CLOSING

Last week on a discussion board, there was a considerable thread about “closing techniques”. Various “sales experts” got on and started dialog about The Ben Franklin Close, the silent close (down to the clicking your pen before you slide it over the table) and other closes.

I thought to myself, man what do these guys sell and what kind of relationships do they have with their customers, that they have to try and manipulate their prospects with tactics?

I always knew IMPACT Selling™ was an outstanding selling system but seeing the way these guys treat their prospects and clients was just another example of why IMPACT works. It works because it is not about us as the sales person, it is all about our customer and solving their problem.

Closing is easy, but only when you do everything else right. Closing is not a destination, it is the beginning of referrals, continuous business, long term partnerships and that can be said with almost anything you sell.

Why downgrade your position with cheesy closes and lines and tactics? Just follow a process, and most important keep the focus on your customer’s needs, wants and make the value of buying from you so superior that when it comes to the end of the presentation or recommendation that your prospect will ask you how to get started.

Remember, people would always rather buy something than be sold something.

Flip-flops, Shorts and the Weekend…When are You Really on Vacation?

The answer is – unfortunately – never!

Selling in today’s marketplace can be a 7-days-a-week endeavor involving travel, late planes and/or long drives covering a territory. All of this translates into plain and simple hard work. So, when we get a little time off – whether it’s taking a few well-deserved days of vacation or simply enjoying a weekend – we’re “off the clock” (is there such a thing in sales today?) and we can totally relax, right?

Nope! Wrong!

And that’s what this post is about: a very simple – yet often forgotten – concept.

Here it is: regardless of whether you’re out of town on vacation or you’re simply buzzing around town on the weekend running errands with your family, it’s absolutely critical that you conduct yourself as professionally out in public as you would if you were face-to-face with one of your biggest clients.

Here’s why: you never know who you may run into in your off-work activities. It’s far too easy to slip into “relaxation mode” away from the office and out of the suit, and frankly, become oblivious about what your professional image needs to be.

This isn’t to say that we all don’t behave in an absolutely stellar fashion when we’re away from work. I would submit to you, though, that it’s easy to slip into a less formal mode when we’re in our comfort zone. Make sure you stay vigilant; I ran into one of my key clients in Lowe’s just the other day!

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Buyer’s Anxieties, Seller’s Solutions

We’ve all been fooled. Each of us has a sales ’tale‘ to share about being misled, coerced or manipulated. And our memories — much like our prospects’ memories — are long and often unforgiving! No wonder prospects sometimes feel initially suspicious, anxious and wary of salespeople. So, what are we to do as salespeople who are honest and ethical, and yet still mistrusted by prospects?

Building trust takes time, effort and creation of consistent experiences. This is particularly true in sales where we’re dealing with emotions. A prospective buyer’s feelings are based on perception, not just logic. It may take multiple, positive experiences that are felt in the same way by the prospect before they “feel” comfortable, trust emerges and they begin to feel better about what you’re trying to offer.

We must remember and be sure to address the fears (feelings and perceptions) which are well-entrenched in prospects. They are:

1. Fear of a buying mistake:
   a. Paying too much
   b. Paying too little
   c. Buying out of fear
   d. Not getting what you truly need
   e. Not getting what you really want
2. Fear of looking stupid
   a. Succumbing to pressure
   b. Being ’suckered’
   c. Falling for a ’pitch’
   d. Buying to get rid of the salesperson
   e. Buying only because you ’liked‘ the salesperson
3. Fear of being criticized or ridiculed
   a. No one buys from them!
   b. How could you?
   c. You paid what?
   d. Don’t you know their reputation?
   e. Why did you ’fall‘ for that?

In every situation, positioning yourself and your product as a source of trust and value would have overcome these feelings. It often takes multiple acts to build trust, but only one mistake to destroy it. Value is the buyer’s perception of “what’s in it for me that’s important to me?” You’d better discover what they perceive as value. This in turn helps solidify trust — and leads to choosing you, because it feels right (trust) and solves their greatest issue (value). After all, that’s what customers truly want isn’t it?

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