I think at one time or another we all have struggled with this to some degree. We all have heard the old saying, “ABC…Always Be Closing,” and there is a lot of merit to that statement. The close should be a natural last step in the progression of your meeting.  It should not be looked at as an isolated event. If you do everything right through the process, the secrets of closing will be revealed. 

Unfortunately, there are many people who still look at the sales process as an adversarial one….”I have to get them before they get me.” That’s a pretty old school way at looking at growing your business.  

First, you need to see yourself as a consultant, not just a sales person. To discover one of the primary secrets of closing you need to ask yourself what value you bring to the relationship. Anyone can push a product or service, but by positioning yourself as a business consultant, you are setting yourself apart from everyone else who is trying to just “sell” something.

Does it take more effort? Absolutely, but the dividends pay off. 

When you are talking to potential new customer always ask yourself if the information that you are providing is something that they need. To do this, you have to make sure that you do a thorough assessment of their current situation before offering solutions.

Sometimes you can be so excited about what you have to offer that you dominate the conversation with all the great things you can do. Remarkably, this is one of the secrets of closing that is often overlooked.  Imagine going to the doctor and immediately getting prescribed medication without anyone asking you what’s wrong. That’s what a lot of “salespeople” do and wonder why they walked out of the meeting empty handed. 

You can pretty much drill down the reasons people buy to two points-to avoid pain to get pleasure. How does your offering solve either of these issues? You can’t answer this question unless you know what brings them pain and what brings them pleasure. After you know the answer to this, you can have a business conversation (not a sales pitch) about how your service, opportunity or product can help. Use these secrets of closing to build your million-dollar enterprise.  

So, before you have your next meeting, remember these three points: 

  1. Build Value-You are more than just a salesperson. You are a business consultant. 
  2. Identify what is important to them before you start providing solutions. 
  3. Closing is not an isolated incident. It is natural once you have laid the foundation, built the trust and proven yourself to be a professional and someone that your prospect would be eager to partner with.