In this video, we discuss how to be a good closer in sales. We will discuss four easy-to-adopt tactics that will immediately make you a better closer.

  1. Trial Close
  2. Soft Close
  3. Hard Close
  4. Compelling event
  5. Mutual Action Plan
  6. Sales takeaway

 

Trial Close Questions

Trial close questions are questions that perform a test close on the prospect to see what they are thinking. For example, asking the question what their thoughts are so far is a a trial close question. These are extremely helpful to ask throughout the sales process as they will let you know if you are going in the right direction and enable you to make adjustments along the way, which will put you in a much better position when it is time to perform the real close.

Here are examples of trial close questions:

  • What do you think of what we have discussed so far?
  • How do you think this fits with what you are needing?
  • How would that feature help you?
  • Is this something you would use?
  • Are we heading in the right direction?
  • Is this what you were expecting to see?

 

Soft Close Questions

Soft close questions are questions that close the prospect by letting them lead or advise as to the next step or direction. Here are some examples:

  • What would you like to do next?
  • What direction would you like to go form here?
  • Do you want to continue talking about this?
  • When would it make sense to talk again?
  • What does the path forward look like?

These are extremely powerful because they almost letting the prospect close themself. And if you do a lot of the other things correctly throughout the sales process, such as building interest and qualifying the prospect, you can have confidence in letting them lead. It is when you have not covered all of the other bases when you need to be a little more firm with your attempt to close the prospect.

 

Hard Close Questions

Hard close questions are questions that are a little more firm and try to get more of commitment out of the prospect. Here are some examples:

  • Are you ready to move forward to the next step in the process?
  • What would you need to be able to make a commitment to move forward?
  • If you had everything that you want, are you prepared to move forward?
  • When are you going to make your final decision?
  • (If delaying the decision for a period of time – X months) Do you mind if I ask if there will be a change or something different at that time that will make that a better time to look at moving forward?
  • Is there anything that is preventing you from being able to move forward with this purchase?

 

Compelling Event

The second tip for how to be a good closer in sales is to try to find a compelling event on the prospect’s side that is related to the potential purchase of your product or service. For example, if the prospect’s current contract is expiring on a specific day and they need to have a replacement by then, that date is a compelling event.

Once you identify a compelling event, not only do you know that the prospect and lead are much more qualified, but you can come back to that date throughout the sales process to keep things moving forward. For example, if the prospect wants to delay a meeting or decision, you can come back to the compelling event as a reason to keep things on track or maintain a level of urgency.

 

Mutual Action Plan

The third tip for being a good closer in sales is to use a mutual action plan (MAP). This is a list of steps that both parties will need to go through and complete in order for the product to be purchased, delivered, and set up.

An ideal time to present the MAP is either after presentation, demonstration, or with your proposal. You can take a first attempt at creating the steps that both parties will need to complete and after you share that with the prospect, you can then ask for additions and changes.

Using a tool like this will help you to be a much better closer because not only will it provide clarity for what both parties need to do, but it will help you to keep the prospect on track and accountable for what they need to do.

 

Sales Takeaway

The last tip to help you with being a good closer in sales is to use a sales takeaway. The sales takeaway is basically slightly taking away the product or service you sell by expressing doubt if the prospect needs or fits well. And the reason you would do such a thing is that it can help to trigger forward movement when you have a prospect who appears to be stalling out.

The reason this can be effective is that it will typicall get a clear reaction from the prospect. Either they will confirm the takeaway and doubt, leading to you potentially walking away. Which might sound like a bad outcome, but if they are not going to purchase from you, this is a good scenario because your sales takeaway will end up saving you valuable time.

The other type of reaction to expect is the prospect challenging your doubt and providing justification and reasons why they need to move forward. This is how the sales takeaway helps you to be a better closer because it can help to get them to either move forward or it will provide you with valuable information you can use as you continue to try to close them and get them to move forward.