The iconic Alec Baldwin famously coined the phrase, “Always be closing,” in the 1992 film Glengarry, Glen Ross, where he tried tough tactics to motivate his sales team. As easy as it may sound, closing the sale is the essential part of any sales technique, and sometimes the most elusive.

The art of closing the deal with your customers, both large and small, directly impacts and, ultimately, the success of your business. Covering the most frequently asked questions on sales closing techniques, we’ve got you covered with these easy guide full of pro tips to get ink on the dotted line.

Answers To Your Frequently Asked Questions About Closing The Sale

How do you close a sales deal? The truth is, if you ask 100 salespeople who they close the deal, you’re likely to get 100 answers. There are, however, a few techniques that could be considered universal (and extremely helpful), so let’s drill down on techniques to close the sale.

• Ask for the sale. If you have a customer that’s extremely interested, a direct closing approach might be all you need. It may be as simple as laying out your value proposition, how it solves your potential new customer’s pain points and reasons why they should make their move right this very moment – and then asking for the deal. In other words, if you’ve earned the right to ask for a sale, ask for the sale then say nothing. Rookie sales professionals often talk themselves into and out of a sale. They often succumb to excitement and nervousness and miss the window of opportunity to close the sale or, even worse, say something that ruins the chance of a closed sale. In this scenario, it’s critical to make sure the customer knows what the next step looks like and that you follow up with them in a timely fashion.

• Give them the info and offer to let them think about it. Always be closing is a nice theory, but the time to close a sale is not always now. Understanding that your customer is not ready to make a decision is important. If your customer has to end a contract with another company, run the decision by another individual (like a boss or a spouse) or just simply expresses the desire to want to think about it, it’s important to provide compelling and comprehensive information and let them do just that.
• Offer them an incentive to sweeten the deal. When budget constraints are working against your successful closing of the deal, it might be the right time to offer a discount or incentive. As a savvy salesperson, you’ll know what you can offer ahead of time and choose the right moment to show your cards in the form of a sweeter deal.

What are the steps that lead up to closing a sale?

Obviously, your sales process doesn’t start at the finish line. Your process leading up to closing makes or breaks your efforts to put the revenue on the books. Acing the customer journey at all stops along the way is the key to successful sales efforts.

Check out some tips to close the sale from day one to creating-a-customer day:

• Be worthy. Being professional, keeping appointments and presenting thorough information helps you earn the right to close the sale – and customers appreciate it. These little elements of your work ethic show that you are reputable and ready to fulfill the customer’s needs.
• Sell the solution, not the product attributes. You may be well-versed on the attributes that differentiate your product in the marketplace, but your customer is truly looking for a solution to his or her pain point, if not a list of product features. You’ll increase your chance of closing the sale by communicating the solution to the problem.
• Understand the data behind your sales success. There’s no need to recreate the wheel (or sales process) with every prospect. Understand the tools that have brought success, the types of customers who are most likely to align with your brand and how many touchpoints it takes to close the sale. Using historical data and company intel, you might alleviate some of the trial and error that hunches bring about.

How do you close the sale without being pushy? Everyone hates the pushy sales person that oversteps the boundaries and turns the buying process into a negative experience. Pushy is only one of the many mistakes sales reps often make.

Closing the sale becomes harder to do if you fall into these common sales traps:

• Talking but not listening.
• Trying to steamroll or rush the sales decision.
• Being untruthful or not answering questions clearly.
• Not taking no for answer, when no is the actual answer.
• Following up too much.

Closing the sale requires attention to detail, patience and a lot of skill. Spring-Green is here to support your business with a strong brand and tips for all aspects of your operations. The National Call Center handles inbound/outbound calls during the busy selling seasons maximizing every lead and allowing you to focus your team on providing superior customer service.

Call 1-800-777-8608 or visit us at www.growmygreenindustrybusiness.com if you would like to learn more about diversifying your green industry business with Spring-Green.