Sales Closing Tip #1: Write down and practice what you are going to say.
Much of the fear salespeople experience closing sales could be reduced or eliminated by proper preparation. Preparing for the situations that may arise and having a prepared and practiced response will decrease the fear when it comes time to close a sale.
A large majority of supposed sales professionals have no idea what they're going to say. Use this sales closing tip to eliminate your fear.
One main theme you will hear me teach over and over is preparation and practice. Preparing what you're going to say and practicing it until it becomes automatic are techniques used by all the top 10 percent of salespeople.
If you haven't thought out and written down what you're planning to say in every possible sales closing situation and then practiced how you will say it, over and over until it becomes second nature, you're probably part of the 90 percent. The time to practice is on the practice field, not on game day.
Professionals in all walks of life practice their craft on a daily basis. Professional Athletes practice every day, hitting buckets of golf balls, catching passes, spending time in the batting cage. Ten times as many hours are spent practicing than actual game time.
Sales Closing Tip #2: Keep closing until they buy or ask you to leave.
"I'm here to tell you, if you can't learn to close the sale, you better get out of sales, cause "timid salespeople have skinny kids".
I've been with sales people on appointments and watched the beads of sweat form on their foreheads. I've seen the lumps in their throats, witnessed their mouths turning to cotton, all a result of having to close a sale.
How feared is sales closing? Research shows that 63 percent of all sales interviews end with the salesperson not specifically asking for the order.
Further, research from Dr. Herb True of Notre Dame reveals that 46 percent of the salespeople he interviewed ask for the order once and then quit: 24 percent ask for the order twice before giving up: 14 percent ask the third time: and 12 percent "hang in there" to make four attempts before quitting.
That's a total of 96 percent who quit after four closing attempts, and yet the same research shows that 60 percent of all sales are made after the fifth closing attempt. Since the percentage of salespeople not asking for the sale the necessary five times equals 96 percent, it's obvious that 4 percent are making 60 percent of the sales.
In sales you don't get paid for getting leads or making appointments. You get paid for closing the sale. So getting over the fear of asking for the sale is paramount to earning money in sales.
Before I talk about the right way to present, let's first talk about the wrong way.
One of the most common mistakes sales people make when presenting their product or service is to use a generic presentation. They design and use one presentation, or use the presentation their company designed on every sales call.
This type of presentation has one key problem; it does not deal specifically with the problem your particular prospect has. These generic presentations may cover general problems or situations your target market has, however, for a sales presentation to be extremely effective it must deal with the specific issues of your current prospect.
A lot of sales presentations are very boring to the prospect. Many sales people spend too much time during their presentation talking about their company, how big they are, and the structure of the company and other boring facts. They list all the features of their product when the prospect doesn't care about features; they want to know how the product or service will benefit them.
A generic presentation contains many features and benefits that will not be relevant to every prospect. Many sales people think if they learn every feature and benefit their product or service offers, and then present them all to their prospect, the prospect will pick out the ones they like and buy.
However, there are far too many features and benefits of any product or service to include them all in a generic presentation, in hopes the prospect will pick the ones that fit their situation and then based on those decide to purchase from you.
This type of presentation doesn't really even require a sales person to be present. This type of presentation could just as easily be put on a CD and played for the prospect.
This generic presentation shows no professionalism and a total lack of preparation on the part of the sales person. The prospect will feel like they're just another name on your list of possible buyers. They don't want to be just another buyer. They want to feel special, like they're the most important person in the world. Because to them they are the most important person, no one else matters.
I know that may sound cold, however, it's true.
Many sales people forget that all other information matters to the prospect only if they are getting what they want. The prospect doesn't want to hear about you, your company, or any other information unless you answer the most important question on the prospects mind.
What's the one thing the prospect wants to know?
They want to know WIIFM.
What's in it for me? How am I going to benefit from buying and owning your product or service?
Talking about everything else without answering this question only turns the prospect off, and makes you sound like every other sales person they've ever met.
When you ask questions and probe for the problems the prospect faces during the qualifying process, then you can take the information you gathered and tailor your presentation, presenting the features and benefits that will give them the results they desire, and show the prospect that your product or service is the answer they have been searching for.
You will then answer their most important question, "what's in it for me?"
You need to be prepared with a presentation you can tailor to each individual prospect's wants, needs and desires. Your presentation should be well planned in regards to the language and structure.
By this point, you should have an in depth understanding of your target market so you can prepare and rehearse a presentation, allowing places in the presentation to make it unique to each particular prospects wants and needs.
Much of the tension and anxiety many sales people feel prior to presenting their product or service will vanish by preparing and presenting in this way. You will have the confidence that what you are going to share with them will be of interest to them and provide them with real value.
Most importantly, you'll find you're more effective; you'll close more sales in less time, and provide a win - win situation which will ultimately put more money in your pocket and provide you with an abundance of satisfied clients. And satisfied clients become a source of repeat business and referrals for years to come.
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