When Did ‘Closing’ Become a Bad Word?
Closing a sale is nothing more that leading the process to a conclusion. It’s laying all the groundwork and asking the prospective customer to proceed with the action plan. But if it sounds that easy, why is it so tough to accomplish?
NASCAR driver Kurt Busch says “what it takes to win a championship is to have your preparation meet the opportunities, whether it’s out on the racetrack or behind the scenes.” In sales, winning starts at the beginning. Do the right things throughout the process and you’ll be better Electrolux ZAM6230 positioned for success. The steps can vary, but in talking to hundreds of successful salespeople about the Пользователи сделавшие пожертвования pitfalls of closing sales, some very specific disciplines are regularly mentioned:
• we don’t ask,
• we’re asking the wrong person, or
• the prospective customer is not yet sold.
Let’s look at some strategies for each of them.
We may not ask because of the ‘feel good’ advice we’ve heard in recent years JVC LT-20J50S that “good sales men and women don’t close the sale, they let it happen!” Make your presentation, stop talking, and the sale will close itself! Unfortunately, that advice is like to telling a pilot not to worry about landing because the plane will get to the ground one way or another. Even the best businessperson can be indecisive. If I make a terrific presentation, then just wait for them to say “yes,” I’ll likely never hear it, and ultimately lose a once-promising SAMSUNG VC-C5354H3N sale. Why? Because I haven’t asked them to make a decision. Plus, my lack of action could plant a subconscious seed of doubt in the prospect’s mind.
If I want to avoid rejection, not asking for the business is the way to go. Early in my sales career, a senior co-worker told me to “go out and get as many ‘no’s as you can.” It didn’t sink in right away, but it wasn’t long before I understood what he meant. Ask for the order often.
The second discipline is to make sure you’re asking the right person. Have you heard the phrase “don’t take ‘no’ from someone who can’t say ‘yes?” It’s great advice. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always fit real-life. Often, we find ourselves ‘boxed into’ a scenario where our primary contact is not a final decision-maker, and that’s
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