Success on
the baseball diamond, especially when it comes to winning the World Series in
October, relies heavily on pitchers. Starting pitchers set the tone for the
team, and can keep the team in the game even if the rest of the team is
struggling.
In my
lifetime, the importance of a 'closer' on your pitching staff has gained
importance. That strong, usually fast throwing pitcher that comes in at the end
and seals the victory for the team is now an essential for any successful team.
For sales
teams, the formula isn't that different from a baseball team. We need strong
pitchers and powerful closers. The difference is we need each individual to
possess the traits of the starting pitcher and the closer.
Too many
times, our sales teams are pitching but not closing. It is a basic fundamental of sales, but all
too often overlooked; the close. If your sales rep is not asking for the sale
in some way, shape or form then they are nothing more than professional
conversationalist and wasting your company's money.
There are
tons of websites and books devoted to how to close a sale. I don't presume to
add anything new to the conversation that hasn't already been said millions of
times. But bringing awareness to the issue needs to happen, and you have an
opportunity to take action with your own team.
During a
ride-along with a sales rep, one of the questions I will ask once we're back in
the car is, "What closing technique did you use on that call?"
Getting the rep to think about this specific step in the sales process starts
to change their mindset on the process. Too many times, the answer is they
don't know or worse, they never tried a closing technique on the sales call.
There are dozens
of closing techniques available in the salesperson's bag of tricks. While some
companies will teach a strict formula approach for the sales process, I tend to
believe that the technique a sales rep using should be based on what they are
most comfortable with using. The key is to ask for the sale. Which closing
approach you used doesn't necessarily matter to me. In my case, I found myself
focusing on five basic closing techniques that worked best for me.
Direct Close - Maybe the simplest
technique to use, where you directly ask for the sale. The key in using this
one is to be relatively sure the customer is ready to buy, as a direct approach
can be perceived as a negative if the customer isn't ready to commit.
Indirect Close - Asking a question of
your customer isn't as intrusive as a direct close, and many sales reps like to
use this as a closing technique. "How does this proposal sound to
you?" If they respond positively, you start working on ad copy. If they
respond negatively, you start working on overcoming objections. Either way, you
know clearly what the next step is in the process.
Assumptive Close - Assume the customer
has agreed, and start to wrap up the process by saying "Just sign this
agreement and I'll get this program started." Like the indirect
close, you will know the next steps clearly after this step.
Alternative Close - I really like to
offer a contained choice to an advertiser as a close. After presenting and
laying out the options for the campaign, ask "Would you like option A or
option B?" You're giving the customer a choice and thus giving them a
sense of control in the process when in fact you've forced them to make a
decision or offer objections.
Fear of Loss Close - This is a good
option for a sponsorship, premium opportunity or anything that is in limited
supply. By telling the customer that if
this is something that they are interested in, they need to decide now because
others are out selling this exact package, including potentially to their
competition. This is direct pressure on the customer, playing on their fear of
losing out and is quite effective.
The key to
closing the sale is to ask for it. Too many opportunities are lost by simply
not asking for a decision. If the answer is yes, we celebrate. If the answer is
no, it just shows there is still work to be done and as a sales person you
start finding out and overcoming the objectives.
