If you’re reading this article, it’s likely that you are interested in honing your sales skills. You probably have a desire to take your sales game to the next level, by improving your ability to close a sale. If so, congratulations are in order. The desire to improve your skills is one of the key traits all real closers share. The truth is that the process of closing a deal the right way is very straightforward. There’s no magic or sleight of hand involved. Nevertheless, the close is the one part of the sales process that defeats many otherwise successful salespeople.
The key element in closing a sale is understanding when the time is right to stop the sales pitch and ask for the potential customer’s business. There is no sure and fast rule for when to decide that the moment is right to close. Because there are too many variables involved in each discrete sales process, there is no way to definitively apply a set of standards to cover each one. What can be said though is that your instincts will tell you when the time is right. If you trust your instincts, your timing of the close will become impeccable.
Also, don’t be afraid of asking for the customer’s business. After all, the primary element of any salesperson’s job is to sell things to people. Despite this, a surprisingly large number of salespeople flinch and balk when it comes to the actual moment of truth.
One of the reasons for this is poor preparation prior to the close. A poorly prepared salesperson has no confidence in their presentation. This potential customer senses this lack of confidence and, as a result, feels lukewarm about the whole process. The salesperson, in turn, senses the customer’s apathy and becomes fearful of losing the sale. The flinch is a result of the salesperson trying to avoid this result.
A properly prepared salesperson has no problem with the close. This is because he or she has done all of the necessary work beforehand that’s required to bring the sales process to a successful conclusion. They made the customer the center of attention by remembering that the sales process is not about them. They have listened to the customer and determined the nature of the customer’s problem or need. They have explained to the customer how they can solve this problem or meet this need. Therefore, asking for the customer’s business becomes a done deal.
