After a lifetime in the sales industry, with various family businesses under his belt, the author would like to share a few tips on closing the sales deal. What you read here can easily make the difference between meeting your quota and getting that bonus, or simply spinning your wheels and making the draw.
First, you have to understand the two elements that are key in closing sales.
1) Sales resistance
2) Value
The sales process is two-fold, at least: lowering sales resistance, and showing the value of what it is that’s for sale. In this particular article, only #1 will be considered.
Nobody really “enjoys” being “sold to.” To a certain degree, everyone has a level of sales resistance. Think back to the last time the Girl Scouts or someone else came to your door trying to sell cookies, magazines or carpet cleaning wonder gizmos. You more than likely closed the door. (Shame on you for not getting the cookies, you missed out on the Thin Mints…)
You might feel that resistance on a car lot as a slick-looking “closer” comes up to you to sell you hard and fast. That is one of your biggest hurdles in finding out closing the sales deal. Sales resistance is a brick wall you need to knock down.
Here are a few Don’ts
DON’T…
…sell hard and fast. “Closing” doesn’t have to be high-pressure, and if you mentioned that the deal is time-stamped one too many times, you’re showing your cards. Don’t set urgency in such a way that it becomes a flashy, loud announcement, and don’t leap on a sale opportunity like a lion on a lame gazelle.
…argue with the customer. Overcoming objections with an argument is like telling your would-be customer he or she is a 3rd-grader and you’re a senior in High School, or that you’d rather give your competition some business.
…try to sell the customer an upgrade or other options that they plainly don’t want or need. It’s better to sell a plain Jane model with no warranty (for example) than try to shoot the moon and come up dry. A bird in the hand is always better than a flock in the trees…
DO…
…mirror your customer’s cadence and pace. If you are selling to someone who looks like they have time on their hands, you should as well. If you are selling to a stock broker who has done their homework for weeks before coming to buy, you have a limited time to close. Mirroring will help in closing the sales deal.
…be service-oriented. The customer is always right, or at least should feel they are. You don’t need to be “servile,” but service-oriented. Lowering sales resistance means that you are in their court, on their side. Overcome objections with phrases such as, “I see where you’re coming from, I’ve been there myself, but what other customers have found is…” Never argue, even when you’ve plainly lost the sale. Your competition may turn them off, and you may be able to recover the deal.
…listen to the customer and assess their needs. What closes sales deals is a good ear, paying attention, and giving a customer what he or she came for. If they came in for a cheeseburger, don’t try to sell them fried chicken. You may upgrade or educate your customer on an upgrade, but only if they indicate a need that the upgrade will address.
There are other issues to closing the sales deal, these are only a handful of Dos and Don’ts. If you walk away with one lesson, let it be this: be there for your customers. Nothing closes sales deals faster than great customer service. Learn that, and watch your close ratio climb.
What Closes Sales? 3 Tactics to Closing the Sales Deal
What closes sales? You’ve been out there, taking a swing at whatever it is you’re selling–and it doesn’t matter to me what you’re selling, these tactics apply broadly–and no dice. No action, no traction, your wheels are spinning on black ice. What gives?
Honestly, the answer to that question will only be partially answered in this article. Off the top, I’ll tell you that if you want to get good at closing the sales deal, you’ll need to take it from the pro’s. Buy their seminar material, listen to the big players, read up and study. Sales is an art, so you need to do your part to figure out how to master the techniques. That being said, what I’ve discovered after a decade or so of being in sales in one form or other, are these tactics.
This closes sales:
- What’s the Bull’s Eye?
- Know the “No!”
- Sell the Sizzle, Not the Steak
Let’s take a look at each point:
1.What’s the Bull’s Eye?
Some sales are a bit different–you want a broad net, catch as many fish as you can, and go from there. If you want to find your stride, and put some real wheels on your rig, then you want to zero-in on who it is your top clients will be. Broadly speaking, aim at those with the need and the money to buy what you’re selling. The bigger the better as far as income level. Whatever you’re selling, it has a sweet-spot type of client profile. Find out what that is and aim your guns at those ships. Target market if you want to close the sales deal.
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Know the “No!”
Make a list of your objections, and get your hands around what it is that people are saying to shut you down. Here’s a tactic that many sales staff don’t use: when you get an objection, it’s a request for more information you haven’t provided.
Don’t get your knickers in a knot because you’ve met sales resistance, that’s par for the course. Rather, when you have a list of your biggest objections and understand the pattern, then you can evaluate if your sales-pitch is giving your would-be customer some red flag that raises their resistance. Remember this is a request for more info, so give it to them: answer their objection not with a list of features, but point #3 makes it clear…
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Sell the Sizzle, Not the Steak
Sell the advantages to the customer, from a customer perspective. Get in the shoes and mindset of your customers, and get beyond the bulleted, list of features spiel that won’t sell anyone anything. Answer this question from a customer perspective, “Why would I buy what you’re selling?” Why do they need it?
Sell the sizzle, not the steak. By lowering sales resistance every step of the way, and getting on their side, you’ll close the sales deal. Being an advocate for the customer during the sales process (it is not a game of “you vs. me” but “I’m on your side, let me help with this product/service…”), you’ve discovered what closes sales.
