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Closing the sale, or closing for other kinds of buying action.Closing the sale: wrapping up by asking the prospect to buy or take some other kind of action toward an eventual sale. Before we get into that, though, we need to examine two basic strategies that are useful as you close --- that is, as you prompt the Prospect to take action. First sales strategy when closing the sale: Project the assumption that the Decision Maker will naturally agree. That's a reasonable assumption. After all, you have invested your time and best efforts in working with the Prospect to diagnose real needs. Then, drawing on your experience and expertise, you've proposed a sound, cost-effective way of filling those needs. Viewed in that context, it makes perfect sense that the Prospect will naturally choose to implement your recommendations. But as you close for the order, your confidence and enthusiasm must be contagious. Some suggestions on communicating that kind of positive expectation as you are closing the sale: ■ Project enthusiasm by your energetic, enthusiastic body language, particularly as you are closing the sale. Sit forward in the chair as people do when they are interested and excited. Talk a little faster and a little louder than normal (unless, of course, you're already notorious for talking too loud and fast). ■ As you close, project your confidence and positive expectations by the words you use, and how you say them. Avoid tentative expressions that communicate uncertainty. Instead, speak as though the other person has decided in your favor. Say things like, "When you install our system, not "If you install it." ■ Speak clearly and with energy in your voice. Project the sense that you are enthusiastic about your product or service, and that it is still exciting and new to you ... and, hence, that the Prospect should also find it just as exciting. Don't make the mistake of quickly mumbling through your sales message, or of reciting it mechanically. You may be saying things you have said a hundred times before, but don't let that show: it's all new to the Prospect. ■ Communicate your reasonable expectation that the sale will happen by your investment of time and effort. Subtle things can make significant impressions. For example, by taking the time to fill out the order blank before you arrive at the Prospect's office, you subtly signal your confidence that the decision will naturally be in your favor. ■ Before you meet with the Prospect, complete a detailed Implementation Plan or Action Plan for installing your product. This Implementation Plan --- simply what and when you will be installing or delivering under this proposed purchase --- will be a key tool as you are closing the sale. In this Action Plan, use actual calendar dates such as "August 7," rather than the generic formats like "Two weeks after ordering." The Prospect will be impressed that you bothered to think through the plan specifically for this organization. He may infer that since you invested this level of effort, not only were you confident that the product is right for the firm, but that you can be counted on to be organized, professional, and on-time. ■ Also, before that meeting, take the time to fill in an order blank with the Prospect's name, address, and similar details. That way, you won't have to waste time on getting that kind of stuff, and can then focus on issues like "how many," when do you need delivery," and the like. Notice that by asking these key issues, you are closing the sale in a subtle way that assumes the result will be an order. Second strategy when closing the sale: After you ask for action, be silent. Wait for a response. Once you ask, leave it up to the Prospect to respond . . . no matter how long the silence lasts. Once you ask for the order, stop talking. By asking for action, you put the ball in the Prospect's court. You have asked a question; now let the silence hang heavy while the Prospect decides how to respond. Your silence gives the Prospect time to think. It also adds pressure, because most people find silence uncomfortable. Resist the temptation to fill the silence. After all, it is the Decision Maker's own delay now that is causing this uncomfortable silence. The Prospect himself has the power to ease that pressure by responding to your question. The silence and resulting pressure will usually be on your side, as it forces the Prospect to make a decision to end that silence. If your presentation has made sense, then the Prospect will be pushed to say Yes. With the silence hanging, he may find it hard to come up with any good reason to say No. But even if he does say No when you close the sale, then you can probe to find the reasons for that hesitation. This gets into
the how-to of responding to objections.
Often, too, the pressure of the silence will cause the Prospect to blurt out the real reasons behind his hesitation. These underlying reasons may be quite different from what he has said earlier. For some people, saying "No" is a habit: it seems the easy way out, something they don't need to think about. No keeps the status quo, so No seems the safe thing to do, no risks, no rocking the boat. But your silence can break through that habit and force them to focus on the reality of the actual situation. A key point to keep in mind: closing the sale and responding to questions and objections are as close as two sides of a coin. That is, it's rare that you close for the sale without encountering some objections or questions. Yet, EVERY TIME you respond to an objection, immediately recycle back and close again. Another objection? Respond to it, then close again. For more guidance, check these links for related free sales tutorials and how-to articles:
CLOSING FOR THE SALE OR OTHER "BUYING ACTION"
HOW THE PROSPECT'S QUESTIONS AND EVEN OBJECTIONS MAY BE BUYING SIGNALS
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