One of the questions I often get asked as a sales coach by sales people and business owners alike is, "How do I close sales better? What closing techniques would you recommend?"
In my experience, closing is one of the three most feared areas of the sales process. The other two are fear of canvassing and fear of objections. But the real question is, what is it about these three that creates such a fear? Especially, when even some of the most successful sales professionals face challenges in one or more of these three areas. The answer is simple ? fear of rejection. Humans are social animals and the fear of rejection is one of the primary human drivers so it takes a different line of thought to face this issue. Mere techniques will not suffice.
There are books about closing with hundreds of different types of closes in. Some are great examples, some are awful but all of them have one thing in common. They are just examples. They are often not usable as "off the shelf" solutions for your sales scenarios because they each represent a model and that model only works if the person you are dealing with is "running" a similar model in their personality and if your situation is nearly the same too!
Now, I am not saying don't study about sales. Infact, quite the opposite. I do recommend that you read everything you can about sales and human communications because you will learn more about sales and communications in that way than from virtually any other. What you learn however may not always be what the author intended as you should be a student of human behaviour and influence, not beholden to any one particular book! When Bruce Lee studied kung fu he took the best of each style of kung fu and designed a new art which had no set forms and changed to be the most effective for each and every situation. A good sales professional will be aiming to achieve the same.
The first tactic for achieving a better close ration is to change the words that you use. Why not "ask for the business" or "take the order" or "provide a solution" instead? These words don't create the same fear. I have tested this on dozens of sales people and removing the word that the fear is associated with removes the fear too. If anyone has read Anthony Robbin's material he describes how you can only experience feelings that you have words for and that words only have the meaning that you ascribe to them. He describes how, because the quality of snow is important to their survival, eskimos have dozens of different words for snow but we just have sleet and snow. Their experience of snow is different than ours and we cannot comprehend that because we have no words to describe it.
Secondly, it is important that you start with the end in mind. Whenever you go to a meeting or make a call think through it in your head first. Think about what outcome you want from the meeting or call and think through the possible ways this might occur. Think also of what the minimum outcome is that you are prepared to accept from the meeting or call. When you have built rapport, asked questions, uncovered your clients' needs and provided a solution it's only natural to ask for the business. After all, you have provided a solution so asking for the business is the next step! Why would you accept less than your minimum acceptable behaviour from the client?
I once worked with a talented sales professional. He made fantastic cold calls, built elegant and effective rapport and uncovered client needs effortlessly but he did little business. In a short coaching session I discovered that he disassociated the sales process from "closing" hence he would "do the meeting" and then think, "Oh dear! Now I need to close!". Cue panic. His customers could see it and the sale was lost, every time. He was in "sales" mode and they were resisting and he was a nice guy so it was easier to walk away than risk rejection or upsetting the client! Simply by viewing the sale as one seemless process with a natural conclusion he was able to see the "timeline" and "path" of the sale. If the client deviated from this he was able to maintain control and bring them back on track. He achieved a sales breakthrough literally overnight.
At this point, I might add that you must remain flexible. There will be times when you cannot make the sale for unexpected reasons. On these occasions, it is important that you assess your performance objectively. Ask yourself whether next time you could ask better questions to uncover the unexpected situation earlier. If the answer is "no" then reset your objective for the meeting. If the answer is "yes" then take on board what you have to learn and reset the objective for your next meeting. But, and this is very important, always remember to set a new objective for the meeting.
When was the last time you heard this conversation:
"How was the sales meeting?"
"Great".
"How did you get on?".
"Oh, great I think he / she will use us!".
My next question for you is, "So what's the next step?"
This should have been agreed, with time-scales with the client. If it hasn't then you haven't reached your objective. Maybe this was because you didn't set one or you didn't achieve it but this sales meeting was not "great"!
Lets face it, you work hard to find clients and get that all important meeting with them and you listen hard to understand their true needs not your perceived ones. When you provide a solution that matches their needs they are expecting you to "ask for the business". When this becomes a relaxed, natural part of the meeting you will achieve more and effortless sales.
For the last 10 years, Gavin Ingham has been helping sales people to explode their sales performance by turning self-doubt, fear and lack of motivation into self-belief, confidence and action. With his inspirational approach to sales performance and motivation Gavin combines commercial experience, personal excellence and communications technologies in delivering personal and business sales success.
Visit http://www.gaviningham.net now to join Gavin's free monthly newsletter packed full of sales secrets, strategies and tactics. Join now and get Gavin's ground-breaking 9-part objection handling course absolutely free.
Ever thought to yourself, "If only my team members would... Read More
Your mission as a business owner is to develop a... Read More
My experience has taught me that people want to buy... Read More
Mention the word sales or salesman and two out of... Read More
PEOPLE DO BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE THEY KNOW, LIKE, & TRUST.... Read More
Here are three proven ways that will increase your sales:1.... Read More
If you're a business person you want to sell your... Read More
In most businesses, when sales are slow or low, the... Read More
You deal with rejections, frustrations, disappointment, and possibly disrespect on... Read More
A lot of energy is expended within selling organizations as... Read More
It makes no difference if you are a Saleswomen, a... Read More
When I first moved to Seattle, I worked for 9... Read More
Selling is everyone's lifeblood whether they realize it or not.... Read More
I love the art of selling. LOVE IT. When I... Read More
In our culture it is basically un-American for a prospective... Read More
1. Dependability was chosen as the most important.2. Integrity was... Read More
In his classic book, "Think and Grow Rich", Napoleon Hill... Read More
What are values? Values are filters that everyone uses to... Read More
How well do you handle objections?The fact is, most people... Read More
To be totally in tune with the needs of your... Read More
The reason why you have a job in sales is... Read More
I've been getting lots of email from my readers lately.... Read More
My research has clearly shown that, when it comes to... Read More
The art of backend sellingThe backend sale can be more... Read More
Marketing is a skill. Once you master it, you can... Read More
Recently I received a prospecting voice mail message from a... Read More
Ever lost a sale? Of course you have, we all... Read More
Are you searching for new and innovative ways of sales... Read More
I'm about to challenge your belief system, or at least... Read More
Based on his most recent e-mail, "Everything looks good --... Read More
1.- REMAIN VERY CLIENT FOCUSED! Not Company focused. Your clients... Read More
Are you tired of excuses? Looking for a persuasion technique... Read More
Three qualities are needed to sell anything in life. They... Read More
Three year old Kara was throwing a tantrum. She didn't... Read More
From a customer's perception, it's easy for a salesperson to... Read More
For the 'big three' automobile sales consultants, the 'employee discount... Read More
Yikes - My Feet Hurt!Concrete. Tiles. Cheap carpet. Walking, walking.... Read More
One of the biggest problems for many business owners is... Read More
I recently found myself suffering from a lousy cold; all... Read More
1. Multiply your marketing and advertising efforts on the Internet.... Read More
7 Phrases You Can't Say in Sales (Because They Will... Read More
Look at your marketing material. Now, is there something missing?... Read More
We all make mistakes and some salespeople seem to make... Read More
There's an old saying, "Don't air your dirty laundry".If you're... Read More
Every day is critical when you are in the business... Read More
Three year old Kara was throwing a tantrum. She didn't... Read More
One of the interesting things about being a coach and... Read More
Seems almost every situation in our lives is centered on... Read More
"Yeah right!" I thought to myself as I started to... Read More
If you're looking for a successful salesperson to hire, a... Read More
Through out our career and lives we regularly get an... Read More
When sales are down, a salesperson must begin to take... Read More
Statistics state that 55% of people judgments are made based... Read More
One essential criteria of being a successful salesperson is the... Read More
The dreaded question: "What exactly does your company do?" It's... Read More
On average a sales person spends less than two hours... Read More
Do you ever feel that when you are doing direct... Read More
I know you've heard this a thousand times, but from... Read More
We are each responsible for our own success - or... Read More
You must be able to coordinate your sales talk to... Read More
Unquestionably when the word hypnosis pops-up in a conversation or... Read More
Do you invite your prospective customers to ask questions ...or... Read More
A myth can best be described as somebody or something... Read More
What's that you say? You can't sell?Oh, you must be... Read More
We all make mistakes when selling our product or service.... Read More
For those of us working in the exciting world of... Read More
Sales Training |