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Top 5 Closing Techniques
Top 5 Closing Techniques
By David Lion Rattiner
The close. It sounds so cool doesn’t it? That’s because it is. Learning the art of making a close is what separates a good salesperson from a superior sales person. Developing closing skills doesn’t come easy for anybody and very, very rarely comes naturally. Asking a person for money with finesse is a very difficult thing to, but is extremely important to focus on when it comes to your career. You simply can’t ignore the importance of the close, below are the top five closing techniques that you should be practicing daily. Remember your ABC’s, always be closing!
Ask For The Sale!
The most basic close anybody can do is also one of the most difficult to master. Simply asking for the sale at the end of a presentation is something many sales people do not do often enough is to ask for a close. Of course, like any closing, timing is key. You have to ask for the sale at the end of a presentation. Real Estate agents and other expensive item sales people often are not good at asking for a sale. But if you have driven around a real estate customer, showed them several houses, developed a relationship with them and have shown them a house that they like then you have to ask for a close! Simply saying, “I can see that you really want this house, would you like to make an offer on it today?” With cars saying, “This car is perfect for you, why don’t we buy it right now?” It may sound corny, but being direct is a close that you need to feel comfortable saying. You are not gaining trust by letting your customer think about a purchase, you are just being a bad salesman.
The Puppy Dog Close
My personal favorite because it is so clever, the puppy dog close is a great close because it put the ball in the clients court with almost no effort. Designed around puppy stores where the sales person gives the puppy away to the customer to take home for free and see if they want to buy it the next day. Almost always, a customer just can’t let that little puppy go back to the store. If you have the ability to give your product away for a short period of time, work the puppy dog close, it’s an adorable technique.
The Penalty Close
The penalty close is a great technique because it puts pressure on the customer to make a decision. If they don’t buy to today, they won’t be able to get the great deal you are offering tomorrow. This is an excellent technique because it puts time on your side.
The Summary Close
This is when you start listing everything that you are offering the customer one by one so they feel that they are getting value out of what you are buying, “Okay, so you have the tiptronic video package, the quickstat word analysis program, customer support for free for five years etc…
The Story Close
Tell a story of a very happy customer that was in the same type of situation of the current customer that you are dealing with. Explain what made them happy, who they were, where they are from and what their names are. This is an effective close because people like to imagine a story and emulate it if it is positive.
Published: Sep 9,2008 16:56
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Andy Cowan
Andy Cowan, an award-winning writer, whose credits include Cheers and Seinfeld, regularly contributes humor pieces to the Los Angeles Times and the CBS Jack FM Radio Network.
Paul M. J. Suchecki
Paul M. J. Suchecki has more than 30 years of experience as an award winning writer, producer, and cameraman. He's written numerous newspaper and magazine articles. Currently he writes, produces and shoots for LA CityView Channel 35 and his more than 250 articles for Ehow.com are approaching half a million readers.
Coby Kindles
Coby Kindles is a freelance journalist, screenplay writer and essayist. She has been a staff writer at Knight Ridder and a regular contributor to The Associated Press.
Debbie Milam
Debbie Milam is a syndicated columnist for United Press International, an occupational therapist, family success consultant, and motivational speaker with more than 20 years experience. Her work on stress management, spirituality, parenting, and special-needs children has been featured in over 300 media outlets including First for Women, The Miami Herald, Elle, Ladies Home Journal, The Hallmark Channel, PBS and WebMD.
Dan Rafter
Dan Rafter has covered the residential real estate industry for more than 15 years. He has contributed real estate stories to the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Business 2.0 Magazine, Home Magazine, Smart HomeOwner Magazine and many others.
Jack Nargundkar
Jack Nargundkar has been repeatedly published in Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. He is also an author of "The Bush Diaries" published in July 2005.
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