By Jeff Beals
During a sales seminar last week, I asked the attendees a question: “What is your least favorite or most intimidating part of the sales process?”
It’s a question I commonly ask sales professionals toward the beginning of a presentation.
And regardless of industry or profession, the answers are always the same. Approximately 40 percent of the attendees are most intimidated by initial prospecting calls and another 40 percent say, “the close,” asking a prospective customer for their business. (The remaining 20 percent identify a variety of miscellaneous things).
Why do so many sales professionals dread these same two things?
There are a lot of reasons:
- Fear of rejection
- Fear of failing
- Not wanting to sound “pushy”
- Fear of sounding stupid or ill prepared
- Inferiority complex – about yourself, your company or your product
- Unsure of the timing – fear of losing what appears to be a sure-fire sale if you ask for the business at the wrong time
What’s a Salesperson to Do?
Be Obsessed with Value
The most fundamental element in closing any sale is to determine what the prospective client truly values without ever assuming. The salesperson may have more product knowledge than the prospective customer but that doesn’t mean the salesperson has the ability to read clients’ minds. You need to ask probing questions and listen deeply to the answers. If you do this properly, and take the necessary amount of time, you will know just what your prospect wants. When you make your pitch, customize it to exactly what the prospect told you. Value selling does more to ensure a successful closing than anything else you can do.
Think Sequentially
Remember the old sales axiom, “ABC – Always Be Closing?” It means you’re always looking for an opportunity to jump to the end and sign up the prospect. Flush “ABC” from your mind! Sure, it’s a good idea to keep your eye on the prize, but instead of crouching ready to pounce on a close, focus on the next step in the process. Don’t rush things. In this day and age, buyers – especially sophisticated ones – don’t take kindly to being pressured.
Just keep working the prospect through all the steps in the selling process in the proper order with adequate time at each step and you will close more than your fair share of deals.
Collect Mini Closes
A sales close is basically getting the prospective client to make a commitment. The “big” close is the final commitment at the end, which is the commitment to buy. But closing also involves lots of little commitments leading up to the big commitment. These are commitments to spend time with you, to listen to you, to consider what you offer, to admit they need to make a change/purchase, etc.
Each time you convince your prospect to make a little commitment during the process, you are moving him or her a little closer to the final commitment and your goal of a signed deal.
Eventually You Have to Ask
After you do all the work leading up to the final close, it’s time to ask for the order. Unfortunately, this part can make salespeople feel nervous. After all, you have put so much effort into making the sale that you fear getting your feelings hurt and your confidence bruised. Plus, you may have already spent the commission!
Those are normal fears, but when the time is right, just ask the question! The good news is you don’t need a cheesy gimmick to seal the deal. You know what the client cares about and you know you have an ideal product solution, so all you have to say is, “Let’s get you started” or “Are you ready to do this?” Avoid clichés like the age-old one I like to make fun of: “What will it take to get you in this car today!”
In the end, the main requirement to being a good sales closer is to do the right things earlier in the process. In other words, if you do a good job of listening, building trust and doing your best to customize your products and services to the client’s needs and wants, the closing should actually be a mere formality.
Jeff Beals shows you how to find better prospects, close more deals and capture greater market share. Jeff is an international award-winning author, sought-after keynote speaker, and accomplished sales consultant. A frequent media guest, Jeff has been featured in Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, Men’s Health, Chicago Tribune and The New York Times.”
Here’s Why Should You Choose Jeff Beals as Your Next Speaker:
“Jeff is sure to deliver an engaging and motivating speech! He cleverly ties together his stories and makes the speech end with a punch. Being the closing speaker is tough, but he stepped-up to the challenge and hit a home-run. Due to the high ratings and overwhelming response to re-watch his speech, we are planning on using his video during our NextGen watch party.” – Megan Dotson, Senior Client Success Consultant & Event Director, GovLoop.com, Washington, DC
“Your workshop was a huge experience for our attendees by giving them the opportunity to improve their work in the critical environment in which we are living today. Your talent as a speaker and your qualities as a person made the difference during your time with us. I would certainly recommend you to anyone who asks.” – Ana Paula Costa, Educational Planner, Febracorp, Sao Paulo, Brazil
“Our corporate partnership team had great takeaways regarding how to network smarter while also understanding the importance of our personal brand to current and prospective partners. Jeff does a great job weaving in real-world examples and how you can apply his teachings to growing your business and
building long-term partnerships.” – Jason Booker, Senior Director of Corporate Sponsorships, The Kansas City Royals Major League Baseball Team
“If you are considering hiring Jeff, I will only say this: do it now. His ability to connect with an audience and explain the importance of telling the story is nothing short of extraordinary. The true litmus of any great speaker is authenticity. And when authenticity is coupled with an incredibly high amount of energy, humor, and engagement – you get Jeff. I would highly recommend him to anyone who needs a speaker attendees will talk about for a long time to come.” – Alison Cody, Executive Director, Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry, Atlanta, GA
“I’m in Phoenix and had breakfast earlier this morning with our semi-retired sales representative who is doing some continued work for us here. He attended your sales meeting last week and told me that in 43 years of selling, you were the best he had ever heard. Thanks for a great experience.” – Drew Vogel, President & CEO, Diamond Vogel Paints, Orange City, IA
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