Regardless of how much time and effort you have put into the prospect and the number of cold calls you might have made, if you cannot close that deal, you are going to fail and won’t become one of the top closers.    Studies have shown that top producers significantly outperform their bottom producers … in some industries, this ratio can be as high as 10-1!  What do these top performers know that the others do not?  There is a secret to being a good sales person, and it is not about working harder – it’s all about working smarter!

Here are some quick and easy ideas and techniques to help you make it to that next stage in your career and ensure that you too know how to “close the sale.”

Know your customer

This doesn’t mean just knowing their name and business and how your business can help them, this is what the bottom producers would do.  If you want to be at the top of your game, you need to know and understand them.  What drives them and why do they get up in the morning?  What scares them?

You’ll find that this knowledge will not come easily and is not something you will get from a simple phone call or even a quick meeting.  You are going to have to develop a relationship with them, in some cases, this means referring your competitor to them as that will better meet their needs.  You want to build trust so that when you do suggest your product, they know that it actually will meet their needs and you are not just trying to hit a sales quota.  The point here is that you are showing them that you care.

The Old Standby

Something we’ve all been exposed to is the “special offer” sale where an item is the last one in stock, or available at a special discount to customers that sign on the dotted line today.  It might sound a bit trite and old school, but it does work which is why it has withstood the test of time.

If you can combine this with “Know your customer” that is even better as long as it’s genuine.  You do not want to poison the relationship you have spent so much time building!

Storytime

One thing that all great salespeople have though is a personality.  It’s extremely important to be personable and engageable, but perhaps that best way of ensuring you stick in someone’s head is by doing something outside of the box.

A bonus technique –

The Assumptive Close

Personally, I prefer the relationship path mentioned in Know your customer as you are not applying any pressure, in fact, in most instances, they are doing most of the leg work for you, but another very successful technique is when you “assume” in your tone and closing that they are buying.  You are literally asking when they would like delivery, while they are still trying to determine if they are interested.  This can sometimes backfire so you should be careful when using this technique.

No matter which approach you choose you are going to get better results than simply sticking to the script and doing the same things that are not working over and over again.  The bottom is that the top closers build develop and build relationships over time.  Get out there and make it happen.