Issued by: SALESGURU Publishing


Clearly, it is more desirable to fall into the second category. But that may require a mindset shift if you are prone to refer to ‘The Close' as if it is an event.

The Close is not an event
Sure, you need to get contracts and order forms and purchase orders signed, and sure there is a difference between the moment after you have a signed order and the moment before. In the interim, a deal has been inked and you are now in a different place. But the process that led you to that point was not an event so much as the natural culmination of a process.

If your request that they sign the order came as a surprise to them, you didn't do a great job of selling to them.

“Closing the sale is completely reliant on opening the sale correctly. The proper qualification of solution, power base, decision making criteria and process, financial implications from a budget and ROI perspective and understanding the ‘compelling event' that will create a deadline to sign the contract. The key to complex sales where pre-sales expertise is required, is to ensure the opening is 100%, since these are expensive engagements. If you are able to sell a timeline based on the ‘compelling event', this will help to keep the sale on track. If you do this correctly the closing should be a non event,” says Danny de Beer, Alliance Director, Fujitsu Siemens Computers.

The Close is a natural outcome
You hear acronyms such as ABC (for Always Be Closing) all the time, but if you take the ABC concept literally, you're going to end up with a prospect feeling like they have been put step-by-step through your standard sales procedure without having been listened to or considered as an individual with individual needs. If you take the time and make the effort to truly understand your prospects' needs, and to properly apply your products to solving - or at least assisting them in meeting - that need, you must inevitably come to an agreeable outcome. Maybe they will sign now, maybe they will sign a little later. But you have a conclusion, and the chances are very high indeed it will be one that works for you.

“It is important not to force the sale because that is when you begin to over-promise and potentially under-deliver. Close the deal with a relationship and then maintain the relationship with great follow up and service because a good relationship is repeat business,” says Shaun Edmeston, Chief Executive Officer, Biznetwork.

The Close is not a technique
The Puppy Dog Close is a well-documented technique favoured by pet shop owners: the idea being that if you can get the customer cuddling an adorable puppy, they are bound to buy it. And some food and a basket and a toy or two and a blanket etc, etc. The Assumptive Close is one where you assume the answer is yes and rather than asking for the deal, you ask: “Would you like two, or just the one?”

There was a day when they probably worked, but as Jill Konrath reports (see ‘Why I Hate Closing Techniques' on Page 14), that day has passed. Techniques are akin to trickery and you cannot be an ethical, trustworthy salesperson with trickery. Know this: once they have worked you out, you aren't selling them anything.

“Wait for the buying signals. When the customer is ready they will let you know. They will ask questions on minor issues in the sale for clarification for instance, or lean forward and nod. Trust your own judgement here. Closing too early is a mistake; the customer will think you are too pushy. The more common mistake however, is continuing with the sale long after the customer is ready to buy,” says Richard Mulvey a leading sales trainer and speaker.

The Close is a natural outcome (Part II)
You can lie, cheat, cajole and twist arms all you want, and you may make some sales here and there. But you don't build a career in sales that way; in fact, far from it, you build a lousy reputation as shark and a shyster and you'll run yourself out of steam quickly. Want to know why the majority of salespeople fail to build brilliant careers? They engage their customers like enemy combatants rather than as partners aiming to achieve a common goal. Top Performers don't spend so much as a single second thinking: “how do I close this guy?” They spend their time thinking: “What is going to make the best sense here and deliver the best results?” The result: the customer hears a story that takes into account their needs and includes a practical method for resolving them. They see value and they buy value.

“The Close starts at the very beginning of the sales process and the potency of your close depends on the potency of your link,” says Clive Price, head of The Peer Group and a noted South African speaker and sales trainer. “What is a link? It's a piece of vital information that makes the prospect sit up and listen. It's not that salespeople can't close; it's that usually salespeople can't find a good a good link. A good link is one where the prospect says “I want to listen to you - you have earned the right to proceed”.”

The Close isn't always desirable
Coffee's for closers? Pffft! The coffee drinkers ought to be the relationship-builders and those who instil trust and goodwill, and you better be bringing them donuts too. Ultimately, sales operations and the companies they support survive and thrive on deals and so they guy that has great relationships but never gets a signed order isn't really all that useful. But the notion that you should close every customer, every time, is nothing but a fairy tale (no doubt with a unicorn in prominent position). Some sales take time and intelligent salespeople will recognise that those sorts of deals will fail to materialise if you are hard, heavy, and push for the close.

Understand the difference though: spending time and effort on a R10 000 deal may be uneconomical, but trying to drop-close a R1 000 000 deal is crazy. Take whatever time it takes. It is better to have it in six months than to not have it at all.

The Close is ultimately what it is all about
Your value to your sales team and to the organisation you support is as a generator of revenue. Make no mistake that if you fail to secure any deals, you will find yourself on the chopping block and no number of deep and meaningful customer relationships is going to save you from that. Relationships are great in sales and they are coveted by skilful salespeople only, and precisely, because they hold the promise of future deals with future revenue.

Learning to close isn't about finding some fancy way to speak, some fancy trick to use or anything else. It is about keeping your eye on the goal and always thinking about the best way to secure a customer's business. That means you must be able to analyse situations. You might be able to close small deals today but have to work harder on bigger ones. Learn to do both. But always remember that the goal is to secure that sale.

“Ask yourself: “When did I ask for the sale?” Really, did you ask? Remember the ‘close' is not a simple ‘ask at the end', but ‘mini-closes' at every step of the process. Sales is a dynamic process hence the review should take place as you proceed and not only at the end. Closing along the way means you obtain buy in to the next step, by confirming and relating back to key customer requirements, which you should have established in your first or second meeting,” says Chris Lazarus, Managing Executive: Strategic Accounts, Vodacom.

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[7 Jul 2008 15:47]

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