Reveal the Secret of Sales Closing: Easily Achieve Sales Goals
Anyone can sell a product or service, but if you want to sell more and get repeat business, it takes some practice and skill. Here are some simple steps you can take to become a great salesperson the right way.
Get Into Trading Slowly
Greet and engage your customers. If you’re involved in a business transaction, there’s nothing wrong with being warm and friendly to your target customers. Expressing a warm welcome to your customers will make them feel more comfortable purchasing what you are selling them.
- Smiling eyes. The human subconscious mind can easily identify when a person is faking a smile. Why is this so? Because a real smile makes your eyes sparkle, a fake smile doesn’t.
- Beware of maintaining too much eye contact. Harvard researchers have found that salespeople who always keep their eyes on each other may actually have a “resistance” effect on potential customers. The theory is: that eye contact signals dominance, rather than making you want to buy something.
Meet customer needs. Spend as long as necessary to satisfy your customers’ needs so you can sell them what they need. There is nothing worse in selling a product or service than a customer who is dissatisfied afterward. The best and most commonly asked question in meeting customer needs is: “What do you use it for?” Keep asking questions to narrow down what the customer really wants. This demonstrates a willingness to learn and derive legitimate benefits from client needs.
Recommend suitable products or services. It’s important to understand all the products and services you sell. By understanding this, you can deliver what is best suited to your customers’ needs. Be sure to offer as many “relevant” products or services as possible to increase customer satisfaction.
- Many successful restaurants use servers to display samples of every item on the menu – for free – as a way to enhance customers’ perception of what they are selling. This way, they can combine professionalism with “experience” in their sales when diners ask, “Any recommendations?”
- Make it your job to inspect as many, if not all, of the items you sell. Customers can smell amateurism and indifference in you from a mile away. Even if the items you offer are never on sale or free, make checking them part of your job.
Sense buying signals from customers. Buying signals can be verbal and non-verbal. Questions like: “How can I benefit from this?” or “What product would be best for me?” are classic examples of verbal buying signals. Nonverbal buying signals (if you’re dealing with customers face-to-face) might include the product the customer has in their hands, or is using if they already own it.
Once you observe a buying signal, stop pitching and complete the sales process. Continuing to promote or present products or services after a customer has indicated their intention to purchase risks losing the sale, which is a common mistake.
Complete the Sale
Consider completing the sale directly or indirectly. These are the two most basic ways to accomplish it. You may need to learn to close the sale indirectly first unless you are absolutely convinced that the customer is impatient and ready to close the deal. In the sales circle, the direct approach requires some courage.
- Direct sales: “Do you want me to draft this up for you?” or “Can I forward the contract so you can get started?”
- Indirect Sales: “How do these terms sound to you?” “Do you agree to these?”
If you want to appeal to the rational side of your customers, try using a price list. Many sales situations are truly emotional decisions, where the buyer has convinced him or herself that they are making a rational decision (think: buying a car). Still, some sales situations are really all about rational considerations of pros and cons. Use price list trading (also known as Franklin trading) to attract rational customers.
- Using a price list, the salesperson will help the customer list the pros and cons and a good salesperson will ensure that the results far outweigh the cons.
If you are confident in your product, try the “pet dog” strategy. The “pet dog” tactic is often used by — you guessed it — pet store owners to let hesitant customers take home a puppy, with the option of returning it if the customer doesn’t like it. Customers take the puppy home, play with it, and the sale is effectively tightened. This is not generated by the salesperson but by the merchandise. This is an outstanding “use” selling technique if you believe that what you are selling has great appeal and will be difficult for anyone to give up once it is used and enjoyed.
Only attempt hypothetical trades with considerable skill. The hypothetical trading strategy is this: The salesperson pretends to know that the customer has agreed to purchase the item, and starts packaging the product for sale: “This sound system is amazing, and trust me, you will love the V8 engine – it’s waiting for you to start it.”. Now, tell me, do you want the black one or the red one?” Notice how the salesperson assumes the transaction is complete. She doesn’t give customers a chance to object. The shortcomings of this method are obvious, so use it with caution!
Learn to express feelings attractively. Emotions are very powerful, especially when associated with money. If you learn to ease your prospects’ emotions instead of making them feel manipulated, you’re about to make a killing.
- Try the “Possibility of Loss” trading strategy. This approach is: the salesperson tries to sell the product by constantly stating that the product is about to be sold out or can no longer be purchased at such a low price. This will make customers feel that they will regret it if they don’t buy it.
- Try a cradle-to-grave closing strategy: This approach also creates a sense of regret in the customer. Here, the salesperson counters the prospect’s objection that it’s too early to buy as a major consumer item by explaining to the customer that it’s never too early to buy it as a major consumer item.
- Try the “sales competition strategy”: In this strategy, the salesperson provides the customer with a small incentive, such as a modest rebate, and convinces the customer by repeatedly mentioning that if the sale is completed, the customer will make a fortune. “My wife and I will make a million dollars if I do this deal.” This will make the customer feel that they will regret it if they don’t buy it, and that their fate is in your control.
Try adapting your approach to closing small transactions. Small closings assume that agreement on a small issue means closing the entire sales agreement. “With your current salary, would you prefer our wireless service? No? Okay. Let’s minus wireless then”.
Close the deal with one or two counter-hypotheses. Repeating questions like “Is there anything else you’re not sure about about this product?” or “Is there any reason why you wouldn’t want to buy it?” prevents customers from choosing to refuse to buy in such a situation. Keep asking them counter-hypothetical questions until they agree to buy.
Make a Lasting (Good) Impression
Be with the buyer as much as possible, but don’t pester them. If you’re constantly shuttling back and forth to your manager’s office, you’ll sow seeds of doubt in the minds of potential customers. After you sniff out a customer’s initial interest in buying, try to stay with them. Spend your valuable time in the sales process and convince your customers that the product they have chosen to purchase is the best fit.
Don’t upsell unless the customer wants it. Upselling is the art of selling to customers more or more expensive items than they originally intended to buy. (“Do you want to increase your order size?”) Upselling can work in some situations where the customer doesn’t really know what they want to buy, but too many salespeople use this tactic without scruples. There are two good reasons to question the effectiveness of upselling in most sales situations.
- It can make customers feel bad/distrust their original purchase. If a customer isn’t sure what they want to buy first, the best thing a salesperson can do is close the sale as quickly as possible. Upselling often forces us to question what we wouldn’t buy otherwise.
- It will deter repeat business. Many truly great salespeople make their living by repeating the offense. If you upsell your customers something they really don’t want, they won’t come back to you again and again.
Stay confident, no matter how daunting the deal is. As a salesperson, maintaining confidence is the most important thing. Every failed transaction creates a case of inadequacy or doubt. But it’s not about you: you still have to have faith, even in the face of danger. You have to believe in yourself. Every time a customer buys something from you, they want to buy a car, a mortgage, or a vacuum cleaner with a little bit of your confidence. Keep this in mind during every sales call and account you make.
After-sales service. A good follow-up is necessary to get repeat business. After a successful transaction, proactively help customers answer questions or concerns about products or services. Make sure all products are produced to their satisfaction and confirm if they have any questions they need help with.
Tips
- Even if you can’t close the deal, you still want the customer to have a pleasant experience. If they don’t buy from you today, they will come back to you later.
- Become familiar with your products and services. There’s nothing better than feeling confident and knowing what you’re selling to your customers.
- Don’t be afraid to use some humor to break the ice, but know when to be serious.
- If the customer is not giving you any buying signals, use a “try trade” to see if they are interested in buying. If they accept the deal, you’ve completed the sale. Otherwise, keep testing them.
- Take it easy. Do this even if you or your client are pressed for time, this is a must to provide everything they need and meet their requirements.
- If you complete a transaction with a customer in person, look professional. There’s no need to overdo your appearance, but a pleasing appearance makes customers feel more confident about purchasing from you.
- When a customer gives you a buying signal, stop the introduction immediately. If you continue to offer them other options, they may become unsure about whether they want to buy what they just decided on.