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In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald Kelly gives us the scoop on one major closing question you’re neglecting to ask.

But first, let’s picture this scenario.

• Dave is a salesperson who has been working with his lead, Bob, for three months. 
• His sale is in the bag; he gave a fantastic presentation, his sales engineer answered every question the prospect had, and Dave sent them a proposal.
• Despite going through every step in the process, Dave didn’t get the result he wanted; he got hit with the “we’re going to need some more time to think about it” conversation. Where did he go wrong?

It’s simple – there’s one question he forgot to ask.

• The ultimate question: Would I make this purchase based on the same information I know if I were the buyer?
• Sales is shortsighted – we’re focused on our pipeline. Dave was focused on meeting his quota, impressing his manager, and making sales rather than his prospect’s needs. 

How can you ask this question to improve your sales strategy?

• Habit #5 of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” – Seek first to understand, then seek to be understood. 
• Consider the context of the buyer. What business problem are you solving for them? Look at the industry they’re in and their relationship with the software to make informed decisions.
• Did you give the buyer a parachute in case things go south? Did you give them an out? Not every deal will close – that’s just a given. But asking this question will provide you with more predictability with closings. 
• If we are more diligent in asking questions and analyze the deal from the buyer’s standpoint, your sales will increase. 

Donald’s ultimate takeaway? Start the conversion process earlier. Ask your prospects, “based on what you know, do you feel confident moving forward?” If you fix any problems early, the prospect will have a higher degree of confidence at the end of the sales process.

Connect with Donald on LinkedIn and let him know if this helped close more deals.