There are three ways you can try to close a sale…
You can be passive.
I define passive as going through the sales cycle, regardless of how well, getting to the end and not asking for the business. Or asking in a passive manner. Let’s say you did a great job throughout the sales cycle. You qualified your prospect, you connected with them, you discovered their pains, fears and desires. Then you present your product or service as an Anchored Value Proposition. A proposition of value anchored to what they value. You communicated the value and overcame any objections. Then, instead of asking for the business with a well prepared closing question, you ask “So do you have any questions”? or worse “So what do you think”?
Passive. You earned the right and didn’t ask for the business. This is the number 1 reason a sale doesn’t get made. The seller, whether they’ve earned the right or not, fails to ask for the business.
You can be aggressive.
This is the close that gives sales professionals a bad rap. The seller asks too soon (no transfer of trust), or they ask too many times (pushy), or they say something like “So what’s it gonna take to get you into this baby today”? (lame). Aggressive is asking for the business before you’ve earned the right.
You can be assertive.
Assertive lives between passive and aggressive. You qualified, connected, uncovered motivation, presented and communicated value. Once these steps are complete you’ve earned the right to ask in an assertive fashion. You ask the the prospect something like “Do you see any reason we shouldn’t move forward”? or “So what’s our next step”?
So which type of closer are you going to be?
