Closing Help

Hello,

I have a client I have been trying to get now since November. He is a buyer for a large chain. We have developed samples for him and I have had multiple conversations with him, however he seems to be procrastinating - or I havent closed yet.

This is one of the companies that has no contract so I should be able to work my way in. The company has 18k employees and the uniform program would cost them probably around 500k.

He currently uses someone else but he is not under contract and would like some closing ideas or what I could do better to get this deal.

Thanks. -Jakobi

Have you tried to ask for the sale?

I would probably set the close with a few yes-set closes, then ask for the sale. This will flush out any objections then you can overcome them, and move on with the process. -jrboyd

Ok I have a list of the benefits I will reiterate when I call him today and am coming up with answers to objections.

He has been procrastinating or not pulling the trigger.

If he says:

I need to discuss this more with some other people.

Should I just say:

Thats great what exactly are you looking to discuss?

Then answer his questions more.

Hows this for a close:

If you place an order with me by the end of the week I can knock of $.50 a shirt for you and lets start this relationship. -Jakobi

Thanks. Thats what I was thinking. I want to go through the specifications of the shirt and briefly mention the other benefits so hes agreeing with me.

Then close. He has been procrastinating and not sure if hes just pricing other companies or not. -Jakobi

So many sales people sit back and wonder why a prospect is not purchasing from them, when the best way to find out is to point blank ask them.

Sometimes the prospect isn't going to purchase from you, however, they don't want to tell you because they don't want to hurt your feeling.

Ask him, what would it take to get you as a customer?

You need to get to the root of the problem and either get them to purchase from you or move on to the next. -Jim Klein

True, I like that. Maybe I am afraid of losing this or just knowing it was never there. I feel like I should be able to get this deal. I am calling him back today and have been preparing a good plan of action when I call him. -Jakobi

Actually I should use this in the last case scenario,

Hows this for a close:

If you place an order with me by the end of the week I can knock of $.50 a shirt for you and lets start this relationship.

Whats a good close I should use initially?

I was thinking either an alternative close or assumption. All i need from him is either an email or something in writing stating his initial order amount. -Jakobi

"Mr. Customer, just to make sure we are on the same page, the samples I sent you were what you were looking for right? And you do see how our service would be benificial for you right? Great! In that case should I address the Invoice to you personally or is there someone else I should put on it?" -jrboyd

Ok I am getting a few different closes together.

Hows this, its fine right?

______ we can start our business relationship in two ways. I will email you the details of the relationship then you can send me a purchase order or simply reply to the email.

Which one works for you? -Jakobi

You gotta corner this guy/lady & uncover their Dominate Buying Motive

Find out, what is important to him/her

Ask him, What is it going to take to make this a good buy, & be prepared to address their concerns

Why even consider messing around with your margin, or giving the shirt off your back....all puns intended.

You gotta peel back any resistance like layers on an onion & find out what their objections really are. Buyers are Liars, they will throw you curve balls to buy time & avoid making a decision.

Is price really an objection, did you sell the value of "you", what you are bringing to the table in terms of service & commitment

To keep this short, a lot of folks don't sell value & take the low road, the easy route & try to sell price rather than value. -DIAMONDSTAR

How about this:

"Aside from the other people you have to talk to, how do YOU PERSONALLY feel about my proposal?" (you want to find out if he is just giving you a stall, or if he is a supporter of your proposal.

Assuming he gives a positive response, then continue probing to see if you can be in on that discussion with the "others." -Skip Anderson

Jakobi, I would make up your mind to do exactly what Skip has suggested, word for word. There's your answer. No paraprasing. Just do it. -Ace Coldiron

I agree with Skip......I certainly wouldn't say "Thats great what exactly are you looking to discuss?"

This client more than likely isn't the decision maker here. Getting a response about how he feels about the product is important in determining if he is on your side & as well if he is stalling.

Getting closer to the decision makers is where you want to be & preferably involved in the decision making process more directly.

In greatest likely hood, this client is not only presenting your samples but samples from others. He might be the buying agent, though he still has to sell your product to the ones that determine what checks go where. -DIAMONDSTAR

Your proposed closings frequently include a statement about "the business relationship." While I agree that's what you're doing, I wouldn't make the decision sound so dramatic. Call it an order, an invoice, or something in business terms. The start of the relationship is obvious, but think about it from your prospect's perspective. The language you choose is obviously very important and nuances actually make a big difference.

Stephen -sfrenkel

Excellent point Stephen. -Skip Anderson

Thats is great, thanks Skip.

True. -Jakobi

In my opinion I think what I would do at this point is simply ask him this; Mr Client, I have developed samples for you and we have had several good conversations and I believe i have shown you I can handle your account and save you money. So, what is it going to take to get your business?

MP -MPrince

do not be so quick to throw money at them.That is the very last option to give money away. the last ditch effort close mr client what will it take to finalize this and do it. The last last last effort .
I like Jims message of simply ask for the business. -rich34232

Definitely wouldn’t throw money at him. See too many sales staff try that approach. In short what happens is the prospective customer asks themselves “Why didn’t he give me his best price upfront?”, and you end up losing credibility.

Something to consider is breaking down the (Cost)500K divide by divide by (Employees) 18K then divide by Longevity, and get your cost per day. This is the number of days your product will last then and do a comparative analysis against your competitions.

Something like this, NB; I a using a year longevity. 500,000/18,000 = 27.77 = unit cost
27.77 / 365 = (only) .08 cents per day per employee. .08 cents per day x 18,000 x number of days more of longevity = cost savings.

Superimpose why your competitor’s product is failing, ie fades, tears, rips, stains, etc (sorry I am not a mercantilist)

Demonstrate why your product is better, ie better quality dyes (Won’t fade), double stitched (Won’t tear), higher thread count (Won’t rip),Scotchguard (Won’t stain), etc.

Take these attributes and apply towards the cost and then apply them towards the number of days of additional longevity, & rewards ie professional appearance for less, which is the anticipated savings your client will realize and appreciate.

If you apply this formula correctly, and you can support the facts, and build value in your product, you can demonstrate to your customer why he going to save not just a couple of thousand dollars from you discounting your product, but why he is going to save thousand(s) of dollars from buying a better quality product. -DIAMONDSTAR

I agree with most of what diamond said. However I wouldn't go into why your competitor's products are failing. At least I wouldn't word it that way. To easy for the consumer to mistake that for trash talking the competition. There was an intresting article posted about how buyers are more in a loss preventive mind-set. What this means is that instead of selling what the customer will gain from your product you should concentrate on what he would lose while going with the competition. You say the same message but different wording.
Prime example from car sales:

I sell Chevy, and a huge competition for us is Ford.

"Mr. Customer, the Ford F-150 is a great truck! It's even priced similiar to the Silverado. If you do decide to go with the F-150, you will be losing out on the GM 5 year/100,000 mile warranty, the G-80 Locking Rear Differential, and 1 year free Onstar that is standard in all Silverado's."

And I leave it at that. I could say:
"The Silverado has the GM 5 year/100,000 mile warranty, the G-80 Locking Rear Differential, and 1 year free Onstar, which the Ford doesn't offer."
and it would send the say the same thing, it's just how it's presented.

It has worked quite effectively for me, and about 80% of the customers who mention the F-150, quickly forget about it and don't even want to go see it after I am done. My entire presentation has been developed around the loss preventive mind-set rather than the Advantage Gain mindset that most sellers use, and I have noticed a dramatic change in responses.

Just my 2 cents -jrboyd

I agree with jr...NEVER put your competition down. It makes you look very unprofessional. -MPrince

Hi Jr.... Sounds almost like movie :)

I'm on your side in this discussion of knocking the competition. The competition is there. My son also gets distressed because other companies DO have products priced less than ours... and there is nothing much we can do about it and I keep trying to calm him with the advise that being cheaper doesn't mean that you lose any business. If it was only price, there'd be only one company.

I like your approach to the competition. It's positive, specifies a feature/benefit, and more importantly, subliminally, subconciously, or running in the background, there is the "fear" of not having something if you make the "wrong" decision.

Aloha... :cool: -rattus58

You are right JrBoyd, we don’t want to trash talk our competitors, (Which is not the intent of the post) it shows extremely poor decorum. We can create a win win circumstance where diplomacy is imperative, which is most cases, as well create a positive overtone which may not have been aptly suggested.



j.po -DIAMONDSTAR

Tom,
Price is rarely the KEY reason a customer buys. I can't tell you how many times a customer has bought a vehicle from me, even though we were $1000 or more over what the competition offered. So if we can't beat the competition in price, and the products are the EXACT same, what is a $1000 dollar reason that they should by from you? Answer is simple. You are that $1000 dollar reason. Not only do you have to do a $30,000 presentation ona $20,000 product, you have to give a $100,000 presentation on yourself. How much do you think your services are worth? How much does the customer believe your services are worth? If you cant get the customer to believe that you are worth $100,000 dollars why would they pay more for the exact same product?
SELL Yourself!! -jrboyd

Amen brothers and sisters... amen... sell yourself long... :)

Aloha... :cool: -rattus58