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 typein 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 effective technique.
Ask the customer about the benefits of your solution
This technique is similar to the previous one, but more effective: you ask the customer himself to summarize the advantages of your solution and why he should buy it. A customer is always more likely to believe what he says than what he is told.
Direct question
The direct question is to ask the customer if they want to proceed with the purchase: do you want to proceed? You can also use the same technique with an open-ended question: “What are we doing now? “.
But the customer may reply that he doesn’t know, that he’ll think about it.
It’s better to ask the question than not to 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 previous , since the proposed answer is not between yes and no, but 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’s likely to lead customers to say that they need to think things over before choosing the best solution. This is not ideal for a salesperson, and in fact is a technique that is not recommended.
Alternative minor points
It’s the same technique, but on minor points like the color of the car for example: “Do you prefer it in white or in black?”
The alternative technique on minor points is vastly preferable to the previous one, as the customer has a simpler choice to make and can do so impulsively. You don’t want to make him ask too many questions; he should choose according to his tastes.
Stimulant
Customers are often reluctant to take action, telling themselves that they may be making a mistake, so the stimulus is to show them that they have more to lose than to gain by waiting to make a choice. The aim is 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, which is good and could be worse tomorrow.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t recommend low-end sales apps like “I’ve only got one left, 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, as it puts pressure on the customer. They say whoever speaks first loses!
Assuming agreement
It’s the fastest and most effective technique, and the one best sellers use. It consists in acting as if you had understood that the customer had agreed to the purchase. You don’t ask him if he wants to proceed with the purchase, you start the sales procedure as if he had agreed.
The danger is that the customer may feel in a hurry to go ahead with the purchase and want to back out. If this is the case, the seller can always say: “I’m sorry, I understood that you were in agreement”.
Speaking in the future tense, as if it were a done deal
This technique is close to the previous one and the two techniques can go together since the salesperson proceeds as if his customer agrees: “when you use this service you will therefore be able to…”.
The scale
If the customer hesitates and ends up refusing to buy, you can still come back and try to close the sale by weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of your solution. So you can say: “If we take stock of the solution, the disadvantages are the following, but the advantages are far superior…”. Note that you start with the disadvantages and end with the advantages, because the customer remembers what you say last. You can also use classic techniques for responding to objections.
Paradoxical techniques
Paradoxical techniques involve telling the customer the opposite of what you want, in the hope that they will do the opposite. For example, you tell a customer looking at a car that he probably can’t afford it, and you take him to see a smaller model. The objective is for the customer to say that he can afford the biggest car and to do it to show that he can. You can then play on your ego, but the technique is very dangerous, I would even say inadvisable, I remember a colleague telling me that when he was shown the technique he walked out of the garage and told the salesman that he would go and buy the same car in another garage!
Last objection technique
The technique consists in asking the customer: “Do you have a major objection to buying, and if I’m able to answer it are ready to go ahead with the purchase?”
The technique is said to be powerful, but I’m reluctant to use it to avoid the risk of the customer going negative. It should only be used 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!
Jean-Pierre Mercier
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