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The Last, Last, Last Chance To Close The Sale

 

Guest articles > The Last, Last, Last Chance To Close The Sale

 

by: Jon Gilge


How do you close the sale when the prospect won’t tell you why they won’t buy?

Perhaps you have been in this situation before.

Perhaps you’ve been in it hundreds of times. Most of us have. Now let’s take a look at how to get out of it and back on track to close the sale.

Unless the customer responds to the buying question with an immediate yes, the reality is that if you can’t get to the reason they aren’t buying, you can’t close the sale. Where the prospect doesn’t say yes, if there is not an expressed reason for not going ahead with the purchase what is there to resolve in order to move the process forward toward the close of the sale?

Nothing. It’s like climbing a ladder only to discover half way up that there are no more rungs. It’s frustrating because everything indicates that they want to buy, and nothing they say helps you understand why they won’t.

While we know that the reason is most often related to money, suggesting that is about the money is the quickest way to insure that the prospect insists that it isn’t. That’s a natural part of a prospects resistance to buying despite it being in their best interest to do so.

A professional salesperson knows how to help a prospect through this hesitance and close the sale. Here’s how.

First we need to understand that prospects often don’t know when it is really about the money for them, and that sometimes it really isn’t. Either they have not been able to clarify in their mind that they really want to buy and money is the only obstacle, or they have clarified that the decision is about the money but they don’t want to tell you that.

We need to give them an easy way to realize that it is about the money, and if that doesn’t work, create a way to get them to come back to you when it is.

Start by taking the pressure off. By now you probably have made numerous attempts to uncover an objection so you could close the sale, with each subsequent attempt bringing the prospect closer to the point where they will end the conversation. The prospect has told you that they like everything, but they just need to look around and do some research. Break the pressure by starting to pack up your materials. This signals to the prospect that you are finished trying to discover why they won’t buy, and allows them to lower their defenses. As you do, say something like this:

“Mr. Prospect, I appreciate the time you spent with me today exploring if my product is right for you. I think at this point I have a good understanding of where you are in your decision making process. You like the product, the company, and the terms that we can offer you, but you just need to be sure that you don’t like another product just a much. Am I correct?”

“Yes”

“Great. I’m sure that over the next several days you are going to give this decision some very careful consideration.”

“I will.”

“At some point, Mr. Prospect, this decision will come down to money. After you look around and do your research, you will come to a conclusion about what our product is worth to you. When you get to that point, I just ask you to do yourself and me one favor in exchange for the time and effort I have put into showing you how our product can help you. When it comes down to price, I just ask that you give me a call before you come to your decision, to give me one last chance to work with my company to meet your expectations on price. Can I get your commitment on that?”

“I can do that.”

“Of course I would do that for you right now, but it’s not about the money yet.”

Now let’s take a look at what you’ve accomplished and what you hope happens next.

At the very least, you’ve decreased the likelihood that the prospect will make a decision to buy from someone else without first giving you a call to see if you can increase your value by lowering price or offering better terms. As you probably already know, it is usually the last sales person to be in front of the prospect that gets to close the sale. By interrupting the decision to buy from someone else who’s value may seem to be higher you can get to the prospect last with an opportunity to best the other offers.

That’s what you have accomplished. Now lets look at what you hope will happen in those situations where it really is about the price, but the prospect just hasn’t clarified the decision that far. Your last statement is designed to use curiosity to bring the discussion back around to price and get you back on a track that can lead you to a sale.

“Well what is it that you could do on price?”

“I’ve done all I can. You have my best price. But what my company might be willing to do beyond that would depend on what you need us to do. If you will share with me what you value the product at I will see what I can do to meet your expectation.”

With their response you are back into the sales conversation. What they have essentially done it resolved the decision to price. From there you can make the phone call to get approval to meet their price. Either you can or you can’t, or you can counteroffer. By naming a price they are starting a negotiation and would probably agree to buy at a price somewhere in the middle of your offer and theirs.

Remember, before you call for an approval on their offer, get a commitment:

“Before I make the call, I need your commitment that if my company is willing to meet your valuation of the product you are willing to go ahead with the order today.”

Then make the call, negotiate the final price, and close the sale.


The Sales Giant is the publisher of the popular Sales Giant Training Blog (www.salesgianttraining.com/blog)  and the author of the FREE 'Master Closing Guide' that you can download instantly at www.salesgianttraining.com/free-master-closing-guide. For more information on all of the sales training resources they offer, please visit them at their online home at www.salesgianttraining.com.


Contributor: Jon Gilge

Published here on:

Classification: Sales, Psychology

Website: www.salesgianttraining.com

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Main sections: | Disciplines | Techniques | Principles | Explanations | Theories |

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Please help and share:

 

Quick links

Disciplines

* Argument
* Brand management
* Change Management
* Coaching
* Communication
* Counseling
* Game Design
* Human Resources
* Job-finding
* Leadership
* Marketing
* Politics
* Propaganda
* Rhetoric
* Negotiation
* Psychoanalysis
* Sales
* Sociology
* Storytelling
* Teaching
* Warfare
* Workplace design

Techniques

* Assertiveness
* Body language
* Change techniques
* Closing techniques
* Conversation
* Confidence tricks
* Conversion
* Creative techniques
* General techniques
* Happiness
* Hypnotism
* Interrogation
* Language
* Listening
* Negotiation tactics
* Objection handling
* Propaganda
* Problem-solving
* Public speaking
* Questioning
* Using repetition
* Resisting persuasion
* Self-development
* Sequential requests
* Storytelling
* Stress Management
* Tipping
* Using humor
* Willpower

Principles

+ Principles

Explanations

* Behaviors
* Beliefs
* Brain stuff
* Conditioning
* Coping Mechanisms
* Critical Theory
* Culture
* Decisions
* Emotions
* Evolution
* Gender
* Games
* Groups
* Habit
* Identity
* Learning
* Meaning
* Memory
* Motivation
* Models
* Needs
* Personality
* Power
* Preferences
* Research
* Relationships
* SIFT Model
* Social Research
* Stress
* Trust
* Values

Theories

* Alphabetic list
* Theory types

And

About
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Blog!
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