Closing the sale – get the results YOU need!
In your personal life scenario being able to close is what gets you where you want to be in life. In other words, being an effective closer is what gets you the results you want - in any environment.
I’ve worked across a very wide range of industries and one of the most typical problems I see is the failure to close the sale. Being able to close a sale is essential for all businesses.
I want to stress here that I know closing is not something that comes easily or naturally to everyone. People often have an aversion to asking for what they most want (I used to suffer from this)!
However, learning and perfecting your closing technique will result in higher conversions for your business and in getting the life outcomes that you want and deserve. We all want outcomes which delight us, not those which disappoint us!
So what is it about closing that causes the best-laid plans and strategies to come unglued at the 11th hour?
There are only two reasons. Yep, that’s right, it all comes down to one of two reasons. Nothing else.
Put simply, you are either:
* Using a closing technique which is ineffective; or
* You are not closing
You’re not alone – these are very common mistakes. The good news is that you can remedy this situation.
What is closing?
Closing is simply asking for a commitment. By definition, it requires you to ask the question:
“Will you buy from me?” If you do not ask the question then you have not closed.
In your personal life situations, it equates to “Will you do this (for me/with me etc.)?”
When can you close?
You can only close when you have completed your sales process and concluded your sales pitch/presentation.
In a personal life situation this equates to providing all the information and presenting all the benefits/implications to the person from whom you want a commitment.
There’s not much difference between the business and the personal scenario as you can see!
The Rules
* The close comes at the end of the process. Never earlier.
* The close must never be postponed.
The sales process, if done well, will have your prospect interested and motivated. This is the time of optimal commitment: strike whilst the iron is hot!
What happens if you don’t close?
If you fail to close then one of two things will happen.
* The prospect will not buy
* The prospect will buy elsewhere - probably from the next good closer they meet!
Here’s an example; You’re enthusiastically telling a friend about a film which you want to see with them. But, you don’t actually ask (close) ‘will you come to the cinema with me?’
You’re having a great conversation. They seem to really like the sound of the film. You feel pretty confident that they’ll go with you. You plan to phone at the weekend and invite them. Meanwhile, they get asked (closed) by another friend. Their response, ‘sure, I heard that’s a great movie, I’ll come see it with you tonight’ (buys elsewhere).
Can you see how you missed the opportunity of getting what you wanted?
Yes, it was simply for the lack of closing.
Close Reluctance
You may often feel reluctant to close, thinking there is still the possibility of getting the sale, or the desired outcome, and that by trying to close you will jeopardise your chances for getting what you want.
You may feel that you don’t want to come across as pushy.
These feelings are symptomatic of fearing rejection.
The truth is, this fear of hearing a ‘no’ response to a close, is what actually costs you the result you want.
There are two reasons why a prospect will say no to a close:
* The sales process and or the close were unskilled. You can recognise and remedy this by taking action now.
* They have valid reasons for saying no. These could well be reasons that you can address and still get the sale/outcome.
However, you won’t know this if you have not closed.
If you’d like a copy of my tip sheet of the 6 things you must do to be an effective closer reach out to me via email.
Until next issue…
Michelle Hanton michelle@dragonsisters.com.au0418 898082
www.dragonsisters.com.au
Michelle Hanton OAM is a multi-award winning international business strategist, the founder of Dragons Abreast Australia and former CEO of Lifeline Top End. Her business, Dragon Sisters, specialises in actionable, momentum building support to help move businesses to the next level.