The closing sales is one of the most important parts of your business process. It depends on converting your leads into customers and, therefore, achieving more sales. Mastering these techniques will improve your closings and achieve your economic goals.
“Let me think about it; If I’m interested, I’ll call you.” If you are in sales, it is almost certain that you have heard that phrase many times. If you want to stop listening to it, you need to polish your technique for closing saleswhich is the key part of your business process.
To have a successful sales closing you must make sure that you are covering all the phases of the sales process in an adequate way. The closing of sales is the finishing touch, the icing on the cake.
In this article I will address 17 of the most effective sales closing techniques so that you can put them into practice in your business and generate higher sales. Here we go.
What is closing sales?
Closing sales is, in simple terms, the phase where a prospect decides to buy a product or service and become a customer of a company. This process applies both to prospects —those who have not yet purchased a product—, and to customers with whom you can carry out different .
There are products that practically sell themselves — for example, think of that soft drink that does not need any sales effort to be consumed — while others need more work. I hope your venture one day reaches this status. In the meantime, you’re going to have to work hard.
Imagine that you have a clothing business that is not so well known and you compete with hundreds of brands that seek to position themselves in the eyes of their potential consumers. If you think that it is not necessary to make any sales effort to distinguish yourself, you are making a big mistake, because this is one of the main . At this point you will need certain skills and strategies to make a good closing of sales.
What does it take to have a successful sales closing?
Now that I have covered what a sales closing is, the next step is to know what a sales closing entails. successful sales closing.
Closing the sale is the culmination of previous work, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Sure, as long as the seller has done a good job in the early stages of the sales process; which, in general terms, are:
- Prospecting
- Prospect Qualification
- preparation / approach
- Presentation
- Argumentation and handling of objections
- Closing sales
- after sales services
The phases prior to point number 6 must leave the table set for the closing of sales to be effective. But consider that Some sales closings can be more complicated to the extent that your product is new, different or even innovative and difficult for your prospects to understand.
For example, in complex products such as software for some business process, the closing of sales may require several sessions until the company convinces the customer that its product is what it needs to solve a problem, that the return on investment is clear and that the solution was correctly approached from the technical aspect.
Another factor to have a successful sales closing It is the role that the seller assumes in front of his client. According to the American sales guru and entrepreneur, “high-performing salespeople see themselves not as salespeople, but as consultants.”
And he adds: “they should see themselves as people who solve problems with their products, instead of sellers who seek to exchange money in exchange for what they offer”.
What is the importance of closing sales?
A good closing of sales will be reflected in more contracts won or products sold for a company, and therefore, this will bring higher income. A bad closing could hinder the entire trading process. That is the importance of closing sales.
When you know, the sale is made, your business earns money and your profits grow.
This phase can also be an indicator of how well or poorly you are handling the entire business process. This includes everything from prospecting to the after-sales services you offer your customers.
In other words, if you do not approach the previous phases properly, it will be difficult for you to reach an agreement even if your sales closing is good. And how can you make it effective? Here comes the good stuff.
The 17 most effective techniques for closing sales
Techniques for closing sales vary, but I took on the task of investigating those in which there is greater consensus about their effectiveness. These are 17 sales closing strategies that will be very useful to you:
- direct closure
- presumptive closure
- Alternative
- Close up of Benjamin Franklin
- Close by offer / now or never / urgency
- create need
- Withdrawal
- Ask
- anticipate possession
- Closing by mistake
- porcupine method
- mooring
- Problem and concession
- Imaginary/aspirational closure
- testimonial closure
- scale closure
- hard close
Now I explain more about each of them.
1. Direct closure
As its name says, this is the way of closing sales that does not take care of the subtleties, in which the seller bluntly asks the prospect to buy the product. This is, of course, when the client does not object too much to what you are offering.
Since it is not a very ‘delicate’ way, I recommend you to use this technique only when the lead you are fully convinced that you need the product. Therefore, it’s not as useful when you still have to persuade the prospect. You must develop that feeling to use it.
2. Presumptive closure
It is one of the classic strategies. In this sales closing technique, the salesperson assumes that the customer is willing to buy.so he uses his skills to launch phrases and questions aimed at persuading him.
The salesperson does not ask the prospect if he would like to purchase the product, but how he will purchase it. “What payment method do you prefer?”, “what day do you want to receive your order?”. These are some of the questions that you can use in this technique because it assumes that the deal is already done.
One recommendation is that you avoid using this technique with prospects who do not have a positive attitude and, on the contrary, are aggressive or hyper-analytical. It could backfire.
3. Alternative
The alternate sales closing it is a variation of presumptive closing and is based on the assumption that the prospect is ready to buy, thus focusing on pointing out options for purchase. For example: “Would you like the basic or pro version of this product?”
It is a subtle way that will lead the client to decide on one of the two and will make him feel as if the choice is his at all times. Therefore, it is a very effective ‘soft closing’ to guide the client in his final decision.
4. Benjamin Franklin Closure
It is one of the most popular closing sales. It is said that the American politician created it when he had to make a decision. So, he would make a pros and cons list of what he would entail.
In the case of sales, it is useful when the prospect is on the fence. The salesperson asks you to write down the pros and cons of buying that product on a piece of paper. The idea is that the trade consultant avoids discussing the cons and instead helps list all the benefits of the potential acquisition.
5. Close by offer / now or never / urgency
They call it all these things, but it is a classic in the business world. Who has not heard phrases like “this offer is only for a limited time” or “if you buy it today, you get free…”? Well, that’s what this type of sales closing is all about. The idea is to create the feeling that you should buy it now. It’s now or you’ll never get that chance again.
In this technique, the seller must clearly inform the prospect that he has a certain amount of time to buy the product under these conditions. For example, online stores that display a countdown clock during a sale season. And that, if he doesn’t take advantage of it now, when he wants to, the conditions will be different. It is a very effective technique.
6. Create need
This sales closing technique It is very similar to the previous one, but the speech changes a bit. Instead of saying that the offer is temporary, the seller can point out that the product in question is scarce and does not know if there will be new stock soon. “It’s one of our last pieces and they’re not stocking as often.” It is very effective with clients who just need a ‘nudge’ to get going.
7. Withdrawal
In the closing of sales, everything is tactics and strategy. It is about withdrawing the benefits or offers that you have made to the prospect if he does not decide. This technique works very well with difficult clients who object too much to the proposals you are making, especially when you are about to close the deal.
This technique can be especially helpful with prospects who have already consumed too much of your time and are unwilling to move forward with the deal. In this way you show him that your product is so good that you are willing to lose a customer, so that he reconsiders what he is letting go.
8. Question
In this type of sales closing, the idea is to make a series of questions during the negotiations, seeking to eliminate all the objections that the prospect may have to the purchase. The goal is to try to close the sale with a question. “Is there anything stopping you from accepting this deal today?” or “what budget do you have for this project?”.
Salesperson questions prompt prospects to act. They function as calls to action.
9. Anticipate possession
When you are really convinced that your product is so good —because you have already validated it in the market— this type of sales closing is very effective. It is about giving a test so that, for example, the prospect lives the experience or is delighted with the taste.
This is what they do in car dealerships when they offer test drives to tip your purchase decision.
10. Closing by mistake
Experts say, In this sales closing technique, the salesperson must be very precise in timing to know when to be wrong. Of course, on purpose. Part of the assumption that the sale has already been closed and the seller releases a phrase such as: “then I send the flowers to his girlfriend’s house”. The client can answer: “no, to his office”.
The mistake happens on purpose; the prospect corrects the seller and this implicitly closes the sale.
11. Porcupine Method
Its colloquial name is due to the fact that if someone throws a porcupine at you, you don’t pet it, you throw it back. At this close of sales, the salesperson must be adept at answering any question from the prospect with another question.. Sale almost closed:
– “Do you have smaller hearing aids?”.
–“Would you like wireless, with bluetooth?”.
-“Yes”.
12. Mooring
In this method of closing sales, the pitch must be oriented…
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