If you are wanting to increase your sales, one strategy may be to improve your ability to close the sale……When you’ve gone through the selling process - identified the customer need / problem, successfully built rapport, presented the correct solution together with an enticing value proposition …….. but your customer “still wants to think about it”. If you’re having trouble converting interest into an actual sale, here’s some tips that might help you to close ……
1. Ask for the sale
This may seem incredibly obvious, but you would be shocked at how many people deliver a great sales presentation only to balk at the opportunity to simply ask for the sale, instead hoping the client themselves will take the initiative and offer to purchase right then and there.
As a salesperson, it’s your job to inspire action on the part of the buyer, and the first step is recognising when to actually ask for the sale. When you've invested considerable time in prospecting and qualifying leads, it is no time for being bashful when it comes time to asking the client for their business
Don’t be afraid to be direct with your request …… you might perhaps say something like, “If there are no further questions or concerns, would you like me to go ahead and get the paperwork ready for you?”
2. Selling and closing are different
The reality is that selling and closing are two different animals. There are many salespeople who are great at the selling part -- showing an understanding of the customer’s needs and problem, persuasively presenting a solution describing the relevant features and benefits of a particular product. But these same salespeople can struggle with the close.
One way of looking at it is this - selling the product is where the value proposition is made, closing the deal is where the agreement is made. Chances are, if you struggle with closing, you're not asking for the sale at all, or, you’re not doing it confidently. But you must recognise when your client is ready.
Practice both your sales pitch AND your closing techniques.
3. Ask if they're ready to make a decision
This is a great way to gauge if your client is ready to pull the trigger. It could be that you’re making progress, and your client is starting to buy into what you're selling, you just haven't taken them far enough down the road yet.
By asking if they're ready to make a decision, you can determine if it's time to close, or if you need to spend more time with selling. If you get a "no”, then you need to probe and listen carefully to their concerns - you might need to be highlighting some different features and benefits - and revisit the close later.
Be careful of pushing for a close too early - you may trigger resistance and lose the rapport and trust that you’ve built with your customer. At the end of the day, it’s no good closing a sale at the expense of building a long term relationship with that customer. Multiple purchases gained from that customer over time, will outweigh the value of any quick single transaction.
4. Be prepared for objections
As a salesperson, you must be prepared for the client’s objections. You've probably heard a few of them, such as "we don't have the budget for it," or "I'm afraid I can't make a decision on this today," but there are many more.
By deftly probing a customer’s objections, you’ll be able to get straight to the point, which is either a sale or a frank admission that you haven’t done enough to sell them on the product - which may mean you haven’t properly identified their needs and priorities. Either way, you’ve avoided simply being blown off without getting any vital information, which is what happens when salespeople aren’t able to handle objections.
5. Ask them to just “give it a try”
This is a favourite technique of sales expert and author Brian Tracy. If the customer seems interested but is hesitant on pulling the trigger, there's a good chance he or she really likes the product but has some doubts about budget or checking with their boss first.
A good way to deflect all of that is to remove the fear of commitment. Tell them to just give it a no-obligation try. Let them take it away with them right now, for an agreed trial period.
6. Keep a positive mindset
It’s easy to get discouraged if you don’t make a sale, but remember: The average salesperson closes a fraction of the time, and even rockstar closers typically don’t sell much more than half the time, so striking out is just part of the game. By staying positive, you can improve your close rate with clients. Customers want to buy from people who are positive -- your confidence makes them trust your company and therefore, the product.
If a sale falls through, turn your attention to the next opportunity, and don’t allow yourself to dwell too long on the past. By all means, take some time to reflect and assess whether there are are any lessons to be learned. But then it’s time to move forward and not waste time looking back in the rear view mirror.
