Guide To Closing The Sale

Excerpts from Closing the Sale

 

Return To The Introduction

Chapter One
Never Close Again!

In This Chapter
Dispel the myths and misconceptions of closing
Expose the weak link in your sales process
Understand the limitations of a canned pitch
Discover the new definition of closing
Learn why you will never have to close again
How to deliver real value


It's been two hours since Todd began his meeting with Mr. Smith. The
conversation was flowing effortlessly. Todd delivered a stellar presentation
and did a wonderful job aligning his product's benefits with the prospect's
needs. Todd even confirmed with Mr. Smith that his product was a perfect fit
for him.

As Todd moved towards the end of his presentation, he noticed something
happening. His heart starts pounding faster. He felt the room getting
warmer. Todd's mind started racing as he searched for the words that needed
to leave his lips which would consummate the sale. That's right, Todd is
ready to ask for the order and wrap up this sale.

While Todd realized that it may be time to bring the sale to its conclusion,
something had him gripped. Todd froze, as he started questioning his actions
and next steps in his head. "Should I ask for the sale now? Will the
customer feel like I'm pressuring them? I don't want to be perceived as one
of those high pressure sales types. And I certainly don't want to scare them
off or blow the opportunity for a future sale. Maybe I'll wait a little
longer. Maybe I'll wait for the customer to tell me when their ready. Maybe
I'll tell them to call me when they are prepared to make a decision. Maybe
I'll check to see if there's any additional information they need from me.
Maybe I should call my wife and ask her if she wants me to pick up dinner."

Maybe Todd isn't exactly sure what closing is, let alone how to do it. Maybe
Todd is doing a better job teeing up this prospect for his competition to
take away from him.

"Maybe" doesn't bring in new sales. "Maybe" is a lot like using "hope" to
close more new business. ("I hope one of the prospects I met with this week
turns into a sale.") Neither of these are effective selling strategies.

In this first chapter, I'm going to coach you on developing a new meaning
for the phrase, "closing the sale." A definition that's going to make you
more comfortable, more secure and more confident than you've ever been
before when it comes to asking for the sale and turning that prospect into a
customer.

As we unravel and dispel the myths and misconceptions of closing, you will
also be introduced to a new and more powerful, yet natural approach to
consummating the sale that will pay back huge dividends.


"I'm a Great Closer!"

I remember years ago when I owned another business. We were in recruiting
mode again and on the search for talented salespeople. The ad started
running in Thursday's newspaper and ran throughout the weekend. "Full time
sales position. Salary plus commission. Please send resume to." was how the
ad read.

By Tuesday morning, I had completed reviewing all of the resumes. After
combing through about forty resumes (sorry, the hand written resumes were
immediately disqualified) there were ten applicants that I wanted to meet.

My sales manager began scheduling the interviews with these ten candidates.
After several hours on the telephone, he was able to schedule an interview
with eight of the ten people who sent me their resume. It looked like Friday
was the day for me to conduct all of my interviews.

Friday morning, 9 A.M. The first candidate arrived a few minutes early. She
thought it was an inside sales position. No fit.

10 A.M. The second candidate arrived over thirty minutes late and without a
valid excuse. I cancelled the interview. C'mon, if you can't even be here on
time for the interview, the proverbial writing is already on the wall. It
only gets worse from this point!

11 A.M. As I'm waiting for my next interview, the phone rings. It's my 11
A.M. appointment. "Hi, I am so sorry but I totally forgot about my meeting
with you. Can we reschedule?" I don't think so. Instead, I tried to help.
"Here's the name of my competition. I think they are hiring. Try giving them
a call."

It's now 12:00 in the afternoon. My next candidate was waiting in the lobby.
Before we sat down to discuss the position, she told me how difficult it was
for her to get to my office by bus. "Don't you have your own transportation?
I asked, wondering how she missed the minimum requirements needed for this
position that were clearly stated in the ad. "No, we don't provide you with
transportation. You'll need to have your own car and your own license. No,
you can't take a bus to and from your appointments." No fit here either.

1 P.M. My assistant puts a call through about the position. "Hi, I'm calling
a bout the job? Do you guys do any background checks or drug testing?"

"As a matter of fact, we do," I replied.

"Click." They hung up.

I glance at my clock. 3 P.M. Still no qualified candidates. It's beginning
to look bleak.

I'm staying positive. There are still a handful of candidates to meet with.
It's now almost 4:00 in the afternoon. I pulled out the resume of the next
candidate in preparation for our interview. "Frank Stone. Hmm. Solid
experience. This one looks real good," I thought. I walked into the lobby
and introduced myself to the fifth candidate of the day. Well presented,
looks the role. A definite maybe.

Our conversation couldn't have gone better. Frank was an extrovert all the
way. He was funny, good natured, and spoke well; the type of person you want
to be representing your company. So far, Frank seemed to possess all of the
characteristics of a top salesperson. It was time for us to discuss his
sales experience and training.

And that's when he said it. The four words that made my stomach knot up. The
four words that the promising salespeople of yesterday used to tell me. The
four words that every sales manager thinks they want to hear. The same four
words that have become a gauge to help me assess the potential of every
candidate.

"I'm a great closer."

Another ten minutes passed. We exchanged more pleasantries and I concluded
the conversation. I shook Frank's hand and thanked him for coming out to
meet with us. After Frank left, I reluctantly crossed his name off my list
of potential candidates and continued my search for the next sales champion
that I could bring aboard to join our team.

No Closers Please

Now, dear reader, I hear you thinking, "C'mon, Keith. It's too early in the
book for you to try that Jedi Mind Trick on me. Why title your book,
"Closing the Sale" if you're telling me this is not what I'll be learning
how to do? Don't you want to be a closer? I mean, isn't that the point?
Aren't companies looking for strong closers when they hire salespeople?"

Let me clarify to reduce some confusion. By using the strategies outlined in
this book, you will learn how to turn more prospects in to clients than you
ever have before. That, I promise you. You will learn how to convert more
prospects into clients better than any self proclaimed "great closer"
without any pressure, manipulation, confrontation or having to use old
school closing techniques. You are going to discover exactly what you need
to do to bring in more sales. However, you're just not going to have to
"close" the prospect in order to do so.

What Exactly is Closing?

"I'm a good closer."

I've heard this or some variation of this claim countless times from
salespeople. "I'm a strong closer." "Just call me the hammer." "One call
does it all." "I can close anyone." "I will close hard when I need to." "I
start closing as soon as I begin talking with a prospect." "My salespeople
call me in when they need to close the deal."

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