Are You Fumbling The Close?

Are you fumbling the close in the selling process?

Rest assured, you're not alone. Being proficient at closing sales is one of the most requested skills I'm asked to teach.

You can have the best product/service and you can even have the best price and still struggle to make money when you don't know how to close the sale. Like most things, there's a structure to the closing process. Once you understand the structure, closing gets easier.

Let's break down the structure in 3 easy steps so you're able to start applying this to your client interactions.

The Close: Closing In 3 easy steps:

First, remember, you're the expert and it's your job to take the lead in the closing process. You have to know where you are in the sales process and what comes next. Lewis Carroll wrote in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, “If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there.” People who wait for the prospect to take the lead in the selling process will likely wind up with no sale at all.

Second, once you've given pricing or provided a proposal, you must ask for the sale. There are a few possible ways to ask for the sale depending on the situation. Let's take one scenario and work with that for now. The scenario is you've provided the prospect a few possible options to meet their needs/solve their problem. Here's the close language, “Based on these options, which do you prefer?” 

Third, now you wait. You're not allowed to say anything else until your prospect responds. People who keep talking after they've issued the close language will likely talk themselves out of the sale. So with lots of care and kindness, I'm telling you to zip it.

You'll know what to do next based on the response of your prospect. More than likely, this is where you accept money for products/services.

Give it a try and see what happens. You'll likely find you're closing more business than ever because now you're leading the process.

Wishing you continued success this week.

Agree? Disagree? Have additional comments or thoughts on this article? Please share.