Closing

Closing techniques and high pressure sales tactics are the main reasons for the negative image many buyers have of salespeople.

Aggressive selling techniques in the consumer sector (like scaring old ladies into buying double glazing with stories about increased burglaries for example) have given the sales profession a bad name.

If you’re not sure what we mean: it doesn’t get much clearer than this…!

Here’s more of the “old school”: manipulating a prospect to say yes.

But don’t think that closing is all bad news; a surprisingly common complaint amongst media buyers is that salespeople don’t ask for the order. They know that it’s your job to make the sale and hesitancy in asking for the order doesn’t make it easy for your clients to buy.

So how is it done?

There’s more to closing than asking a killer question, but there are a number of ways to take the pressure out of asking for the order for both you and your prospect.

The easiest way of remembering them that we’ve come across is RATAID, which stands for Rebound, Alternative, Trial, Assumptive,

Indirect and Direct.

Some trainers will tell you that these are outdated, and many of your prospects could not only tell you what RATAID stands for but can also spot each type of close from a distance of forty paces.

This doesn’t mean that they aren’t effective, just that they should be used at the right stage of the process and never as a substitute for a solid sales process.

Rebound
Your prospect gives you a buying signal by asking a question, and you ask a closing question in reply.

Prospect: "Can I get into next week’s issue?"
Rebound close "How many pages would you like in next week’s issue?"

Alternative
Easier than asking for a direct yes, you instead ask your prospect which of 2 options they would prefer – cheekily either answer results in a booking.

"Would you like a full-page or a half-page?"
"Are we talking about a full colour ad or black and white?"

Trial
It’s great to use a trial close at the identification stage of the sales process - you’ve asked all the right questions & understood their objectives – a trial close now will flush out any objections before you get into the presentation.

A good summary and trial close here can help you understand the decision-making process and qualify this prospect as a live opportunity, or perhaps one for another time.

So we’ve talked about your need to raise your profile in the local area and that you’re looking at ways to do this through advertising…

…if I can show you that radio advertising is more cost-effective than any other media and that our listeners match your target audience, are there any reasons that you wouldn’t book a trial campaign with us?

Assumptive
This is for the prospects that want to say yes but find decision-making difficult. It’s really the first half of a close which sets up an opportunity for a more direct approach.

"I’ll send you the booking form."
"That’s booked in for you, please could you send the paperwork back this afternoon."

Indirect
Again, this places less pressure on the prospect than asking for a straight yes or no.

"How many weeks would you like your ad to run?"
"I’ve sent over our rate card…do you see yourself as a sponsor or an exhibitor?"

Direct
Great if you’ve had an good, open conversation and your prospect has indicated they would like to go ahead without actually giving you a yes.

"Would you like to go ahead?"
"Can we book this in for you?"
"Is that a yes?"

When should you close?

In terms of asking for the order, timing varies based on your prospect’s preferred buying process, the value of the deal and a number of other factors.

Lining up a new sponsor for the 2012 Olympics takes considerably longer than selling an ad in Loot for example, but one thing remains the same - throughout the process you should be checking with your prospect that they are in agreement up to that point.

The key to this is to make sure that your conversation goes both ways, subtle closing questions give your prospect the opportunity to let you know their thoughts along the way a bit like taking their temperature.

With a new client you should always make sure that your pitch is complete before closing, otherwise you’ll end up disappearing prospects with little understanding why.

With clients that you’ve worked with for a long time it might just be a quick phone call to confirm a rebooking.

If you're looking for more closing ideas (and some pretty amusing ones), click here but your time may be better spent considering why you're having to close so hard in the first place.

Advance Sales & Closing Techniques

There are a couple of theories that take closing to a new level, and use a very different approach.

The first is The Sandler System which places much greater emphasis on the qualification process, in particular encouraging salespeople to aim for as many nos as possible through extensive qualification of prospects. The result is a lot less time spent giving out free information and chasing deals that will never happen, enabling you to focus on real sales opportunities where there is a good fit and a willingness to play by the same rules.

Part of the qualification process is something Sandler calls the Up-Front Contract. You can read more here; the up-front contract includes agreeing that if the prospect likes what you have to offer they will go ahead and book, making the closing stage an agreed part of the process right from the outset.

Ari Galper, the creator of Unlock The Game® has put together a no-pressure based cold calling approach that doesn’t sacrifice your integrity for the sale. It’s transformational in that it allows you to be your natural self and not the “salesperson” that no one likes to hear from.

He shows that by building trusting, honest buyer-seller relationships there’s no need for manipulative closing techniques.

Click here for Cold Calling According to Ari and take his Free Test Drive to see if Unlock The Game resonates with your personal values about selling…