Close Sales Like A Wolf!
Sales Closing For Startups & Young Businesses: Advanced
Smarter Sales Closing Strategies For Getting "Yes"
Now we are going to roll up our sleeves and and get down to the brass taxes of getting and elusive "Yes"!
The Right Target But The Wrong Individual Target
If you've followed the basic course then you would have already identified the right target. Now if your p/s is targeted towards individuals, i.e. wedding dresses, tailored suits, personal training etc, then this is very straightforward to identify who to contact and don't have to explore further.
However, if you're like me and you prefer to do business with companies and collective groups, then you may have found the right target to work with, but have you found the right point of contact?
If this is you then remember this - never ever waste contacting someone who isn't the decision maker or someone of influence, unless you're contacting to acquire the latter's contact information.
Ideally you want to be contacting the decision maker, however sometimes it is good practice to contact someone of influence because they tend to be low enough in the hierarchy to see the day-to-day activities of the business to consider if your p/s is useful but also high enough to influence the decision maker, whereas the decision maker may be too high and not see the day-to-day activities to appreciate the need for your p/s.
This of course depends on the size and structure of your target. In much smaller organisations, the decision maker is the only person present.
Finding The Right Point Of Contact
The following methods have proven to yield results:
With Google in particular, if you type in [name of business] [position] search results can give you links that person. So I want to speak to a director, I would type "ABC Ltd director" and sometimes I can get "John Smith, Director", followed by telephone and email.
Also every country has their own third party company database. Sometimes government websites and online publishing sites keep records of companies, their accounts and directors. Simply identify those sites and search your targets through those.
The First Contact
When you identified your individual target, it's time to make first contact. Ideally this would be done over the phone so that they can hear your voice, but email is fine.
Your aim would be to move the meeting to face-to-face as soon as possible. The idea is build that relationship in order to close the sale. As mentioned, sales are built on relationships. People cannot buy or have relationships based on just words and images, they need a physical face and voice.
Always endeavor to arrange face-to-face meeting if local. If you live far away from them, endeavor to have a video call through Skype or face-time on your phone. Failing that then simply talk to them on the phone. Don't base the entire sales process on emails!
Your Hook
Unless people have expressed a great need for something, nobody likes to be contacted randomly, especially if they are sold at! Why should someone pay attention to you?
As mentioned in the basic course, this is not the time to sell anything!
If this is a phone call, you can tackle this in two ways:
A) The Pre-Pitch
This is more for less experienced closers that have yet to gain the confidence to talk to the prospect cold. You call the prospect briefly explaining the reason for your call and arrange another time to call them back to explain further. With this method, you show that you appreciate you have called them cold and that they might be in the middle of something. And so if you arrange to call them back another time, they are ready for your call and so there won't be as much of a barrier.
B) Hook Pitch
For those more confident or experienced you can jump straight into B). This is where you briefly explain the reason for your call then offer to show them something or do something for them. By doing this, you are showing you're not selling them anything but instead giving them something that they would benefit from.
If I was pitching wedding dresses, I would give them a link to my existing portfolio. If I was pitching software, I would offer to give them 1 month free access. The point of the hook here is that, if your prospect has a need that you p/s can fulfill then your offer would feed that need leading to your prospect to possible want more!
Of course this would not be applicable to every p/s. Some p/s do not lend itself to being able to offer this type of hook, which case your hook would lean towards identifying their needs as covered in the basic course.
If you are sending an email then this would be done with B) approach.
The Price
Avoid talking about price early! If you're selling lower p/s, avoid talking about price early in the meeting/call/interaction. If you're selling higher p/s, avoid talking about price at least in the first or second meeting/call/interaction. If a prospect asks about price early, they are not likely to be a good customer as they are more concerned about price than value.
The Sales Scripts
Below are some of the sales scripts I use to close my own sales, these scripts can be modified accordingly to fit face-to-face meetings, phone calls and emails.
Outbound Call
Hey [Name]
I came across [you/your business] on [where you found them] and I just wanted to talk to you about [whatever need you can fulfill].
[If going for A)] I appreciate you wouldn't have expected my call today so how about I arrange to call back at [time/date] where we can put aside a few minutes to address [your need].
[If going for B)] I want to put aside some time for a few minutes to address [their need], do you time right now to speak with me or shall I arrange another time?
Can you please tell me more about [your need]?
[Prospect tells you, ask questions along the way]
[This can be done in a separate meeting/call if you wish]. Just so I understand better whether I can indeed help you, tell me about [yourself/your business] [ask whatever you need to know].
I think I now have a better idea of [your need]. Let me go away and look into that further for you and I shall get back to you. In the meantime, me [show you my portfolio/do something/offer you something] and I'll arrange another time to talk.
Inbound Call
Thank you for getting in touch! How can I help you?
Can you please tell me more about [your need]?
[Prospect tells you, ask questions along the way]
I think I now have a better idea of [your need]. Let me go away and look into that further for you and I shall get back to you. In the meantime, me [show you my portfolio/do something/offer you something] and I'll arrange another time to talk.
Follow Up Meeting/Call
I've looked into [your need] further. From what you explained previously, your need is [whatever their need is]. We can definitely solve [your need] for you and this is how we're going to do [explain how you will solve it].
Have you [looked at our portfolio/tried our p/s?], what did you think of it?
Is there anything you're not sure of that I can go over?
If we can solve [your need] for you, are you happy to go ahead on this?
If you want to go ahead, the price is [your price] and we can get started [today/this week/this month/]
Thank you [Name], we'll send you information shortly.
[If prospect is not ready to buy] That's fine, have a think about it and we'll talk again at [date/time]. In the meantime, is there anything you want to know for next time so that I can go away and find and get back to you?
Once You've Closed The Client - Asking for Referrals
Thank you for signing up! How do you feel about the p/s you've signed up to?
Is there anyone you know that you feel would also benefit from this? Would you be able to provide me their contact details so I can reach out to them?
Follow Up Meeting/Call Afterwards If Prospect Was Not Ready Previously
Are there anything you had concerns over?
If we are able to resolve those issues for you, are you ready to go ahead with this?
If The Prospect Decides Not To Buy From You - The Scary "NO!"
I completely understand - is there a particular reason why you don't feel it would be a good fit? It would help me to understand for other future prospects in case there something that I'm offering that isn't suitable.
Listen, it's great talking to you. How about I catch up with you next month to see how you're getting on. If you're making progress / getting results [on your own / with someone else], then it would be great to hear about it. Or if you're not getting the results you want, perhaps we can look to re-evaluate your situation and see if I could help in some way - sound good?
Golden Rules Of Sales Closing To Remember
- Always ask questions because it's always about them, not you
- Always look to address their questions and concerns
- Always be the one who talks least and let them do most of the talking
- Questions and allowing your prospect to talk gets them emotionally invested in the sales process - leading to a sale!
- It's a mistake to talk without asking questions or asking if they understand you
- It's a mistake to focus on features without applying it to value and results
- It's a mistake wait a long time to follow up after your last meeting regardless of whether they say yes or no
- It's a mistake to answer a question that you don't know the answer to!
- Don't be afraid to say no if you disagree or feel uncomfortable with something
- Don't be afraid to walk away from a bad deal or uncomfortable sale - it's not worth it in the long term - your job is to find good business, not bad business!
- Never resort to competing on price with your competitors
- Once you've closed the sale, always follow up with a call or email shortly after, no more than 1 day
- Follow up, follow up & FOLLOW UP - unless you're really lucky or really good, it's rare to close in one meeting/call. Prospects make decisions after x amount of interactions, so always follow up - regardless of outcome (within reason!)
- Following up regardless of their decision also tells them you care about them and not just after their money. So prospects might eventually buy from you or even refer new prospects to you!
- Sometimes when a prospect decides not to buy from you (the scary "NO!", goes with someone else or takes a long time to "think about it", that's a good thing! If they fail to progress or get results because of indecision, there's a chance you might close them later on for a much better deal! For example if you charge $1,000; once they let 2-3 months pass without progress/result, they realise they've wasted time and will likely agree to sign up to your p/s. At this point, you can charge $1,200, $1,500 so on! So follow up!
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