Closing is a sales term which refers to the process of making a sale. You can have the best sales strategy there is but If you don’t know enough about sales closing techniques, it would all be for nothing. The ultimate goal of every sales process is selling, that goes without saying.
To get there, your business needs to have a well-structured sales process and, ultimately, your pick of tactics for closing sales and not letting customers slip away.
It’s safe to say, therefore, that every sale is equally important. Here are 5 powerful techniques you can use to close sales.
- The ‘Now or Never’ close
This close is based in a sense of urgency, so it might include a benefit seemingly tailored to the customer in question. The aim is to inspire a purchase there and then, and this might mean implying that the product or service is the last one available at the price you’re offering. Another way to do it would be to offer a discount for customers who sign up on the day, or to offer a benefit that seems unusual, like being put to the front of the list for delivery, or receiving a complementary service as a ‘one-off’.
- The ‘Summary’ close
As a business owner or sales rep, you must reiterate and summarise all of the benefits and selling points of the product or service before attempting the closing question. Using the points of interest or agreements expressed by the customer throughout the conversation, you package up all the attractive aspects in one sentence so they can visualise the deal.
Take them through the experience, feelings and satisfactions that would be theirs when they buy your product or service.
- The ‘Assumptive’ close
This is one of the most popular closing techniques. With assumptive closes, you act as if you assume the sale is a given, and that the next step is for the customer to make a related decision, such as quantity, or delivery time. Get there before them, assume they are ready to buy and ask questions like quantity or time, I.e, how many, when.
This approach is less direct, and the customer can of course subvert it with more questions or a refusal; but if you’ve done the groundwork and the customer has expressed a lot of interest or agreement, it should work.
- The ‘Soft’ close
The soft close is a low-pressure technique that asks questions highlighting benefits, with a view to offering more information. At the same time, it helps sales reps to gather more information about needs and pain points. It’s simply taking them through to the end point by asking questions that helps to get through. For example you may ask, if you can order a nice food at the price of 1000 naira with 10 minutes, would you be interested?
The question is relatively indirect and should make the customer feel comfortable to agree to the next step.
- The ‘Question’ close
This close comes about through a series of probing questions designed to evoke desire in the customer while quashing any objections likely to arise. The sale could actually be closed using a question, which is good as it allows any outstanding concerns to be aired while the commitment is being made. It also allows for further pitching if there are concerns.
A good example of this might be, “Are you satisfied that this package is the solution to your problem?”
