ALWAYS BE CLOSING - ABC of Selling-AGM

ABC stands for ALWAYS BE CLOSING - ABC of Selling.

It is a good philosophy to practice, provided you have earned the right to close.

What gives you the right to close?

Ask yourself, if you have established rapport, got mutual agreement and acceptance on needs and solutions. Timing is crucial.

There is a blog on 6 Essential Characteristics of Successful Sales Professionals.

Sales Presentations for closing-ABC of selling:

When a prospect asks a question, many times it may be a good idea to rephrase and repeat the question. This is because:

• It gives the salesperson time to think and fully understand the question.
• By rephrasing the question, he clarifies the real issue. By crystallizing and reconfirming, it shows that he actually understood the concern of the prospect.
• If the prospect's question does not carry substance and has some level of irrelevance, chances are the prospect would recognize it and probably withdraw the objection by saying. 'Forget it'.

Trial Close for closing-ABC of selling:

If the prospect asks, 'How many colours it comes in?' A good professional would say, 'It comes in three colours- red, blue and green and blue happens to be the most desired and popular one. Which would you prefer- the blue, the red or the green?' Again, if you notice, it ends by the salesperson asking for the order.

As another example, the prospect asks what size/capacity the products comes in. Rather than just giving all the sizes, a good professional will always end the answer with a trial close. For instance, ' It comes in small, medium. large and extra large. The medium and large sizes account for eighty per cent of our business, which one would you prefer the most?'

In case your prospect asks for something that you do not offer or sell( any allied products), one can always say,' We do not carry that product as part of our business, but we have a business partner who does.' You notice that the ending is not negative or 'no'. Do not make a false promise. If you do not have an allied partner, do not lie. The right thing then would be to say, 'I am sorry, we do not carry that particular item, but here are some alternatives I can suggest.'

Sometimes, a restaurant may run out of something from the menu and if the customer asks for that particular item, a waiter does not say, 'Sorry, we ran out of this item, 'and stop;rather, he says, 'I am sorry we have run out of this item, but I could offer you two other, very similar choices, which are our speciality. Which one would you prefer, this or the other?'

Evaluate the Conversation for
closing-ABC of selling:

Is the server telling the truth? The answer is yes. Should he have stopped after saying, 'No, we have run out of it'? The answer is no. By giving the customer an additional two choices, is he doing something wrong? Is he being dishonest, or manipulating them or forcing them to buy? No. By not giving an additional choice to the customer is he doing his job right? No. Why? Is he not depriving himself and his organization of a potential sale? Yes. Similarly, does a salesperson have an obligation to

(a) The customer to offer the opportunity to make a positive choice, and

(b) His organization, by offering to sell in an honest manner by enhancing the company's sale? Is he doing the right job for his company? Yes.

A call came to the publishing books office asking for their book and the response from one of the staff members was

"Why don't you check it out in your neighbourhood? The book is an international bestseller. I am sure you'd find it." In addition, that was pretty much the end of the conversation.

What makes this interaction unprofessional?

The staff member did not even care to:

• Take the name and contact number of the caller.
• Find out whether he/she has a bookstore in their neighbourhood.
• Help them by offering to send the book immediately.
• Try to find out the reason for non-availability in a tactful way

It never occurred to him that he should get to the cause of the problem in order to prevent such future happenings.

The Following behaviour shows:

• Indifference.
• Lack of Responsibility, Integrity, and Feeling of Belonging.
• Dishonesty towards both customer as well as the organisation.
• No pride in performance.
• Loss of revenue to the organization.
• Most important, loss of goodwill of the organisation.

A good professional would have:

• Noted the name, contact number and address of the caller.
• Organized to send the book upon ensuring that the investment shall be taken care of.
• Offered the customer all other books and products.
• Immediately informed his management about the situation.
• Addressed the larger issue internally, and through the publisher, to avoid such problems in the future everywhere.

The customer would have been satisfied, the company would have made a sale and the salesperson would have done his job. It would have ended up being a profitable transaction for all parties.

Up-selling and Cross-selling for
closing-ABC of selling:

Cross-sell means increasing the ticket size of your sale. Cross-sell and up-sell optimize revenues from every sale.

When do you Cross Sell or Up Sell?

Cross-Sell and Up-Sell can only take place once the buyer has expressed his trust in you by making the first purchase. after the seller has consolidated the first sale, then, it is his obligation to both cross-sell and up-sell by providing increased benefits to the buyer by offering the total menu of your products and optimizing revenue to the organization.

One word of caution: Cross Selling and Up Selling is not overselling

WHAT IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER?

If the prospect asks a question that you don't have an answer to, a dishonest person tries to make up an answer to show how smart he is. A good professional on the other hand only says:

1. 'I don't have the answer to this question, but if I have your permission I will call up my office and get an answer for you right now,'
2. 'I will get back to you tomorrow evening by 5 p.m.
3. A good professional would also ensure that he does get back within the specified time regardless of the outcome.
4. A good salesperson would be specific, committed, and not say,' I will get back to you as soon as possible or I will try to get the answer for you. I should be able to get it in a day or two, or you can call and check with me later.' Such statements raise doubts and hence weaken the salesperson's and their organization's position and credibility. Vague answers show indifference and a lack of commitment.

A good professional always looks for an opportunity to build the other person's self-esteem. One simple and easy way is to give sincere appreciation or a compliment to the prospect by saying something like, 'That's a very good question,' or 'Thank you for asking,' or 'I am glad you asked'. Secondly, the compliment must be sincere. Don't indulge in flattery as it manipulative and people can see through it.

Caution:

Once you say that that's a good question, the next time he asks another question if you don't say it is a good question, does it mean it is a bad question? Do you always say, 'That's a good question, 'each time after the prospect asks a question? The answer is no. Be careful, be selective; use common sense and be sincere.

Don't oversell yourself, your product or your company. If you are demonstrating a product, it is generally a good idea to always let the customer use as many sensory factors as you can - such as touch, taste, sight, feel, experience, smell. There is an old saying, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating," which stands true universally. That is why many people give samples for touching and tasting. When the prospect likes the sample then they want more of it. Be careful, give only enough to give a taste for evaluation purposes, not to satisfy hunger. It gives the prospect a level of comfort.

Logistics for closing-ABC of selling:

Always make an effort to have your prospect sit next to you rather than opposite you. Generally, sitting opposite may subconsciously appear conflicting or confrontational, but sitting next to the prospect sends the message that we are both on the same team. It shows togetherness. Preferably, have the client sit to your right, though it is not crucial.

This is why many executives have started having round tables in their offices, rather than sitting across from each other.

Conclusion:

Knowing when to close is like baking a cake. Taking it out too soon could leave the cake uncooked and baking it too long could burn it. In trying to close too soon or too late, you may lose out an opportunity that you may never get again. Recognizing the most appropriate timing to close is intuitive and comes from experience.

Sales executive should find out more about the customer's needs through skilful factfinding, for which we should develop a questionnaire. In order for professionals to maximize the revenue from a customer, they need to understand the following, and in particular, have this information on their fingertips and be able to articulate it clearly as they are nearing the completion of a sale.

I also have a blog on Effective Techniques for Objection Handling Ultimate Guide.

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