Sale-closing techniques and opinions on the subject are as wide as the Nile River in flood season, but the truth of the matter is that they can be categorized into three broad headings: assessing customer's need, eliminating sales resistance, motivating them to buy. Armed with this information, you can close more sales and win more business. One word of wisdom before you attempt any of this, however: be ethical in your selling. The world is inundated with snake-oil salesmen, and they get all the press it seems. One of the fundamentals in selling anything is to gain and keep your customers' trust. Win their trust every step of the way.
That being said, here are some of the cream-of-the-crop sale-closing techniques:
1) Assess the Customer's Needs
In other words: do not spin your wheels or waste their time trying to sell an pair of shoes to a man with no legs. It's unethical, pointless, and a colossal train wreck on your career just waiting to happen. This is true for any sales, in any industry. Sell your prospect what he or she needs, and you'll close more deals. Even if you did close a deal selling something to your customer a product or service he or she didn't need, a few weeks or months down the road this may simply turn around and bite you. Don't hurt your long-term business for immediate gratification.
How do you know what your customer needs? Simple: ask something like, "What are your needs?" "How can I help you?" Or you may even try, "What are you looking for, I'm sure I can help you find it?" Of course, this all depends on the type of sales you're in, and your personal selling process. If you're cold-calling, knocking on doors in the neighborhood, you don't want to ask, "What are you hoping for by the end of this conversation?" Your answer will be a slamming door!
The beauty of assessing your customer's needs during the sales process is at least two-fold. First, it lets their guard down. You are building rapport. Secondly, the more information you have about your customer, the more "ammunition" you'll have to answer their objections later.
2. Eliminating Sales Resistance
Eliminating sales resistance is a fancy way of saying "removing obstacles to buy." This is done a number of ways. First off, your first impression counts plenty. Make sure you look presentable, that you have fresh breath, maintain eye contact and learn the art of "mirroring" your customer. You don't want to be brash if your potential customer is quiet - speak in a way that your customer feels naturally inclined to speak with you.
Another way to eliminate sales resistance, besides your first impression, is to win their trust during every stage of the conversation. Be on their side - you shouldn't be "the salesman," but their advocate, on their team. If you can save them money by recommending a sale, or the like, then do so! You will also want to be sure that you don't come off as pushy.
The obvious way to remove obstacles is to answer objections, and be prepared to do so. Expect objections, in fact. Make it a point to study your past conversations with other customers, and when you notice trends in objections, you can be sure that you'll face those same objections repeatedly. The best way to answer objections is to highlight the benefits and advantages that your product/service gives to the customer - does it save time? Money? Lives? Every objection should end with highlighting some benefit(s) to the customer.
Lastly, be willing to part with a freebie/no-risk trial of your product or service, or even a discounted introductory price. These do really well to lower objections of price. When price is a main objection, the real question behind it is, "What is the real value of what you're selling?" Benefits highlight this value to the customer. Free trials allow the customer to try the service or product, as your guest, and thus to experience the value of what you're selling.
3. Motivate the Customer to Buy
The final aspect of this list of sale-closing techniques is to simply motivate the purchase now. This is commonly referred to as "urgency," and can be set any number of ways.
Usually expiration dates on special offers are used to introduce the customer to your company. "Act now, these won't last at this price!" is another example (and do yourself a favor: don't word it that way). Urgency works if it's subtle, and not blunt, however. Here's another fine example: "You'll be our only injury lawyer in this new L.A. phone directory, if you get the ball rolling today."
The whole art of creating a customer flood is to discover and then close on what your prospect needs or wants. Using these sale-closing techniques to win your customer's trust will step up your success rate, so long as you integrate them into your personal selling process.
