Closing Sales

What have you sold today?
How about yesterday, last week, so far this month, last month, and so on? Keeping track of your sales and setting sales goals will lead to more closed sales. The reason this is true is what I like to call having a closing mentality. I always seem to close more sales during the last week of a month than I do in the first three weeks of a month combined. The main reason is urgency. We track sales and sales performance on a month-to-month basis. We set monthly goals and as the end of a month draws near the closing mentality really sets in.

Understanding this situation as I described it above can help you close more sales all month long. The increased urgency at the end of the month causes you to get out of your comfort zone and take some action. The reason you wait is probably because you are uncomfortable with the process of aggressively going for the close, but when the end of the month comes along, your fear of the perceived closing discomfort is easily superseded by the reality of not making the month.

How to break the cycle
A good place to start is by overcoming your fear of closing. Don’t tell me you do not have any fear of closing. Everybody does. Fear is normal in sales. The trick is to admit to it and to channel that fear into action and go close your sales. The best way to this is to build your confidence. The best way to build your confidence is to be well prepared. If you have not thoroughly studied the art of selling, you are probably not prepared. There are two great books (also available as audio series) that you must read to ensure you are properly prepared. The first is The Psychology of Selling by Brian Tracy and the second is Secrets of Closing the Sale by Zig Ziglar. Nothing you can ever do will raise your confidence and have you better prepared to close sales than reading (or listening) to these two books. I actually recommend you get the audio versions. The authors narrate their books and are the best speakers you can ever hope to hear.

Now lets close some sales
Closing sales is a state of mind, but it also requires a good understanding of your prospect and their needs. The popular closing term “the hot button” refers to finding the most important factor or factors in your offer, and making sure that you stress these benefits when you ask for the sale. YES, YOU MUST ASK FOR THE SALE! If you ask for the sale and do not get a yes, well, that is where the real closing begins. You need to find out why. This is commonly called an objection. You must address all of the objections while pushing the hot buttons until you have proven that your offer is a great value for the price you are asking, and then you must ask for the sale again. If you still get a no, you must have missed some objections, are pushing the wrong hot buttons (or cold buttons) or are not dealing with a person who has the authority to make a buying decision. Trying to close a sale with a person who does not have the authority to make the decision is a frustrating waste of time that can kill your confidence. For this reason, it is a good idea to ask that question early on in the sales process. Does the thought of asking that question make you uncomfortable? Good, now you’re starting to get the idea of what it takes to close sales. You must learn to be comfortable where most people would not. You must make your comfort zone, the closing zone.

Now stop surfing the web and go sell something!
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