Your rep is in the final stages of a deal, but they feel a little anxious about the all-important close. Evoking such emotions of apprehension is a normal feeling, however. Closing a deal is the most rewarding part of any sales process.
Heck, closing is why most reps get into the game in the first place. The thrill of the chase and the pursuit of a lead culminate with the conclusion of a sweet, sweet close. As a manager, you know this feeling all too well. Perhaps it even brings back nostalgic memories of your early days in the field.
But now it’s your job to manage reps and help them become better closers to make sure they get the most vital part of the process right—the close. Here, we bring you our list of the best tried and tested sales closing techniques with the aim of helping you turn your employees into confident closers.
In other words, Always.Be.Closing.
Sales Closing Technique#1, The Sharp Angle Close
From time to time, your reps will face the “what else can you do for me?” question from a prospect. They push the rep to include as many extras as possible before committing to a deal. The potential customer may show interest in the product or service on offer, but they’ll make damn sure the sales rep works for that deal.
The Sharp Angle Close is a method used to respond to prospects that test limits. When they ask your reps to include incentives, make sure the reply is positive but one that is on the terms of the sales rep. Your reps want to avoid a scenario where it looks like they are caving into demands.
Make it clear that the prospect can have the added extras (as long as they aren’t outlandish), but only if they agree to a deal in right there and then. Doing so will show that your reps are willing to work with the prospect while creating a sense of urgency and placing the onus very much back on the soon-to-be customer to make an instant purchase decision.
Sales Closing Technique#2, The Assumptive Close
They say assumption is the mother of all mistakes. When it comes to closing, however, it might just the ingredient needed need to get a deal over the line. That’s why the Assumptive Close is so effective – it sees your reps speaking in a way that assumes the prospect will definitely agree to a deal.
The Assumptive Close requires positive words and phrases at the end of sentences that lead to the idea of a closed sale. Perhaps your reps are selling a product with different options available: Instead of asking if there is interest in the product, they should ask which options the prospect would like to take.
The Assumptive Close is also known as the Secondary Question Close, as reps assume a deal has already been agreed. All that’s left is to decide on the kind of deal the prospect signs up for. Eg, which option they will take.
Sales Closing Technique#3, The Urgency Close
The name, “The Urgency Close” could perhaps do with a name change, as it might allude to the idea of getting a prospect to close at all costs. The Time-Sensitive Close might be a better option. Regardless of the name, you want to avoid your rep selling anything the prospect doesn’t want—as it will lead to an unhappy customer and more problems than it’s worth for your organization.
On most occasions, there’s nothing wrong with giving prospects a nudge in the right direction if they are twiddling their thumbs over a sale, despite showing initial enthusiasm. It might even be that the client is working on a short deadline and needs to make a decision sooner rather than later.
If this is the case, it’s worth throwing around phrases like “this is a limited time offer”. Heed with caution when using this method, however. The last thing you want is to put unnecessary pressure on would-be clients. But if they have built a good, trusting relationship with the prospect and still dragging their feet, The Urgency Close might be what they need to finalise a deal.
Sales Closing Technique#4, The Ben Franklin Close
Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, created lists with pros and cons and chose the column with the longest section. The method worked pretty well for building one of the most important countries in the world, so it’s no surprise to learn that it’s efficient for closing sales deals.
The Ben Franklin Close is one of the sales closing techniques that should work particularly well with methodical prospects who like their facts cold and hard. By creating a list of the pros and cons about what they are selling, potential clients will admire your reps’ honesty—especially when it comes to the cons.
If they see that your reps can be open and honest about the cons of the product, they will be more inclined to trust their advice. Just make sure that the “pro” side of the argument is longer than the “cons” section.
Sales Closing Technique#5, The Trial Close
The Trial Close is one of the sales closing techniques that works so well as it can be used at any stage during the sales process—not just at the end. Using it throughout the process will also build up the confidence of your reps as they get a series of small confirmations from prospects.
By making little comments during dialogue such as “Are you happy with what we have spoken about today?” and “Do you think our solution could solve your problem?”, reps are building the prospect up to give a positive answer at the end of the deal.
Your rep is continually meeting the buyer’s needs and getting validation in the process. As the rep sees fewer objections to the offering, their confidence will grow at the possibility of a deal. The Trial Close is one of the most commonly used sales techniques.
Sales Closing Technique#6, The Take Away Close
There are many cases where people only show interest in something once they can’t have it. We take things for granted until they stop being available—it’s just how we are wired.
The Take Away Close buys into the theory of making a product or service feel special and like it’s only available to an exclusive club.
If your reps are facing resistance, tell them to remove some aspects of a deal, perhaps moving specific options from the overall package. All of a sudden, the prospect stops thinking about the cheaper deal. Instead, they consider how to get back those previously-removed options.
Bonus Sales Closing Technique, Deploy a Sales Software
While technology has improved—to the point where AI chatbots can handle the early parts of a sale— the human element of selling is still vital. Salespeople are at the forefront of closing deals. Technology can act as an enabler, however.
Having a dedicated software that helps manage leads through each phase allows reps to gain marginal wins. With a visual pipeline, reps qualify a lead through a phone call or email, then schedule and attend a meeting before hopefully closing.
Having a system in place helps reps close deals more efficiently and reminds them of the next action. Each time the lead moves onto the next stage, your reps can take some confidence from their wins, or “small closes”, to put another way.
Killer Closers
There’s no guaranteeing you’ll close a deal. But with these sales closing techniques, you and your team will be better prepared to handle everything that comes with the tasks of trying to sell. They will help your team be more confident closers, which will lead to more deals and more targets exceeded.
