Great Closes

Gold Calling

In another thread there was reference to the fact that no one posted examples of closes. And, as I am relatively new in this forum, it may have been done but I cannot find a recent thread on the topic, so if has, let's do it again!

I will provide one I love as a starter, which works for providing sales services, including sales training. It is also very useful for a new business that does not have references yet. This usually comes after a good presentation that leads to a request for references;

"Mr. Prospect, I would be pleased to provide references for you. However, I think I have an easier solution."

"What's that?"

"Well, Mr Prospect, the thing about references are, they take time to verify and, what is more important is, it's too easy to get your friends to give you recommendations, meaning they can be forged.

My proposal could not be simpler; The best way for you to prove whether we can do for you what we say we can is to have us go ahead on the basis that if you are not completely satisfied, you will not be presented an invoice. This way you have a no risk opportunity to guarantee you are going to get serious value from us and that we are people of our word."

The above only works if you KNOW that they are seriously interested. If the request was one that was not a sign of real interest you had a bad sales call and this close will not work. Otherwise it is a very low key way to get started. Especially if one service could lead to more and/or bigger projects and more money.

What is your favorite close or closes?

FollowUpMaster

The best close is building a trust relationship, and value in your product; before you ask for the close. Many salespeople are bad closers, simply because they ask to early, or ask wrong (a "Yes or No" question instead of an "Either/Or Question").

I help people own cars for a living; and the two closes I use the most:

(With a reassuring smile...) "Jim, looks like we found the perfect vehicle for you, would you like to title this with your Middle Intial or Your Full Middle name?"

and

"Jim, looks like we found the perfect vehicle for you, the paperwork won't take long; would you like something Hot or Cold to drink while I wrap things up?"

Here's why... most customers don't say "My middle initial." or "Cold, please"; but once in a while they do. When they don't the objection is usually welcomed out, because I ask for the close politely. My best advice: focus on being giving, but be in control of how you give.

If you ask questions that are "yes or no" like "Would you like to take this home today?" You are cutting you closing ratio in half, just by asking a question where both answers aren't "yes" to something small. What's easier to say yes to: spending $20,000 on a vehicle, or deciding if you'd like something hot or cold to drink? The key words..."while I wrap things up."

Skip Anderson

I think what you're pointing out is that you prefer an "assumptive close" versus a "direct question close". Assumptive closes can be very powerful, as you point out. Personally, I sold tons of home improvements back when I was selling them by asking, "If you have a phone I can use, I'll get your installation scheduled." If they handed me the phone, they had purchased.

Direct question closes (the "yes/no" questions that you refer to) can also be very effective depending upon your selling situation. I would add that direct question closes must be closed questions (can be answered with a "yes" or "no", and not open-ended questions).

Skip Anderson

__________________
Selling to Consumers
B2C Sales Training

FollowUpMaster

Thanks for the add-on, Skip... I agree, an assumptive close is always the best first close. Another one I use, similar to yours is: "Jim, would you mind grabbing your proof of insurance and registration on your trade-in vehicle; I am going to need it to complete the paperwork." Like you said, if they grab it; it is a commitment to purchase.

I hope this helps others.

Keep in mind, though; follow-up is key. If you turn every contact you meet into a sale today, and if not; a referral source in the future; it is the only way to acheive a 100% closing ratio.

Gold Calling

Te copier sales man might say; "Well, we have not talked about where the new machine would go. Since it is slightly larger then the old one, where would you put it?"

That would put an end to the questions.

OUTSource Sales

Gold, the copier close was probably more like, "which delivery day works better for you, Monday or Wednesday?" OR, "... who will be responsible for ordering suppliers, Theresa or Ludmilla?".

The age-old "Parntership Close" (wherein the prospect is defecting the discussion):
>> Prospect: " ... I'll talk this over with my partner and get back to you ...";
>> SR: "Well, it certainly makes sense to include your partner in the dialogue, doesn't it?"
>> Prospect: " ... certainly...";
>> SR: "I'm confident that you're being completely serious on this subject ... when will your partner be able to discuss this with you?".
>> Prospect: " ... he'll be in the office on Monday but he should be calling tonight...";
>> SR: "In order to ensure that none of the dynamics of our discussion change, I'm filling out a paperwork for the system and I'd ask you to simply authorize here ... where you'll note that it's subject to cancellation on Monday when your partner returns ... that should leave you enough time to communicate with him, shouldn't it?"

Good luck & Good selling!
Pat

__________________
OUTSource Sales Consulting

OUTSource Sales

Just a quick test to clean-up my signature.

Also an 'FYI', when Xerox copiers got larger, they typically required more power. This frequently implied elevated shipping costs and fees for electricians. Sometimes it required 'X' sq.ft. of dedicated storage for supplies & parts!

These were incremental costs to the customer and were ALWAYS monitored by the Branch Manager (because they hit his P&L at month-end)!

Good luck & Good selling!
Pat

Gold Calling

Interestingly Pat, mid volume copiers have gotten smaller, at least in terms of the footprint. So this close may not be inapplicable any longer, though I have not sold a copier for 13 years ... so I don't really know.

I love some of the closes in the insurance industry, they are terrific. But rather than state one, I would like to add to this thread in a certain way; there is a perception behind the notion of the close is a non event. That if you did your job correctly then it is not really a close at all and, sometimes this is totally true. But, and there is a BIG but, it cannot always be true.

Sales and closing discussions plus this topic of CHANGES in people 'these days' all seem to miss a very simple point. We are not closing PEOPLE, we are closing a person (far more than a board or partners). Each individual is different, some will tell you what is on their mind, others are more taciturn, still others don't really know what is bugging them.

Each situation is different. In some situations it is incorrect to say we did not uncover enough needs and/or establish the relationship right, that is why the close is an event. As that is simply not possible.

Take Pat's example - "I have to talk with my partner." This seems reasonable and it is. The buyer gets caught up in it. The sales person does too and sometimes, when there is competition, the other guy shows up on Monday when they are both there and walks with the order, just because the sales person on Friday did not give the out in the contract, like Pat's close.

This is one simple example only. There are many types of people and they are react slightly differently to us. That is why it is necessary to know 7 to 10 closes, even though you might only use 5 of them infrequently.

The largest sales study ever done sent an observer with the rep on over 30,000 sales calls. And this organization is one that it members beat their breasts about the process not having been conducted properly if the close is an event. After careful questioning, one of the VP's admitted to me that there are indeed examples where the prospect is the type where there is no way to know whether or not they are ready to buy.

I think selling is the greatest profession because we have to be psychologists, customer service geniuses, entrepreneurs and experts in many fields of business to tailor the sale to that business ... in other words, because we wear so many hats. However, no matter how good you are with your psychological hat, you will run into prospects that are not as good as you in business or hard to read. That is when the close is critical, as well as situations like the PARTNER ...

Think on this for a moment, assume the partner Pat was talking to did not know that his other partner, the one he wanted to speak to before buying, was talking with another competitor on Monday morning. Also let's assume they - the partners - did not get caught up on Friday's discussion that Pat had. And assume he waited rather than trying the close with "the out clause".

If Pat did not close, and the decision was one where two competitors were nearly dead heats and the other parters liaison with the competing sales rep ended with that sharp person doing the same close ... is it possible that you would have lost the business? Yes it is. Why? because you did not ask for it!

At POSTMORTEMSI do not know how many times we have come down to asking the rep; "Did you actually ask for the business" and had the reason be "No" as apposed to anything else. In complicated sales situations this is common.

The issue with closing is people do not understand it. It is not a slick thing, it is a professional way of finding out if the buyer is committed when you are not certain AND/OR; it is also a way to lock the competition out of the game AND/OR; a way to stop the buyer from asking another question AND/OR: it is a way of finding out what else is on the prospect's mind that you can not uncover through open probes when closed probes also do not lead you to decipher the remaining issue.

Closing is a skill for professionals. Unfortunately it is also abused by those who did not make the effort to learn it first and do it very well when needed, so the prospect is not put off. In other words; the concept has been given a black eye by amateurs.

If you want to be a pro you must practice. Listen to audios to hear the nuisances, offer to Role Play at sales meetings, have your significant other be the buyer or just practice alone ... and make sure you do this again and again and again till you can almost do it while you sleep. Then, when you need to, you will have that professional approach ready. And the prospect will not be put off, they will buy or tell you why they are not willing to buy. And the later gives you what to go on to get to the close of business, whether that be an order or not.

Lastly, what is terrible is that their are trainers who take advantage of this amateurish image to train people not to learn closing. Big time closers simply role their eyes when they hear this idiotic ideology they share. We also realize that a whole generation of sales people are being mislead. Asa rel pro, the thought of this hurts - you have the right to know better and your very livelihood depends on that right too.

OUTSource Sales

For anyone who has gone thru PSS first, then, SPIN, you'd get the feeling that there was NO opportunity to close. In point of fact, during the 'needs pay-off' stage of SPIN, the close is sometimes not required.

For a warhorse like me, that's pretty difficult to envision.

In order for a close to be effective, it needs to be delivered in the context of the discussion at the time. Here are a few illustrations:
1. "I'll Think it Over" close:
>> Prospect: "I'll think it over"
>> SR: "Mr. Rottweiller, I'm certain that you wouldn't want to spend your valuable time thinking over my proposal unless you were genuinely interested and felt it was important, would you?" [Let him off-the-hook ... he thinks you're going to let up] "Now just to clarify for my thinking, what part of my proposla is it you want think over? [DON'T PAUUSE OR EVEN TAKE A BREATH] is it the price? The installation time lines? Is it ... [The key is to go through all of the elements of the proposed sales until he acknowledges what is standing in the way of a decision today. At this point in time, you have the final objection. Close on this being the final objection.] "So if I can have everything running by January 28th, we can proceed with the agreement?"

2. "Final Objection" close [after having provided one objection after another]:
>> Prospect: "Frankly, I don't believe what you've implied in terms of savings."
>> SR: [Re-phrase the objection in the form of a question] "If I understand you correctly, you're concerned that your firm won't enjoy the level of savings which we've touched on during our discussions?"
>> Prospect: "YES, that's it!"
>> SR: "Then, that's the one and only concern which you have. If I can set your mind at rest on this one point, that's the only thing standing between us, is that right? [Provide the proof source, close the order!]

3. "Sharp Angle" close:
>> Prospect: "Could you get it up and running within 3 months?"
>> SR: "If I committed to install by mid-March, would you place the order now?" [The idea, here, is to replace the temptation for the SR to answer 'yes' to such questions with a closing question: if we could ... would you buy it?]

4. "Order Blank" close;
5. "Minor Premise" close;
6. "Alternate Choice" close;
7. "Puppy Dog" close;
8. "Ben Franklin/Balance Sheet" close;
9. "Lost Sale" close (when you've really tried everything else);

I have the detail on all of these, in fact, I have a session which has evolved over numerous sessions with the sales team.

Good luck & Good selling!
Pat

Gold Calling

Excellent Pat.

Here you see Pat's practical examples. For instance, the SHARP ANGLE close not only stops the rep from saying yes but if they did say yes the buyer would ask another question - which is my my last post is referred to a reason for closing being; "a way to stop the buyer from asking another question". You can see how the rephrasing in (2), the "i'll think it over" close, does the same thing.

Look at what Pat has shown us, he can easily talk about 9 closes, which is approximately 4 times more than the average sales rep. He also shows us that in practice there is no such thing as having "established the relationship right" and therefore not needing to close because we are not talking about numbers or averages, we are talking about individual buyers, each slightly different in their values and chemical make-up.

Sure, sellers like Pat have as many non issue closing events as those that are an issue. But what separates Pat and other real big time closers from the crowd is when the prospect is not a walk in the park close he knows what to do, which does not mean all of them close even though the right approach is applied professionally. But some do and that increases his income dramatically. Of course, he would never try to sell a product or service the prospect does not need, why bother? There are too many prospects out there to act unprofessionally.

Closing is a great skill. No question. One that everyone needs to practice. And you can see that Pat's practice came, not only in application, but as a leader, a sales manger who taught others. And "to teach is to learn twice".

New Age selling schools try to explain it away. Serious research gives us averages - and they are correct - but they are only averages, they do not represent every selling situation (no all encompassing statements do in selling). Poor SR's have provided almost everyone alive of terrible examples of closing and weight as to why "selling can be unprofessional" but the truth is that selling is a great profession.

Are you good enough? If you are talented, will you work hard enough to master it?

By the way, we owe Pat a debt of gratitude, unlike me where I have a sales training company and could be said to be gaining prospects by working at answering posts in this forum, the fact that he lays it on the line in salespractice.com for no benefit other than to help everyone is truly outstanding. Here-here!

If you ever need a pro as a wing man on a complicated sale Pat, give me a call, I would walk into any office with you. Not that you need the help!