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Questions to Help Open Up the Sale

  •  Email
Written by Mike Brooks
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6 Steps to Closing a Sale

When I'm driving to an a appointment I'm not listening to the radio, I'm imagining how the sale is going to end up, me closing the sale. When I arrive at the appointment I sit in my car for a few minutes, close my eyes and visualize every thing happening just as I want it to. I see the prospect approving the contract, giving me the check and us shaking hands and smiling. 


 


 
{mosimage}When it comes to closing a sale do you really know how to close? Do you freeze up afraid to close or don't know what to say? Do you know how and when to close a sale or even if the prospect is interested in your product? Well, read on and I'll share with you six ways to overcome these common challenges and increase your closing ratio. 

Your Attitude Makes a Huge Difference
 

Before going to any appointment get yourself in the right frame of mind. Go in with the attitude that you will close the sale.
 

When I'm driving to an a appointment I'm not listening to the radio, I'm imagining how the sale is going to end up, me closing the sale. When I arrive at the appointment I sit in my car for a few minutes, close my eyes and visualize every thing happening just as I want it to. I see the prospect approving the contract, giving me the check and us shaking hands and smiling.
 

If your attitude going in is negative you might as well get back in your car and go home.
 

ABC - Always be Closing
 

Be prepared to close the sale at any time. Be ready to close when you walk in the door. The sales process doesn't have to continue through all the steps. You can close a sale at any time.
 

I have seen many salespeople with a prospect who is ready to buy, money in hand, waving it in the air, however, the salesperson stops them and says wait, I haven't finished my presentation yet, let me tell you how great I am.
 

They've been taught to go through all the steps so they keep talking and many times talk themselves out of a sale.
 

At any point during the sales process the prospect is ready to buy...close the sale.
 

Understanding What They Want and Need
 

"Closing is the process of helping people make decisions that are good for them"
 

Closing a sale begins when you qualify the prospect. Make sure you are qualifying every prospect thoroughly. Determine their emotional wants and their motives.
 

It's at this stage the prospect will tell you their hot buttons and give you the road map to close them. Also they will become comfortable with you and by showing an interest in their needs you will set your self apart from all the other salespeople.

 How to Recognize Buying Signs 

Buyers will often give you signs they want what you're selling. These signs can either be verbal or visual. Let's start with the verbal.
 

A buyer may start asking more questions. They nod their head in agreement. They require more in depth information. They start talking about how things will be when they own the product.
 

Some visual signs to watch for are a smile, a raising of the eyebrows or moving closer to you so they can see better. If it's a couple they may show more affection or they may look at each other in a certain way.
 

When you have memorized your presentation you can be more aware of these buying signs and your closing ratio will increase dramatically.
 

When you know what you are going to say and don't need to think about it, your sales will increase dramatically because you can sit back and watch their body language and buying signals and you'll know when they're ready to buy.

 How to Make the Decision to Close the Sale 

When you have qualified the prospect properly, the buying signs are there and you know they want to buy, make the decision that the best thing for them is to buy.
 

Then focus your attention on talking about the things they like or feel are important as you close the sale. Put your personal feelings about your product or service aside and focus on the buyer.
 

Assume the Sale
 

If you've done everything right and the buying signs are there, assume the sale and begin filling out the order or what ever the next step is. Keep moving ahead until they stop you. If you did your job and your closing the sale at the right time, they won't stop you.

 



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Have you ever been in a closing situation that seems to have stalled, where your prospect isn’t really objecting, but they sure aren’t going where you want them to go?  Sometimes during a close you’ll find it necessary to sort of re-open the close, to keep your prospect talking, and to find out exactly what is on their mind.

This is especially true when you’re not sure how to respond to an objection or to how your prospect or client feels about a specific point or feature.  It is times like these that you need to just ask a question and let your prospect tell you which direction you need to go in, or how you should respond.

Use the following questions to help open your prospect up and to get them to reveal where they really stand, and what you need to do to close the
sale:

“I can tell that’s important to you; why does it mean so much?”

“Let me see if I have this right.  You (restate what they said), right?  What would have to change for this to work for you then?”

“Do I have that right?”

“What else do I need to know to understand how this affects your operation?”

“How would you react if I told you we could handle that and give you this?”

“Can you give me more detail on that?”

“What is your perspective on this?”

“And what has led you to feel that way?”

“What is your experience with this (solution)?”

“When was the last time you tried this?”

“What would have made it work better for you?”

“If you went ahead with this, what would be the worse thing that could happen?”

“I hear you saying X, but I’m also hearing something else.  Could you elaborate on that please?”

“And if you didn’t move on this solution today, how are you going to change your results and get more (leads, sales, production, etc.)?”

“Do you see how this (your solution) has been designed to fix your exact problem?”

“How is this sounding so far?”

“I see where you’re coming from.  How did you arrive at that?”

“What leads you to believe that?”



If you like this article, click here for Mike Brooks' ebook. 

Mike Brooks
About the author:

With over 20 years of inside sales closing experience, Mike Brooks has been billed nationwide as Mr. Inside Sales. Once a bottom 80% producer, Mike learned and perfected the skills of Top 20% producers and became the number one sales rep out of 5 Southern California branch offices. Author of the hot new book,The Real Secrets of the Top 20: How To Double Your Income Selling Over the Phone, Mike's proven techniques, strategies and skills are used successfully by companies in industries such as securities sales, high-tech sales, pharmaceuticals, equipment leasing and other business to business applications. Mike combines proven, current tactics and skills with personal experience to provide a motivational and practical presentation.

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