How to close the sale
The conclusion or closing of the sale is key, because without the success of this stage there is no sale, and therefore nothing for the seller. A good salesperson who doesn’t know how to close is a salesperson who has prepared the ground well for a competitor’s sale to his or her customer, in short, […]
The conclusion or closing of the sale is key, because without the success of this stage there is no sale, and therefore nothing for the seller.
A good salesperson who doesn’t know how to close is a salesperson who has prepared the ground well for a competitor’s sale to his or her customer, in short, his or her work will have served someone else.
So here’s a catalog of good and not-so-good techniques for closing a sale, with their advantages and disadvantages. You’ll also find adaptations by sales type in our sales course catalog.
Closing or closing the sale: summarizing the advantages
This is a prerequisite for closing the sale. Example: “So this product provides you with an easier, safer solution – in fact, it’s the best solution for your needs, isn’t it? The aim is to get as many preliminary “yes” votes as possible, so as to facilitate a final “yes” vote.
It should generally be followed by a more advanced technique.
Ask the customer about the benefits of your solution
This technique is similar to the previous one, but more efficient. you ask the customer himself to summarize the advantages of your solution and why he should buy it, but one customer has always more likely to believe what they say than what they’re told.
Direct question
The direct question is to ask the customer if he wants to proceed to purchase: do you wish to proceed? You can also use the same technique with an open-ended question: “What do we do? now? “.
But the customer may reply that he doesn’t know, that he’s going to ponder.
It’s better to ask the question than not conclude, but your customer can answer yes or no. This is a beginner’s technique.
Alternative main points
The alternative technique is more interesting than the as the proposed answer is not between yes and no, but between yes and no. between two types of purchase. The alternative on major points is between products or solutions, between two cars, for example.
It’s an interesting technique, but it runs the risk of bringing the customer to respond that he needs to think about choosing the best solution, it’s not ideal for a salesperson, it’s even a technique cancelled.
Alternative minor points
It’s the same technique, but on minor points such as the color of the car, for example: “Do you prefer it in white or black? in black?”
The technique of alternating on minor points is widely preferable to the previous one, as the customer has a simpler choice to make and may do so impulsively. You don’t want to risk getting him to ask questions. too many questions, he should choose according to his tastes.
Stimulant
A customer often hesitates to take action, telling himself that he is likely to make a mistake, the stimulus consists in showing him that he can more to lose than to gain by waiting to make a choice. The aim is to to avoid the classic “I’ll think about it” response.
You can put it into practice as follows:
- If you say yes now, I’ll keep it for you.
- If you say yes now I can guarantee the rate that is good and could be less good tomorrow
On the other hand, I don’t recommend the salesperson applications. like “I’ve only got one left, and it’s the last one”.
Stimulation is an excellent technique for closing your sale when it’s done honestly. It gives the customer the advantage of making up his mind right away, and leads him to choose what’s best for him.
Agreement versus concession
This closing technique is similar to the previous one, and consists of offering a concession in exchange for the customer’s immediate agreement: “If you buy now, I’ll give you a 5% discount and offer you this service for free”. The technique is effective, but may cause your customer to take some time to think things over and ask for the concession anyway.
The silence technique
This is one of the most effective techniques, because it puts pressure on the customer. They say whoever speaks first loses!
Assuming agreement
This is the quickest and most efficient technique, the one best sellers. It consists in acting as if we had understood that the customer agrees, you don’t ask him if he wants to go ahead with the purchase, you start the sales process as if he agreed.
The danger is that the customer may feel pressured to to go ahead with the purchase and want to back out. If this is the case, the seller will can always say: “I’m sorry, I thought I understood that you agreed”.
Speaking in the future tense, as if it were a done deal
This technique is similar to the previous one, and both techniques can go hand in hand, since the seller proceeds as if his customer agrees: “when you use this service, you’re will be able to…”.
The scale
If the customer hesitates and eventually refuses to buy, you can can still come back and try to close the sale by taking stock of the advantages and disadvantages of your solution. So you can say: “If we take stock of the solution, the disadvantages are as follows, but the benefits are far greater…”. You note that start with the disadvantages and end with the advantages, because the customer remember what you say last. You can also use classic techniques for responding to objections.
Paradoxical techniques
Paradoxical techniques consist of telling the customer the the opposite of what you want, hoping it will do the opposite. For example, you tell a customer looking at a car that he probably doesn’t have the and you take him to a smaller model. The objective is for the customer to say that he can afford the bigger one. to show that he can do it. We then play on ego, but the technique is very dangerous, I would even say inadvisable. I remember a colleague telling me that when he was given the technique, he came out of the garage and told the salesman that he would buy the same car in another garage!
Last objection technique
The technique consists in asking the customer: “Have you a major objection to buying, and if I’m able to answer it are ready to buy?
They say it’s a powerful technique, but I’m reluctant to use it. to avoid the risk of the customer going into negative territory, it is only to be Use only if the customer doesn’t make up his mind.
Combining two techniques
The most effective approach is often to combine two sales closing techniques. A classic combination is to review the three main customer benefits and the stimulus technique. Another combination is to combine the incentive with taking responsibility for the customer’s purchase.
Conclusion
In conclusion, when making a sale, I advise you to choose the technique that best suits your field, but also yourself, and then train yourself to apply it easily and naturally. Try new ones too – a good salesperson is fearless!
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