Closing a sale takes more than ingenuity and effort In today’s competitive world. Sales teams must develop a strong understanding of tried and tested closing techniques and tactics if business success is meant to be optimized.
The modern world poses modern challenges, especially in a highly informed society. But there are also newer techniques that have been developed to solve these modern challenges. Any salesperson or rep knows that “closing” is the most crucial moment in making a sale and knowing how to close a sale seamlessly, smoothly, and quickly is one of the most important aspects of any salesperson’s skill set.
The “closing” moment determines whether prior efforts will amount to anything, apart from having a large impact on both the success of the rep and the business as a whole. Regardless of how customers and clients differ from each industry, scale, and size, the ever-reliable salesperson should have a ready repertoire of sales closing techniques for every kind.
Open With A Fever Pitch
Typically, a salesperson gets less than two minutes to explain how their business will benefit the prospect. With the attention span of prospects in an ultra-modern world diminishing at lightning pace, you need to open with a red hot fever pitch. We, as salespeople, do not have the luxury of an hour-long presentation geared towards selling a specific product or service.
Prospects simply do not have enough time to listen to long sales pitches unless endorsed otherwise by a well-known celebrity. Until then, you have 100 words or less to come up with the perfect elevator pitch. Talk about the power of persuasion.
The first few minutes of a business conversation determine the direction your interactions will take. A good sales pitch needs to convey the intended message concisely in a compelling manner. If the sales pitch is on point, you are on the right path to making profitable sales in your attempt to convince the prospect about the superiority of the service you are offering.
A great opening often leads to an epic close when done the right way. With a fever pitch opening, the ingress towards a promised met and fulfilled is not that far behind. Now that you’ve accounted for the importance of a killer opening, you can now learn the 5 power closer techniques.
Closing Time
With the promise of great openings comes an epic close. The final step is at hand when a customer decides to purchase the product or services offered by the sales rep. A gigantic effort has been made, and this moment is its crowning glory.
Make no mistake, the closing is far more difficult than the opening pitch yet by wll means, the most significant aspect of the entire process. Hence, these 5 power closer techniques should be mastered by all salespeople who want to reach their target.
Technique Number 1: The Assumptive Close
One of the most popular closing techniques, the assumptive close is enacted with an implication that a deal is almost done. Through positive assumption, the salesperson “assumes” the sale is a given and carefully insinuates that the next step for the customer is to make a related decision regarding quantity or delivery time.
Leading questions like “How many would you like to buy?” or “Would you prefer to take delivery this week or next?” are common pre-emptive questions that lead to the assumptive close. This approach is subtle in laying the groundwork for customer affirmation, if and when played right down to the delivery and tone of making a sale.
Technique Number 2: The Now or Never Close
This close is based in a sense of urgency, so it might include a benefit seemingly tailored to the customer in question. The aim is to inspire a purchase there and then, and this might mean implying that the product or service is the last one available at the price you’re offering.
Another way to do it would be to offer a discount for customers who sign up on the day, or to offer a benefit that seems unusual, like being put to the front of the list for delivery, or receiving a complementary service as a ‘one-off’.
Technique Number 3: The Soft Close
The soft close is a low-pressure technique that asks questions highlighting benefits, with a view to offering more information. At the same time, it helps reps to gather more information about needs and pain points. For instance, a rep might ask, “If this training program was able to reduce staff turnover by 75% and increase productivity by the same, would you want to know a little more about it?”
The question is relatively indirect and should make the customer feel comfortable to agree to the next step.
Technique Number 4: The Question Close
This close comes about through a series of probing questions designed to evoke desire in the customer while quashing any objections likely to arise. The sale could actually be closed using a question, which is good as it allows any outstanding concerns to be aired while the commitment is being made. It also allows for further pitching if there are concerns.
Technique Number 5: The Summary Close
The clue is in the name: sales reps must reiterate and summarise all of the benefits and selling points of the product or service before attempting the closing question. Using the points of interest or agreements expressed by the customer throughout the conversation, you package up all the attractive aspects in one sentence so they can visualise the deal.
It might look something like this: “So, you like the idea of the 10 piece professional kitchen set with the power juicer and free blender. The money-back guarantee gives you complete freedom, and the free next day delivery means you’ll have it by lunchtime tomorrow. What sort of time would work for your Goods In?”
Mastering these 5 power closing techniques will save you a lot of time and disappointment while making your mark in the sales domain. Know these by heart and you are guaranteed to be well on your way to being a skilled salesperson.
Meanwhile, you can learn more about sales, marketing and the power of CRM here at Mirku!
