On today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, we’ll talk about closing more deals and increasing our win rate by answering the question, “How do I close the deal?”
Talk to the right people
Many salespeople speak to the wrong person when they try to close a deal.
The person you’re connecting with may want the product or service you’re selling, but if he doesn’t have the buying decision, it won’t be enough to close the deal.
It’s tempting, of course, to focus your efforts on the prospect who wants to buy your product. That’s easier than interacting with people who may not yet be convinced.
If you truly want to close, you have to identify the key decisions makers or stakeholders who are actually able to say yes.
Understand the true problem
If you’re addressing a problem that isn’t actually the true problem, you’re not likely to close a deal.
Ask deeper, next-level questions.
It’s not enough to know that they have a problem with emails. Do they need an easier way to send them or do they need better quality emails?
Make sure you understand the problem they are trying to solve.
Identify timeframe
Understand the timeframe your prospect is working within, and how it will impact the buying decision.
The prospect may be excited about your product, but you can move the process along by gathering facts instead of making assumptions.
Is there a big event driving this purchase? What are the negative consequences if the prospect doesn’t make a purchase decision?
Make sure you understand the timeframe.
Recognize common challenges
Eventually, you’ll begin to identify the common challenges that arise when you’re trying to close. Figure out a way to address those challenges before they become a major issue.
Identify the top five objections you hear most often, and tackle them before your prospects have a chance to mention them.
Address it in discovery, or through a testimonial.
Share stories of customers who were similar to your prospect and how you helped them overcome their similar set of challenges.
If you diffuse their objections before they have a chance to mention them you take some of the impacts from them.
Mitigate risk
If your prospect has never worked with you, she may be apprehensive about jumping into a large recurring contract. If things don’t work out with your contract, it can reflect poorly on her.
Help her address that fear by reworking the contract when possible.
If, for example, you sell software, can you cut back the number of licenses and shorten the length of the contract, you can mitigate the risk for your clients. That allows your prospect to verify that your company is a good fit before committing to a lengthy, expensive contract.
Include an invitation
Sales professionals have to be bold without being overbearing. We have to ask prospects to commit to change.
Be prepared at every step with an invitation that moves the prospect to the next step.
Paint a picture of what life will be like when they buy your product or service.
“Close The Deal” episode resources
This episode is also brought to you in part by prospect.io, a powerful sales automation platform that allows you to build highly personalized, cold email campaigns. To learn more, go to prospect.io/tse. It will help you with your outbound to expand your outreach. Your prospecting will never ever be the same.
This episode is also brought to you byMaximizer CRM. If you aren’t sure you have the right CRM, Maximizer CRM is a personalized CRM that gives you the confidence to improve your business and increase profits. Get rid of the boring CRMs and customize to your team’s selling abilities.
Click on the link to get a free demo of what Maximizer CRM can do for you. It integrates your marketing campaign as well as your CRM.
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