As a sales training company we receive many phone calls from frustrated sales managers asking us to please teach their salespeople how to close more deals. Their requests focus on the poor closing rate of their staff and they honestly believe that we can help by imparting assertive closing techniques. And there are endless techniques that we can teach \u2013 because this is what the market demands \u2013 but sadly the reality is that in the real world these closes do not actually work.<\/p>\n
Become a master questioner
\nIf you\u2019re not happy with your sales team\u2019s results, chances are high that the real problem is their questioning skills. And, your money will be better spent in training that helps them develop this skill and how to put it to best use during the discovery meeting. Yes, presenting and closing are important, but the discovery meeting is more important. A salesperson can\u2019t even get to presentation and closing stage if he trips up in the discovery meeting.<\/p>\n
So where does the close happen in the sales process?
\nAsk any top sales pro and they will tell you that the close starts at the beginning. But the question you should really be asking is: When does the \u201cbuy-in\u201d start? The answer is that it starts during the Discovery Phase, where salespeople are working with the prospect to establish their pain points. If \u201cbuy-in\u201d occurs at this stage, the close is easier to achieve. It\u2019s really just a matter of summarising the points of agreement.<\/p>\n
We play a game with delegates on our training programs to help them establish the prospect\u2019s \u201cbuy-in\u201d. One delegate is nominated to conjure up the profile of an ideal prospect and include at least three problem areas. The other delegates have to then try to find out what these As a sales training company we receive many phone calls from frustrated sales managers asking us to please teach their salespeople how to close more deals. Their requests focus on the poor closing rate of their staff and they honestly believe that we can help by imparting assertive closing techniques. And there are endless techniques that we can teach \u2013 because this is what the market demands \u2013 but sadly the reality is that in the real world these closes do not actually work. Finding the pain = closing.
\n <\/p>\n
1. No closed questions allowed. Closed questions are those that result in a \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d answer. For example: \u201cDo you want to go ahead?\u201d Why are these types of questions best avoided? Because most people lean naturally towards a \u201cno\u201d because this seems the safest option. And, once you\u2019ve received a \u201cno\u201d, that\u2019s it, the discussion is over.
\n2. Find at least three points of \u201cpain\u201d. Other descriptions for this \u201cpain\u201d include; new opportunities, problem areas, gaps, unforeseen problems, and negative consequences of maintaining the status quo.
\n3. Get the prospect\u2019s agreement to these points of \u201cpain\u201d. You could ask something like: Just to double-check that we are on the same page here, you agreed XYZ. Then repeat the points discussed and where you and the prospect have agreed.
\n4. You are not allowed to pitch or present your product or service before identifying three points of \u201cpain\u201d.
\nWhich of these ground rules do you think is broken, time and time again? You\u2019d be right if you said no. 4. This occurs 95% of the time and we know this to be a fact after 20 years\u2019 experience in eight countries with over 140\u00a0000 delegates from around the world. With almost 100% certainty, we can safely predict that salespeople will jump at the first chance to tell a prospect how they can solve their problems. This is not selling, it is telling, and we know this doesn\u2019t work. People like to buy, but dislike being sold to.<\/p>\n
Why do salespeople jump so quickly into a telling mode? Because it\u2019s a comfortable place for them. Salespeople can\u2019t wait to tell prospects about the benefits of their products or services. Companies spend hours teaching their staff about a product. This conditioning process paves the way for salespeople to fall into the biggest trap in the sales process; the Presentation Trap. This is pitching the benefits of your product\/service far too early, without having three points of \u201cpain\u201d clearly on the table. This mistake is as nonsensical as going to a doctor and expecting him to immediately prescribe medication without asking any questions about the reasons for your visit.<\/p>\n
So how do you avoid this fatal temptation? You ask your salespeople to follow the following rules to the letter:<\/p>\n
1. If you find yourself telling your prospects about the product; stop and ask yourself: Have I identified three points of \u201cpain\u201d and, more importantly, does my prospect concur?
\n2. Stop focusing on your product and listen to the prospect. Don\u2019t fall in love with your product \u2013 fall in love with the customer. In fact, do yourself a favour and \u201cdivorce\u201d your company, and only fall back in love with it when you present your benefits to the client.
\n3. Follow the 30\/70 Rule. This means spending 30% of the time talking, and 70% of the time listening to your prospect talk. Recent research by Diana Tamir shows that talking about ourselves \u2013 whether in a personal conversation or through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter \u2013 triggers the same sensation of pleasure in the brain as food or money. Participants in the study chose to speak about themselves, even when tempted with financial rewards. If you can get your prospects to talk about themselves; you\u2019ve made huge progress. If you can demonstrate that you are actively listening to them, the chances of them liking you are high. Salespeople need to find the triggers that will get prospects talking; it usually doesn\u2019t require too much inducement.<\/p>\n
In the game described above, we mirrored examples of real-life events. Follow the rules of the game in your business and keep practicing them. The game is all about gradually encouraging \u201cbuy-in\u201d from your prospects and ultimately getting to the point where you close the deal. As you uncover issues pertinent to your prospect, not your product, you will gain their \u201cbuy-in\u201d. You can then close the deal by summarising the pain points and getting the prospect\u2019s agreement. Now, make this \u201cgame\u201d your reality and watch your sales soar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As a sales training company we receive many phone calls from frustrated sales managers asking us to please teach their salespeople how to close more deals. Their requests focus on the poor closing rate of their staff and they honestly believe that we can help by imparting assertive closing techniques. And there are endless techniques […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[379],"tags":[251,426,405],"class_list":["post-5074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sales-3","tag-professional-sales-courses","tag-sales-courses","tag-sales-training"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeergroup.com\/mypeergroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeergroup.com\/mypeergroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeergroup.com\/mypeergroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeergroup.com\/mypeergroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeergroup.com\/mypeergroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5074"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/mypeergroup.com\/mypeergroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5264,"href":"https:\/\/mypeergroup.com\/mypeergroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5074\/revisions\/5264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeergroup.com\/mypeergroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeergroup.com\/mypeergroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeergroup.com\/mypeergroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}