Friday, September 9, 2011

Salespeople Need to be Great at Closing

Actually, this is true, but not in the sense most people think.

A sale is not a sale until it is brought to a conclusion or closed. Good salespeople know that. Successful salespeople know that closing the sale is not a tactic to trick or maneuver a buyer into a decision. When buyers feel manipulated, they may later cancel the order they felt pressured to place.

Great salespeople know that the best conclusion is getting the buyer to say yes, then following through to see that the buyer is satisfied enough to continue to order again, or to make a referral to someone else who'll buy.

Selling is just finding out what the person wants -- that's the first step. The second step is to help them get it. That's closing the sale -- satisfying the buyer's want.

To close a sale a salesperson must first invest the time to understand exactly what the buyer wants. Second, the salesperson must show how his or her product or service meets that want. If the salesperson really understands the buyer and makes recommendations based on the want, the buyer will close himself or herself as soon as the connection between the want and the product or service is understood.

The close simply becomes pointing out the desired outcome to the buyer. A close is not trying to wrestle with the buyer and pressure him or her into making a purchase he or she may regret later.

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