Written by Sean McPheat |
We had an enquiry last month from a sales manager who asked us to work with his sales team for half-a-day on closing techniques.
He said his team was good at relationship-building but when it came to the close, they needed help.
They simply didn’t know what to say to get the order without it appearing to put pressure on the prospect.
One of my training consultants said to him that the problem couldn’t be solved in just half-a-day with some closing tricks, tips and techniques.
Instead, the team needed to do everything else right in the sales process so that the close was simply a natural next step in the process.
If you have done everything right before getting to the close, it really should be straightforward.
Here are 5 phrases that you can use to ensure you get a positive response from the prospect.
But let me emphasise that you need to have built rapport, established a good relationship and covered off all the needs of the prospect before you use any of these phrases.
If you simply try to close without those pre-requisites, you run the risk of, at best, getting objections raised and, at worse, getting a flat ‘no’.
“If you decide to go ahead now, you will start saving/improve profits/increase production (whatever the agreed benefits are) as quickly as possible”
This increases the urgency and shows what the prospect will get as a result of their decision.
“We’ve agreed that (the product) would be a good fit for your company. Do you agree?”
You’ve made the statement that makes your product stand out and it seems a natural progression to agree with your suggestion.
“You said you would like to see results within three months. For that to happen, we should order and deliver within the next two to three weeks. If you sign today, I can get the paperwork completed and we can start. How does that sound?”
You’re helping the prospect make plans for the future when they will start reaping the rewards you have discussed.
“What would you like to happen next?”
Sometimes the simple ‘ask what they want to do’ is best.
If you’ve done everything right up to now, there should be no reason why they don’t say ‘let’s go ahead’.
“I suggest we move ahead and start the process. That way, your business will see the benefits as soon as possible. If there’s nothing holding us back, let’s get going”
Again, if you’ve built up trust, shown the benefits of your solution, dealt with all the issues and got the prospect to buy into the results of your ideas, the natural next step is for them to say ‘yes’.
The sales manager I mentioned at the start agreed to our idea for us to run a sales development programme for his team and his company are now seeing results.
So don’t try to by-pass the process and think you can close without the other steps. Today’s buyers are much savvier than that.
Our Sales Training will provide you with the sales techniques and strategies that you’re looking for. Our Selling Skills Training are interactive and practical. If you’re a Sales Manager then check out our Sales Management Training.
Or take a look at our full portfolio of Sales Training Courses.
Happy Selling!
Sean
Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training
Updated on: 23 May, 2018
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