Closing business is one of the most difficult jobs of any selling professional or entrepreneur. There are numerous things to consider such as being in front of the right buyer and at the right time. However, in this post I hope to provide you with some clues on how to close more effectively, efficiently and painlessly.

The first items for consideration in any selling process are fit, function and financial. The person to whom you as a selling professional must FIT your buyer profile. It is imperative to understand whether there is a need and most important, if they are a decision maker. The second area Function determines what function does your product or service purpose. It is your job to consider how best to get your service to function with the needs and wants of the buyer. Financial, the most important, my research illustrates that over 88% of selling professionals never ask or forget to ask the proper question, “What is the budget”. If you do not ask the proper questions then you have incongruity in selling.

Other considerations for proper closing include:

1. Love what you do. It is alarming how many emails I receive of people that desire to close more only to deplore the product or their organization. Clients can read through the fasade of any selling professional. Your apathy for anything and perhaps everything you do is shown to the client. The best way to lose a sale is apathy.

2. Engage in self mastery. The manner to get better about anything is to engage in self mastery. We all carry within us self doubt and that is the worst attitude for any selling professional. Believing you cannot do something only leads to negativity. You must visualize your success and you must refrain from self doubt. The only true manner to reach success is to believe in you!

3. Refrain from self deprecation. It is very easy to get down on ourselves and constantly carry around our baggage. Negativity brings on additional negativity. Look at those that are depressed they do not know how to dig out of the hole. Thinking the world is against you does not bring success- it reveals weakness.

4. Learn Sales Methods. It is incredible how many people go into selling and never obtain education. Would you visit a physician that did not learn medical issues? Would you hire an attorney that did not practice law? Would you hire an accountant that did not understand how to file and review a tax return? So why then would anyone go into a profession and never gain an education?

The longest profession in the world is selling. Since the dawn of trade sales has been part of human culture and it is a profession. To be successful you must know how to build rapport, gain attention and desire and understand how to slice through objections to obtain a close. Stop trying to cut corners and get a good bonafied sales education.

5. Ask great questions. If you desire quicker and better sales then you must know how to ask the questions that get you through the quagmire. And you must ask the provocative questions to engage the client. Great questions get you to talk less and your prospect to speak more- this leads to better information heading to the finish line.

6. Decision Makers. If you desire to leap tall buildings in multiple bounds and want to take forever to close a sale then never speak with those that can make a decision. The fastest sale is the person with the most decision power. Get to the point quickly only get answers from those that can truly provide them.

7. Mentorship. In the 1940’s Napolean Hill wrote in his famous book “Think and Grow Rich” the power, the need and the conviction of mentors. Great business professionals learn the importance of aligning with those that understand business, have a passion for helping others and are candid. The best athletes in the world especially those top athletes attending the Olympics use mentors- why not you?

©2008. Drew Stevens Ph.D. All rights Reserved.

Drew Stevens assists organizations to dramatically accelerate business growth. He is a sales and customer service expert. Visit him today at www.drewstevensconsulting.com

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 9:45 pm and is filed under Sales Training, Uncategorized, sales and marketing, sales coaching, sales help, sales skills, sales strategy, sales techniques, sales trends, selling skills, selling techniques, selling tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.