Closing is a Non-Event

I often hear prospective clients complain that their salespeople are having a hard time “closing the sale.” The fact of the matter is that if salespeople do a good job of qualifying upfront, the presentation and closing step is the easiest part. Before we ever do a proposal or present to a prospective customer three areas of qualification must be covered:

1. Pain - Motive For Change: We need to uncover our prospect’s pain (their emotional buying reasons), what their pain is costing them in dollars and cents, and how that pain is affecting them personally.
2. Investment: We need to uncover what our prospect’s budget is, who controls it, and whether it is available to be spent to get rid of their pain.
3. Decision Making Process: We need to get out on the table everything about our prospect’s decision process, who will make the decision, when and how they make it (is it a committee, two partners, or whatever).

Not until we have answers on all three issues can we even think about presenting. Once we know there is pain, there are funds available to get rid of the pain, and who is going to make the decision, we then need to have an agreement with the prospect that when we present our solution that they will be able to make a decision, one way or the other, to go ahead or not. This last step, the pre-commitment agreement, minimizes “think it overs” and stalls.

Sometimes, companies will tell salespeople they need to check with a couple of other companies and the competition before making a decision. We would of course tend to that beforehand. Should this be the case, the salesperson needs to be sure they are the last one to present. There are a couple of reasons for this. First of all, you can find out what your prospect liked or disliked about your competition. If you did a good job of bonding, you may have the opportunity to adjust your proposal based on those findings. Secondly, if you are the last one in they don’t have to wait for further proposals to make a decision. Your solution is freshest on their mind, and after you present you can sometimes get the business without having to worry about stalls.

When we are presenting our solution, we want to be sure we are presenting to their particular pains and not listing all our features, benefits and capabilities. Have you ever seen a salesperson talk their way out of a sale? It’s not a pretty picture. The more the salesperson tries to sell and convince the further away the prospect gets. Studies show that the more times a salesperson tries to close, the less likely they are to get the business. People love to buy but they don’t want to be sold. Selling is not about convincing or trying to talk your prospect into something. The very best salespeople ask the right questions, the right way, at the right time, to get the prospect to self-discover they need them. The very best presentation comes out of the prospect’s mouth, not out the salesperson’s mouth. This can happen by asking them the right questions so light bulbs go off in their mind and they self-discover what the impact and what the consequences will be if they don’t do business with you; it’s as if the prospect came up with the idea and the solution, not the salesperson.

After you present your solution there is a wonderful strategy called the ”meter technique” that can be used. We need to ask the prospect: “Based on what you’ve seen so far, where are you on a scale of 1 to 10?” If we’ve done a good job in uncovering their pain and gotten them to self-discover they need us, we will usually get an 8, 9, or 10. Anything less should be cause for concern.