Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin 13-1

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin 13-2 Chapter 13 Closing Begins the Relationship

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin 13-3 Chapter 13 When Should I Pop the Question? Reading Buying Signals What Makes a Good Closer? How Many Times Should You Close? Closing Under Fire Difficulties With Closing Essentials of Closing Sales After Meeting the Objection—What to Do?

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin 13-4 Chapter 13 Prepare Several Closing Techniques Close Based on the Situation Research Reinforces These Sales Success Strategies Keys to Improved Selling The Business Proposition and the Close When You Do Not Make the Sale

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin 13-5 When Should I Pop the Question? Closing is the process of helping people make a decision that will benefit them No magic phrases and techniques to use in closing a sale Close when the prospect is in the conviction stage of the mental buying process

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin 13-6 Reading Buying Signals Buying signal is anything that prospects say or do indicating they are ready to buy Asks questions Asks another person’s opinion Relaxes and becomes friendly Pulls out a purchase order form Carefully examines merchandise

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin 13-7 What Makes a Good Closer? Ask for the order and be quiet Get the order—then move on!

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin 13-8 How Many Times Should You Close? Must be able to use multiple closes Three closes is a minimum

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin 13-9 Closing Under Fire The first no from the prospect isn’t necessarily an absolute refusal to buy

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Difficulties With Closing Closing is the easiest part of the presentation Salespeople may fail to close because they are not confident in their ability to close they determine that the prospect does not need the quantity or type of merchandise, or that the prospect should not buy they may not have worked hard enough in developing a customer profile and customer benefit plan

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Essentials of Closing Sales Be sure your prospect understands what you say Always present a complete story to ensure understanding Tailor your close to each prospect Everything you do and say should consider the customer’s point of view Never stop at the first no Learn to recognize buying signals

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Essentials of Closing Sales cont… Before you close, attempt a trial close After asking for the order—be silent Set high goals for yourself and develop a personal commitment to reach your goals Develop and maintain a positive, confident, and enthusiastic attitude toward yourself, your products, your prospects, and your close

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Prepare Several Closing Techniques The alternative-choice close is an old favorite The assumptive close The compliment close inflates the ego The summary-of-benefits close is most popular The continuous-yes close generates positive responses The minor-points close is not threatening The T-account or balance sheet close was Ben Franklin’s favorite

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Prepare Several Closing Techniques cont… The standing-room-only close gets action The probability close The negotiation close The technology close

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Prepare a Multiple-Close Sequence Different closing techniques work best for certain situations Multiple closes incorporate techniques for overcoming objections

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Prepare a Multiple-Close Sequence By keeping several difficult closes ready in any situation, you are in a better position to close more sales Multiple closes incorporate techniques for overcoming objections

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Close Based on the Situation Different closing techniques work best for certain situations Customer is indecisive Customer is expert or egotistical Customer is hostile Customer is a friend Customer has predetermined beliefs Customer is greedy, wants a deal

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Research Reinforces These Sales Success Strategies Common mistakes resulting in successful sales calls Tells instead of sells; doesn’t ask enough questions Over-controls the call; asks too many closed-end questions Doesn’t respond to customer needs with benefits Doesn’t recognize needs; gives benefits prematurely Doesn’t recognize or handle negative attitudes effectively Makes weak closing statements; doesn’t recognize when or how to close

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Keys to Improved Selling Ask questions to gather information and uncover needs Recognize when a customer has a real need and how the benefits of the product or service can satisfy it Establish a balanced dialogue with customers Recognize and handle negative customer attitudes promptly and directly Use a benefit summary and an action plan requiring commitment when closing

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin The Business Proposition and the Close The business proposition Use a visual aid to close

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin When You Do Not Make the Sale Know that you cannot always sell everyone Don’t take buyer’s denial personally Be courteous and cheerful

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Summary of Major Selling Issues Closing is the process of helping people make decisions that will benefit them Constantly look and listen for buying signals from your prospect Tailor your close to each prospect’s personality Close in a positive, confident, and enthusiastic manner Plan and rehearse closing techniques A good closer has a strong desire to close each sale Keep cool, determine any objections, try to close again You can’t make a sale until you ask for the order!