Dec 28,2011
If boosting sales tops your list of New Year's Business Resolutions, you might want to check these tips that the renowned sales experts have been sharing with you on SOLDLAB portal this year. And as we are about to see 2011 off, we thought you might find it useful and exciting to go through the best sales tips from the top industry professionals! Here we go – 12 amazing closing tips for amazing 2012! - See more at: http://www.soldlab.com/news/2011/12/28/12-Expert-Tips-for-Closing-That-Sale#sthash.AIhkLkuc.dpuf
1. Be comfortable. Being asked to make a purchase can be stressful for the prospect. It can also be stressful for the salesperson. But showing stress won’t help the salesperson close more sales. To jump out of a plane at 13,000 feet, you need to calm and cool; and to be a successful closer, you need to be calm and cool, too. Just relax and enjoy the ride! By Skip Anderson, http://www.sellingtoconsumers.com/
2. When you get a price objection, don’t immediately lower your price, instead hear what your customer is really saying. They are telling you that there doesn’t seem to be enough value for the price. Value doesn’t mean talking about “feature, feature, feature.” Value is always in the heart of the customer. You need to know what is important to your customer and then make sure your products meet those needs. The phrase “what this means to you is” is a great way to talk about the IMPACT those features have on your customer’s life. By Laurie Brown,http://www.thedifference.net/
3. Get all the powerful people – especially the most powerful person to commit to your offering. If it is a business sale, there may be lots of people involved. If it is a consumer sale (car, house, personal item), determine who has the power – husband, wife? By Sam Manfer, http://www.sammanfer.com/
4. I believe that ‘closing’ is something that happens naturally once you have successfully navigated all of the prior steps in the sales process. Think about it. If you don’t prospect well, listen well, problem solve well, and create trust well, there’s probably no way you are going to close well. By Diane Helbig, http://www.seizethisdaycoaching.com/
5. Most objections are legitimate and should be treated that way. Many salespeople talk about having to overcome objections. I always use the term “handle” instead. If I have an objection I don’t want to be “overcome”. I want to know how you will handle that objection and make sure the purchase is a good fit for me or my company. As a prospect, this will tell me a lot about how you will respond in the future if I become a customer. By Alice Heiman, http://smartsalestips.com/
6. Change Your Wording. One of my seminar graduates doubled his sales by changing his words in the endgame of selling. After his sales presentation he would ask the prospect if he had any additional questions or concerns. If the prospect said "no," he would then ask, "Well, if you like it, why don’t you take it?" He was amazed to find that many prospects could not think of a good reason not to go ahead with his offering immediately. Both his closing ratio and his income soared. By Brian Tracy, http://www.briantracy.com/
7. Commitment Map. The most organised sales people therefore map out the sale and know what is going to happen next, plus the 2-5 steps after that. A Commitment Map is a series of smaller goals leading to the ultimate prize, which is the signed order. The opposite of driving a sale forward with a commitment map is sitting tight, hoping for the best and knowing too late. However hope is definitely not a strategy. By Matt Drought, http://www.naturaltraining.com/
8. You have to remember, the consumer is controlling the buying cycle. So while you can influence what, how and why your customers buy from you, you cannot determine when they buy. The final decision will be theirs, and if you move too fast, if you press too hard you will surely lose the sale. So master the art of prospecting, continue to define your sale process, create innovative and unique ways to stay in contact, and by all means learn to be patient. By Meridith Elliott Powell, http://www.motionfirstnow.com/
9. If there are no negative consequences to delaying a decision, what motivation does the buyer have to act now? Look for ways to impose a negative consequence for failure to act quickly. For example: “in order for us to guarantee shipping by ____, we will need your commitment no later than ______”. Or, “We currently have dates available this month for initiating this project; however if we do not get your go-ahead by ____ I cannot guarantee the availability of our staff”. The more substantial the consequences, the more effort made to get a decision made. This is also a good qualifying step to determine how serious the buyer is in doing business with you. Try it. It works. By Landy Chase, http://sellingrevolution.com/
10. Most people hesitate to negotiate because they lack the confidence. Develop this confidence by negotiating more frequently. Ask for discounts from your suppliers. As a consumer, develop the habit of asking for a price break when you buy from a retail store. Here are a few questions or statements you can use to practice your negotiation skills:
• "You'll have to do better than that."
• "What kind of discount are you offering today?"
• "That's too expensive." Wait for their response afterwards.
• Learn to flinch.
Be pleasant and persistent but not demanding. Condition yourself to negotiate at every opportunity will help you become more comfortable, confident and successful. By Kelley Robertson, http://www.robertsontraininggroup.com/
11. Plan for a close on every call. Efficiency in selling requires that every sales interaction end with a close, i.e. a tangible commitment to action from the customer. Understand what this will look like in this specific buying cycle, and plan how you will get there. Whether it is an introduction to another stakeholder, putting you on the shortlist, or signing the LOA, get clear on the next logical step and move to a commitment. By Jill Harrington, http://www.salesshift.ca/
12. Most sales people are good at asking questions. Only the very best are masters at actually listening to the response. If you say, "how high is too high?" or "what do you mean by too high?" and be quiet, you will get a nice long answer. Once the client has explained their objection, I usually respond by saying something like: "if we can't get our price down to that lowest level, does that mean there is no chance that we will go forward?" Or I might ask, "so is pricing your only consideration?" By asking these questions, I want to find out - once and for all, beyond any shadow of a doubt - whether they are making their decision based solely on price, or whether any other factors will influence their choice. By Colleen Francis, http://www.engageselling.com/ - See more at: http://www.soldlab.com/news/2011/12/28/12-Expert-Tips-for-Closing-That-Sale#sthash.AIhkLkuc.dpuf
(from: http://www.soldlab.com/news/2011/12/28/12-Expert-Tips-for-Closing-That-Sale)
