Closing sales

There’s a perception in business that ”closing” a sale is some form of dark art and all too often, as the culmination of the sales process nears, the ”deal” collapses before pen is put to paper. The good news is, ensuring that this doesn’t happen can, to an extent, be learnt.

Using the term ”closing” is somewhat misleading. Any commercial deal we cement in business life is to all intents and purposes the beginning, not the end.

Agreeing the deal is the ultimate goal for businesses. All too often sales prospects will be happy to meet you or take your call, and may even start to discuss price, only to pull out when it gets to the crunch of decision time.

In brief

• Selling styles
• Closing techniques
• Effective negotiation
• Drawing up contracts
• What to do next

Selling styles have some bearing on the outcome of any attempted sell. Here are the two fundamental types:

• Hard sales. A forthright, sometimes aggressive, approach, pushing prospects into a purchase through an ability to meet any objection with the firm impression that an opportunity is being missed. This type of pressure tactic is now largely outdated.
• Consultative sales. Responsive and attentive to the requirements of the prospective buyers, consultative sales people seek to clinch a deal through a willingness to build a relationship.

Every sales person has techniques that he or she uses to close the deal. The techniques that you choose will, to a great extent, be defined by your selling style and the nature of product or service that you’re putting before a customer. Here are some of the most common and effective strategies.

1. Create a sense of urgency. If possible, do this from the beginning, without sounding desperate. For example, you could be running a special offer this week or month and if you introduce this at the beginning you could gain interest.
2. Competition counts. Bring in an element of competition and how your offer could set them apart from the competition.
3. Outline the advantages. By creating a mental or actual list of the advantages your product or service offers, the prospect will start to crystallise why considering your proposition is worthwhile. Acknowledgement of any disadvantages may seem odd, but, if surmountable, can heighten trust, particularly as there should be fewer disadvantages than strengths. It pays to ask whether they think your offering will add value.
4. Offer a short trial or demonstration. By experiencing your product or service in action, the prospective buyer will be able to visualise life as a client and will not want to give up a good experience. This can also help to allay any final fears they may have. A free trial or money back offer strengthens this tactic.
5. Provide a ”cooling off” period. So confident are you that the prospect will see the benefit of buying, it pays to offer a short period in which they can change their mind. This comfort factor can remove any lingering doubts.
6. Begin to ”withdraw” the offer. The suggestion that your product or service can’t be to everyone’s taste and your willingness to move on to somebody else, helps to encourage the prospect to show some form of commitment that should eventually lead to a sale.
7. Introduce a deadline. There may not need to be one, but by saying ’Why not give it until Monday?’ gives you the ”permission” to return and the prospect a date by which to make a decision.
8. Have a completion form to hand. While a contract at the closing stage might well be a turn-off, a form used to simply capture data, can help them make a final decision. If you sense this is unlikely to work but that there is interest, suggest following up with a tailored proposal. This gives you the opportunity to ask about their budget and deal with any unresolved issues after due consideration.
9. Respond to their outstanding concerns. Holding back some elements of flexibility can help to leave the prospect with an A or B option, allowing you to ask which one they’d prefer to go with.
10. Use presumptive language. A subtle change in the language you use, to give the impression the decision to buy has already been made, can help them make the final leap too. For instance, rather than asking the customer whether they want to go ahead with a sale, you might simply ask for a credit card number or bank details, making the tacit assumption that the deal is already done. This is sometimes called the presumptive close and it needs to be handled carefully.
11. Final information or instructions. Asking the prospect whether they’d like a little more information or instructions on how to use the product or service can move their mindset to owning what you have to offer. This is sometimes referred to as the informational or instructional close. Having some customer testimonials to hand can help to allay any final concerns.
12. Provide next steps. Known as the directive, this gives you the chance to tell them how to sign-up to your offer. This works well where you have a colleague ready to process the sale on hand.
13. Retain the notion of exclusivity. Make them feel special and that not everybody is getting your offer – it may only be available in a particular area for a set period of time, for example.
14. Ask for the money. There can be awkwardness on the part of the salesperson to actually ask for the business, deeming talk of money somewhat distasteful. However, if all the buying signals are there – such as constant affirmation, the declaration that the prospect needs what you have to offer, more detailed questions about cost or implementation, or simply a good vibe – then they will expect you to close the sale. Failing to do so at this point or considering money a ‘dirty’ part of the equation can lead to talking your way out of the deal.

Negotiation should usually only take place once you’ve agreed that the sale is happening. Never begin this too early if you can avoid it, as you could end up talking the price down and panic selling.