I’m always amazed to hear people talk about master closers. It’s as if their skills are most significant at the END of the cycle. This seems to me to be rather misleading. Are we saying that it doesn’t matter how you handle the prior steps as long as you have some magic at the end?

I believe that ‘closing’ is something that happens naturally once you have successfully navigated all of the prior steps in the sales process. Think about it. If you don’t prospect well, listen well, problem solve well, and create trust well, there’s probably no way you are going to close well.

In essence, if you are masterful at understanding the value of your product or service, identifying your target market and then qualifying prospects within that scope, you should be closing easily. If we break it down into its components, you’ll see that by the time you get to the closing stage, if you’ve done everything else correctly, closing will happen naturally. You’ll come to an agreement with your prospect that they are right to do business with you – you are going to resolve their problem; alleviate their pain.

Understanding the value of your product or service:

Simply put, you should know the benefit that is realized by your client. It’s not what you think your product or service does. It’s what your prospect or client thinks the value is. Why does someone need what you have to sell? Why do they need it from you? When you know the answers to those questions, you’ll have a solid grasp on the value you bring to the table.

Identifying your target market:

Now it’s important to know who your prospective client is. Who has the problems your product or service solves? Are there particular industries, people, areas, companies? Having a concrete understanding of your target market ensures that you won’t be all over the place. Many people like to say that ‘anyone’ is an ideal prospect. Really?! Well, that may be but it’s hard to land on ‘anyone.’ And it’s hard to focus a concentrated effort when ‘anyone’ will do. The more focused you can be, the more your prospect will know that your product or service is ideal for them, specifically.

Remember, people want to know that you want to do business with THEM; not with ‘anyone.’ They don’t want to feel like you are blanketing the town and hoping for anything to stick. They want to believe you sought them out directly. Targeting your market is the way you accomplish this.

Qualifying prospects:

Within a target market, some companies or people will not be a good fit. You discover who those are by knowing what a good fit looks like. What is an ideal client? What makes the best business relationships for you and your product or service? Not sure? Take a look at your current client base. Identify your best or favorite clients. Are there any that don’t meet that description? What is it about those two pools? What characteristics make up a good match or a bad one?  This is an essential step. You don’t want to waste your time – or anyone else’s.

Now take a look at where you are. You’ve nailed down the value of your product or service. You know why people buy from you. You’ve identified your target market as well as qualified those prospective clients within that market.

Now when you go after them, can speak intelligently about their needs, your ability to meet those needs, your previous experience meeting those same needs for current clients, and answer any questions they may have. You are now much closer to closing the sale. Why? Because you did your due diligence ahead of time. Closing is really a natural extension of your setup.

So the next time you are thinking about how well you close deals, turn your thoughts around and think about how well you are setting yourself up for success. It’s the upfront work that will guarantee you greater closing success!