Today we will review the final 2 steps of the 6 steps of selling: CLOSING (5) AND AFTER SALES SERVICE (6).
Many sales associates focus on CLOSING, but it is so much more difficult if you haven’t done all of the other steps properly; and the final step is often one ignored by average sales associates. To truly master your craft and maximize your opportunities, giving the final step the attention it deserves, will help to separate you from the average sales associates.
SECTION FIVE: CLOSING THE SALE
Closing the sale should be the easiest, most natural interaction you’ve ever experienced, if you have done the first four steps well. Usually, there are objections though, and you should realize them for the opportunities they are rather than feeling defeated, just because someone said “no” doesn’t mean you are finished. Also, when you are “new” it is easy to get frustrated.
PAUL’S NOTE: There are days where everything you touch is gold and other days where nothing seems to work, it is especially frustrating when other sales people are writing tons of business … just take a deep breathe and stick to the 6 steps and don’t try too hard, relax and it will come to you.
In order to understand how to more effectively close your sales, we need to educate ourselves on why customers don’t buy. Customers need to be sold on you, your company, and the product you are recommending. If any of these three fails to meet their expectations, then you will probably not close the sale.
The company is rarely the issue, or they probably would not have come into our store; however, many times it is the sales associate; however, through training and practice, you can minimize this as a problem.
DID YOU KNOW, that as an industry – 70% of customers leave without buying because their sales associate never asked them to buy anything? Why does that happen: fear of rejection, missing the buying signals, or just plain ambivalence.
One of the keys to being successful when closing is to know the right time to close. In general terms, it is better to close the sale too soon rather than too late; however, not knowing your customers buying signs leads to closing at inappropriate times. The risks are simple, too soon and you risk making the customer feel pressured, too late and their excitement for your product will be gone … what do you look for?
Customer buying signs:
- Customers asking about methods of payment
- Customers asking about extended service plans
- Customers asking about accessories
- Customers asking about stock availability
- Customers asking when you can deliver it
- Customers asking your recommendation
- Customers agreeing with your tie-downs
- Customers showing real excitement about the product
Another common problem us that new sales associates can actually talk themselves out of a sale because they missed the buying signs and just keep talking.
As well, if you are assertive enough to ask the sale, very often you might feel like yielding to the uncomfortable silence that sometimes occurs and try to fill the empty space with pointless chatter; worse, some sales associates will actually give the customer an objection, “is that too much money Bob?” Of course, since Bob is like any customer and doesn’t necessarily trust sales associates (even ones he likes) he might use that objection as a good opportunity to put off making a decision he had every intention of making today. The key is to let the customer make a decision, that is critical to the sale, if the decision is YES, we have achieved our goal, if the decision is NO, we can find out where we fell short and try to recover the sale. That moment of silence after you have asked for the sale is simply the time the customer is thinking about their response.
The keys when closing the sale are:
- Ask for the sale and be silent
- Be confident
- Always assume they will buy
ABC – Always be closing: There are many different ways to ask for the sale and you can tailor each method to each customer. Remember you will likely ask for the sale more than once during your presentation so you will need to know them all to deal with every unique situation.
Different types of closes:
Trial close: This type of close allows you to be persistent without being pushy and you can use it early and often. Since a trial close is not actually a close on its own you will have to follow it with another. A trial close gauges a customer’s readiness to buy:
For example: “So, can you see how this unit best suits your needs”
Or “So, you can see how this unit suits your perfectly, right?” (using a tie-down)
When a trial close is used with the proper body language (nodding and smiling) and at the right time in the sale, it is the perfect precursor to another close of your choice.
Direct close: Asking for the sale directly with confidence, for example:
“Would you like to go with this unit today?”
Assumptive close: Assuming your customer will buy without actually asking, for example:
“Did you want to pay with cash, debit, or credit card?
Accessory close: Assuming the customer wants the big ticket by closing the accessory, for example:
“Did you want to go with the area rug as well?”
Practice and role play these four closes and become excellent at time.
PAUL’S NOTE: Everyone hates role-playing but it works … do it! Remember the keys: 2 people / appreciate it is awkward / don’t interrupt.
Objections: They are reasons or excuses not to buy. You need to understand that objections simply mean that your customer still doesn’t believe that your product is the right one for them, so listen, remember, and try again.
Preventing Objections:
- Build a relationship with your customer
- Understand their needs
- Create excitement about your product
- Close after seeing good buying signs and a trial close
- Use tie-downs
If you get a “NO” response, we are in business because at least it means you are asking for the sale. Customers that say “NO” are telling you that they either don’t like you or they don’t “KNOW” why they should buy. It almost always boils down to price or product and it is your job to identify if in fact you did your job during qualification, and have in fact show the right product to your customer. If the answer is YES then again, we are in business, if the answer is NO, and we have shown the wrong product, we have to backtrack and figure out what we did wrong.
Before you can satisfy your customer’s objection, we need to find out what it is. The best way to find out, is to simply ASK. Our customers came in realizing that if we spent their valuable time s well as our valuable time, we would eventually ask them to buy our products. If they say “NO”, it is very reasonable for you to inquire why; but we need to do so in a very professional manner. A good example is:
- “What’s preventing you from making your decision today?”
Six most common objections:
PRICE: Your customer is not convinced that the product is the best value for their money
PRODUCT: Your customer is not convinced that the product is right for them
SPOUSAL: Your customer is not convinced that the product is right for their spouse.
SHOP AROUND: Your customer is not convinced that this is the best deal on the market.
DISCOUNT: Your customer wants to negotiate.
PURCHASE: Your customer wants to believe they are making right choice.
Customers will sometimes not actually reveal their true objection, and respond by saying: “I’m not sure”. It is very important to remember that if they are not sure, then they are not sure about something specific and tangible, it is your job to find out which one of the six above, it is.
5 Steps to satisfying objections: Before you can hope to satisfy an objection, you need to understand their frame of mind after they have said NO, their defenses are sky-high, and they feel fairly confident that they are going to get aggressively pursued by a salesperson wo wants them to buy when they don’t feel ready. You need to understand the customer’s situation and react accordingly. We probably feel the same way when we are in the customer’s position. How can we ease their concerns?
- Empathize – “I understand ___________”
- Rephrase their objection – “I understand that you …
- PRICE – …want to get the best value for your money
- PRODUCT – … want to make sure you get the right product
- SPOUSAL – … want to make the right decision for both of you
- SHOP AROUND – … get the best possible price
- DISCOUNT – … feel assured that you are getting the best price in the market
- PURCHASE – … want to make sure you haven’t made a mistake
- Isolate the objection – “Other than that, is there anything else holding you back Bob?”
- Satisfy the objection – “We have a price guarantee and even if the price goes down either here or at a competitor, as long as it is the same terms and conditions, we will match the price.”
- Trial close, then close the sale – “You can see why there is no need to worry about whether you are getting the lowest price or night, right? So, when did you want delivery?”
SECTION 6: AFTER SALES SERVICE
Of all of the steps in selling, this is the one that is most overlooked by everyone. You made the sale, it is on paper and the money is in the bank, but the sale isn’t over until the customer is satisfied and quite frankly in relationship selling, the connection with the customer never ends, that relationship needs to be nurtured and maintained. I have seen the same customer come back to a store year after year and deal with the same associate because that sales associate was committed to executing this step so well.
After the sale is written make sure you:
- Stay in touch, if the product had to be orders
- A customer should never have to call you to find out where their order is, touch base at least once every two weeks until the order is in their home
- Call them whenever you said that you would, even if you do not have an answer yet
- When a customer purchases, walk them to the door, thank them, and give them two business cards and ask them to give them to anyone that they know that might be looking for new items for their home.
- If a customer does not purchase, ask permission to call them when what they are looking for comes on sale, or if you are having a big sale. Keep track of their names, and actually call them.
- After a customer takes their product, follow up with a telephone call, thank them for their business and make sure that they are happy and have no issues with their purchase. Many people are afraid to discover if there is a problem – remember, most people don’t report problems, they just go some place different next time.
- When making a follow up call, don’t forget to ask them for what they might be looking for next and keep track of that after asking permission to call them.
Following the 6 steps from a procedural perspective is the science of selling; how you do it, is the craft part of selling. Practice, try new things, learn, the more you do those things the better you will be … good selling.
I would like to dedicate this blog to Nelson Samson, a mentor and a friend who drilled me mercilessly on the 6 steps to the point I could do them in my sleep.