Closes are for shysters and charlatans

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Closer

Welcome to the discussion, vegemario.

Yours was the 41st post in this discussion/debate about the impact of closing in sales. Note that there hasn't been a single example of what a close would sound like.

Here's a close for you:

"Do you want to buy it?"

But, there are other threads within the "Closing The Sale" section of SalesPractice dedicated to discussing various ways to close, so I don't think it's wise to derail this thread to discuss specific "closes".

Skip Anderson

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilbert

Is there a training program for this or is that something that came with experience?

Well, experience yes, but I've been a student of sales because it's my livelihood.

To the best of my knowledge, there is no formal training program that focuses specifically on what I described. However, I have had an opportunity to study the work of David Sandler, and his system seemed to have some things in common with the thoughts I shared.

Most traditional sales training programs would not cover that.

The term Apparent Attitude was coined by me. The people who worked for me when I conducted in-house training had the highest conversion ratio in our industry in the geographic area we competed in. My company continues to hold that distinction, and I remain very active in sales myself.

It goes without saying that when you have extraordinary results, you are usually doing things different than the majority.

And that's a good thing.

Skip, your sample close is pretty weak: "Here's a close for you: "Do you want to buy it?" ". In fact, because of the way in which it would be positioned, the SR would pretty much have painted him/herself into a corner.

If the response is "yes" it works BUT if it's a "no", what is a SR to do? (I know the answer but I'm a little concerned for rookies.)

It's almost a "question to ask low reactors" versus a closing question.

Good luck & Good selling!
Pat

Quote:

Originally Posted by OUTSource Sales

Skip, your sample close is pretty weak: "Here's a close for you: "Do you want to buy it?" ".

Pat, I thought it was weak, too.

I'm impressed with your in depth understanding in these discussions.

I have a question for you, Pat. Can you see the subtle difference if you were to modify those six words that the respondent provided to "Do you want to do this?"

Post #8 did offer two examples of "closes". I had not read that entire post because of its length.

Joe Closer, you asked me if I could see the subtle difference if we modified those six words:
1. "Do you want to buy it?" OR,
2. "Do you want to do this?"

When you're an experienced SR, you work to keep your options open. You also hope to keep your questioning as open as possible (versus closed probes which tend to get 'yes/no' responses). Unfortunately, what you're suggesting remains another 'closed probe' with the same ultimate corner being painted.

If the SR were extremely optimistic about this prospect, he might just pull out an order blank and begin asking questions the answers to which get written into the order:
1. "what's the correct billing address?"
2. "who should I put down as the contact for ordering supplies?"
3. "...shall we deliver on Tuesday or Wednesday, which is better for you?"
4. "who should I speak to about credit information?"

If this approach raises any eye-brows, you can always respond assumptively with, "... I'm filling in the order..." to which you might get, "...but I didn't say I was buying...".

You know the drill but never apologize for doing your job because you can always diminish his discomfort by, "... I'm certain that your SR's are out there selling your prospects much the same way as I'm selling to you..."!

Good luck & Good selling!
Pat

	#43
OUTSource Sales "Top Sales Expert"	Weak closes Skip, your sample close is pretty weak: "Here's a close for you: "Do you want to buy it?" ". In fact, because of the way in which it would be positioned, the SR would pretty much have painted him/herself into a corner. If the response is "yes" it works BUT if it's a "no", what is a SR to do? (I know the answer but I'm a little concerned for rookies.) It's almost a "question to ask low reactors" versus a closing question. Good luck & Good selling! Pat

	#45
Joe Closer	I stand corrected. Post #8 did offer two examples of "closes". I had not read that entire post because of its length.

	#46
OUTSource Sales "Top Sales Expert"	Keep Your Selling Options OPEN Joe Closer, you asked me if I could see the subtle difference if we modified those six words: 1. "Do you want to buy it?" OR, 2. "Do you want to do this?" When you're an experienced SR, you work to keep your options open. You also hope to keep your questioning as open as possible (versus closed probes which tend to get 'yes/no' responses). Unfortunately, what you're suggesting remains another 'closed probe' with the same ultimate corner being painted. If the SR were extremely optimistic about this prospect, he might just pull out an order blank and begin asking questions the answers to which get written into the order: 1. "what's the correct billing address?" 2. "who should I put down as the contact for ordering supplies?" 3. "...shall we deliver on Tuesday or Wednesday, which is better for you?" 4. "who should I speak to about credit information?" If this approach raises any eye-brows, you can always respond assumptively with, "... I'm filling in the order..." to which you might get, "...but I didn't say I was buying...". You know the drill but never apologize for doing your job because you can always diminish his discomfort by, "... I'm certain that your SR's are out there selling your prospects much the same way as I'm selling to you..."! Good luck & Good selling! Pat

Closes are for shysters and charlatans

Closing the Sale