ABC's of Selling - The Art of the Close
Do you know how to close a sale?
When we think of sales, it usually conjures up images of a used cars salesman and being pressured to buy. If you have ever seen the movie Glen Gary, Glen Ross you get to take a peek into a sales world of the stereotypical sales person. In this movie there are pressures to close the sale regardless of the customer's needs and they are willing to go to any length, ethical or not, to make sure they hit their sales targets. When it comes to selling our own products or services, many of us have gone so far the other way that we do not feel comfortable closing a sale and our businesses may be suffering because of this.
There was a concept from this movie that I have used in to train clients how to sell, feel confident closing and increase revenues to their business. The concept is A-B-C which stands for Always Be Closing. Selling is a process with stages and if you follow a process, you will simply be closing your prospect to the next stage in your own individual sales process. Each business can take the blueprint of the sales process and customize it to their product or service. Here is a sample of a typical sales process:
Prospecting. Sales is a numbers game so you want to be sure that you have a steady supply of new prospects from multiply sources.
Qualification / Needs Analysis. Confirm that your product or service will meet the needs of the prospect through a series of questions that uncover whether you and the prospect are a good fit.
Presentation / Proposal. Create your unique value proposition and pricing to meet the needs of your prospect.
Negotiation. Be prepared to be flexible, within reason, with your new clients.
Close. Listen for buying signals and do not be afraid to ask for the sale.
Follow Up. This is one of the most important steps. Your new clients will turn into your new sales force if your follow up is flawless.
To use the Always Be Closing strategy means that you are looking to simply close your prospect to the next stage in the sales process. Your individual sales process could be short or long depending upon what type of product or service you are selling. Outline your own individual process for your product or service then use it with your new potential customers. This takes the pressure off of you and the prospect to make decisions quickly and reduces the risk of making the wrong decision.
When you feel comfortable with your process, you will be amazed at how easy it will become to close a sale. Your new clients will be happy that you took the time to make sure that you both are the right fit too. The bottom line is that you will confidently be able to close your sales and increase revenue to your business.
To your success,
Joanne Hernon
CEO of Sales Solutions
Occupation: Sales Consultant
Joanne provides sales consulting and business development services. She has assembled a team of consultants and professionals who value delivering clear, actionable plans with an equally clear track record of taking our clients' businesses to the next level. She is the creator of Breakthrough Sales System(tm) which is a systematic approach to selling which guarantees business owners new leads to their business. Ms. Hernon is a lifetime member of CEO Space and served of the board of Marin Association of Female Executives as Vice President from 2006 - 2008. She is a member of National Association of Women Busness Owners and voluteers her time providing pro-bono consulting to Women's Initiative, a non-profit that helps lower-income women receive training to start and grow their business. Her passion is to help small businesses succeed.
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