Too Many Questions?

Wise words about closing:

Knowing the Outcome in Advance People don't like to make decisions. The main reason is they don't want to make a poor or wrong decision. Traditional sales closing methods ask people to make a decision. For example, do you want it in green or red? (Alternative choice) Do you want to use your pen or mine? (Action close) Can we write up an order now? (Direct close) Each of these closing techniques, even though they do work, has two fundamental problems: -- They ask the prospect to make a decision -- The average salesperson is uncomfortable using them Few salespeople have a "closing strategy," a process that they follow with each and every real sales opportunity. Most tend to ask a few questions, jump into the presentation too soon, try and overcome a couple of the prospect's sales objections and then prematurely go for the close - usually unsuccessfully. The sales superstars know the outcome long before they get to the end of this routine process and they do it by ensuring that they have a well-qualified prospect, they know the prospect's dominant buying motives, they have identified all of their potential objections before they are even expressed, they have carefully observed the various buying signals from the prospect, and they have given an effective and interactive presentation. They know long before they ask their closing question what the answer will be. How? By being effective at people reading skills, by asking intelligent, effective and appropriate, probing, qualifying questions, by being good listeners, and by asking a variety of trial closing questions throughout the sales process. They don't try and force a fit. They discover the prospect's sense of urgency or they create it. They are in the prospect's presence to sell, not educate. They are there to do business. From their opening remarks to their final closing statement, their attitude is: I am here to sell. This does not mean that they are applying pressure or hard selling. It means they are serious about helping the prospect solve their problems or take advantage of opportunities. Source: Sales trainer/speaker Tim Connor (www.timconnor.com)

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