandolfo says that once someone gives him an appointment, he assumes the sale is closed. He claims that people who don't need help don't give appointments to salespeople.

This news arrived on: 06/25/2008

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