One of the questions I am often asked as a sales coach by salespeople and business owners alike is, “How do I best close sales? 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 the fear of probing and the fear of objections. But the real question is, what is it about these three that creates so much 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 main human drivers, so a different line of thinking is needed to deal with this problem. Mere techniques will not suffice.
There are books on closures with hundreds of different types of closures. Some are great examples, some are horrible, but they all have one thing in common. They are just examples. They often cannot be used as “out of the box” solutions to your sales scenarios because each represents a model and that model only works if the person you are dealing with is “executing” a similar model in their personality and if their situation is almost the same too!
Now, I’m not saying they don’t study sales. In fact, quite the opposite. I recommend that you read everything you can about human sales and communications because you’ll learn more about sales and communications that way than virtually any other way. However, what he learns may not always be what the author intended, as he must be a student of human behavior and influence, not beholden to any particular book! When Bruce Lee studied kung fu, he took the best of each kung fu style and designed a new art that had no fixed forms and changed to be the most effective for each and every situation. A good sales professional will aim to achieve the same.
The first tactic to achieve a better closed ration is to change the words you use. Why not “ask for the business” or “take the request” or “provide a solution” instead? These words do not create the same fear. I have tested this on dozens of vendors and removing the word associated with fear also removes fear. If anyone has read the Anthony Robbin material, describe how you can only experience feelings for which you have words, and that words only have the meaning you ascribe to them. He describes how, because the quality of the snow is important to their survival, the Eskimos have dozens of different words for snow, but we only have sleet and snow. Their snow experience is different from ours and we can’t understand that because we don’t have words to describe it.
Second, it’s important that you start with the end in mind. Every time you go to a meeting or make a call, think about it in your head first. Think about the outcome you want from the meeting or call, and think about the possible ways this could happen. Also think about the minimum result that you are willing to accept from the meeting or call. Once you’ve established a relationship, asked questions, discovered your customers’ needs, and provided a solution, it’s natural to ask about the business. After all, you’ve provided a solution, so applying for the business is the next step! Why would you accept less than your minimum acceptable behavior from the customer?
I once worked with a talented sales professional. He made fantastic cold calls, built a graceful and effective relationship, and figured out customer needs effortlessly, but he did little business. In a short coaching session, I found out that he decoupled the sales process from “closing” so he would “do the meeting” and then think, “Oh my gosh! Now I need to close!” Panic sign. His customers could see it and the sale was lost, every time. He was in “sales” mode and they balked and he was a nice guy so it was easier to walk away than risk being turned away or upsetting the customer! Simply by viewing selling as a smooth process with a natural conclusion, he was able to see the “timeline” and “path” of the sale. If the client deviated from this, he could maintain control and get him back on track. He achieved a sales breakthrough literally overnight.
At this point I might add that you have to remain flexible. There will be times when you cannot make the sale for unexpected reasons. On these occasions, it is important that you evaluate your performance objectively. Ask yourself if you could ask better questions next time to find out the unexpected situation sooner. If the answer is “no,” reset your goal for the meeting. If the answer is “yes,” consider what you have to learn and reset the goal for your next meeting. But, and this is very important, always remember to set a new goal for the meeting.
When was the last time you heard this conversation?:
“How was the sales meeting?”
“Excellent”.
“How did you get in?”.
“Oh great, I think he’ll use us!”
My next question to you is: “What is the next step?”
This should have been agreed, with time scales with the client. If not, you haven’t reached your goal. Maybe this was because you didn’t set one up or didn’t make it, but this sales meeting wasn’t “great”!
Let’s face it, you work hard to find clients and get that all-important meeting with them, and you listen carefully to understand their real needs, not your perceived ones. When you provide a solution that is tailored to their needs, they expect you to “ask for the business.” When this becomes a relaxed and natural part of the meeting, you’ll make more sales, and effortlessly.