In any sales process, the closing sales stage is the peak moment, since it is when the interviewee becomes a client through an agreement by both parties.
But despite being one of the most anticipated moments, it is also one of the most feared by salespeople, since it is where it is determined if all the efforts made have been rewarded.
However, to get to this point, all the previous phases of the process must have been completed, through a clear presentation of your offer, adapted to the client’s needs.
You must also overcome the client’s objections about your product or service, with arguments that overturn their commercial and even personal doubts.
Until finally reaching the last stage, the moment of closing.
No matter how well you have done things up to that point, without a proper closing, and a signature, we will not be able to talk about a successful sale.
In this post, we tell you how to carry out a successful sales closing, the types of closing, and the main mistakes that salespeople make that mean that all the efforts made during the process have been in vain.
But first, you must learn to identify the exact moment to start closing sales.
How to know when is the best time to close sales
In most cases, there are no second chances.
That is, each interview will have a single closing attempt. For this reason, we must be sure when to go ahead and close the sale, without getting ahead of ourselves or delaying, but choosing the right moment so as not to fail.
To make your task easier, these are some of the signs that indicate customer interest in the product.
If you manage to identify them, you will know that the closing time of the sale is close, so you should prepare yourself.
Learn to identify them, take advantage of them, and close sales.
- Sudden customer interest in some specific detail of the product or service. Emphasize that point and the sale will close easily.
- The silence. Far from what it may seem, in these cases, silence indicates something positive. The customer is thinking about the product, which gives us a clue that he is interested.
- Request for advice. If the client shows interest by asking questions or asking you to expand the information about the product or service, it is essential that, as a salesperson, you demonstrate your in-depth knowledge about it and know how to transmit it in an orderly and precise manner.
- The client demands to be treated specially. This is usually a defense mechanism to avoid appearing to have given in too easily to the offer.
- “The possessive.” Sometimes the customer begins to refer to the product as if it were already theirs and asks for information about it in this way. This is probably one of the clearest proximity signals we can find.
- Another fairly clear sign of interest is if the client requests special documents about the product, such as extensive technical sheets, type of contract, or type of financing.
- Test request. The sale is then closed. If the test consists of a demonstration, it must be prepared in such a way that the client is involved and a commitment is achieved on their part.
They will never all occur in the same interview, but as soon as you start to detect some of them, it will be time to start closing, the sooner the better.
However, we should not fall to the opposite extreme either.
“Pressure selling” must be avoided, as it will make the customer feel forced to buy the product by imposition instead of to meet their needs and this will quickly distance them from closing.
The 8 sales closing techniques that every salesperson should know.
At this point, let’s briefly look at the main closing techniques that exist and how they are used.
#1. Preliminary closure. This is a closing rehearsal with the client to evaluate their willingness to final closure.
#2. Continuous closure. It consists of trying to close several times during the interview to keep the client’s attention and probe their predisposition towards the final closure.
#3. Supposed closure. It is assumed that the sale is going to take place and the salesperson addresses the customer as if they had already made the transaction.
#4. Conditional closure. A condition imposed by the customer is accepted in exchange for the sale.
#5. Trial closure. A trial of the product is offered, always without obligation.
#6. Fright or death. The customer is given two options to choose from, both aimed at making the sale.
#7. Take out the contract. The client’s data begins to be requested and the contract is filled out.
#8. Final closure. The arguments presented in the interview are reinforced and the benefits that the client has considered important are chosen and enhanced.
Once again, depending on the type of product or service you offer, certain techniques will be more appropriate. Select the ones that best fit your type of offer and start using them as soon as possible.
What difficulties can we encounter when closing our sale?
Inevitably, at some point we all make mistakes, and the sales closing stage is one of the most common moments to do so since there is a certain tension between the salesperson and the future client.
Let’s see what those errors are.
Fear of “no”
A fearful seller resists asking for a signature, which makes all the effort made during the interview useless. He accepts that it is an irrational feeling, appreciates all your effort during the interview, and asks for your signature.
Not detecting signs of proximity to closing sales.
Learn to listen and observe the interlocutor, otherwise, the closing will be forgotten in the depth of our presentation.
Lack of planning for the sales interview.
Prepare the structure of the interview in advance. This way, it will be easier for you to feel out at what point in the interview you should start closing.
Lack of experience in sales.
Practice and conduct many interviews to gain experience and learn to recognize the symptoms and the opportunity for closure.
Lack of enthusiasm and understanding.
If this occurs, the closure is then bypassed and the opportunity for closure is lost.
Learn to detect them and, as far as possible, try to correct them.
Objections to closure and how to combat them
The last point you should know if you want to be a good salesperson at closing sales is to learn how to overcome customer objections.
On some occasions, you may encounter clients who, despite having passed all the phases of the interview and even having shown one or more signs of proximity to closing like the ones we told you about before, are reluctant to close the sale completely.
We must be prepared to hear phrases like:
“I have to consult with my partner”
“I have to think about it”
«now is not the time to decide, better after summer/Christmas»
If this happens, you must act as quickly as possible.
Ask the customer what the cause is, if they need even more information, if something is not clear to them, or if they are interested in the product or service.
You can also fill out the contract in the absence of any information to be completed by the seller via telephone.
In short, avoid the excuse at all costs, refute every objection, and close the sale.
Become an expert at closing sales
As we have said throughout this post, the closing is one of the crucial stages in the sales process, since without it, we will not have achieved the set goal and all our resources will have been wasted.
Argue, observe, pay attention, listen… And the moment you sense the possibility of closing, do I
