Ask for the Order, Your Customer is Expecting it

A lot of salespeople find all sorts of reasons for not closing. They blame the politics, the economy, the weather, the leads, the product, the customer, the price. But these are not reasons, merely excuses. Most salespeople don’t close because they simply don’t ask for the business. Are you able to walk out of a meeting with a customer and say “I did everything right, no one would have sold to this customer”

If not, then you have not done what you are paid to do and that’s get the business.

Being able to leave a customer and say you did everything right means that instead of going to your next appointment with doubts; you will be enthusiastic and confident. Remember, selling is a numbers game. You need to know what your closing ratios are. How many customers do you need to see to make one sale? One in three, one in five, one in ten, one in 15? 

If the ratio for your particular product or service is one in five (I.E. for every five customers you present to, overall, you sell to one) then after 3 or 4 presentations where you did your best and did not sell you will eventually say “Right, my next presentation is number 5! And they are going to buy, I don’t care what they come up with, I am going to sell!” Now the chances are good that with this determined attitude you will sell to your next customer because “They are number 5!” The funny thing is that your customer did not know that they were number 5!

Don’t be scared to ask for the business and don’t be shy to close!

Most salespeople spend anywhere between 30 minutes and an hour and a half to two hours with their customer in the selling situation. You prospect, get leads, make the appointment, prepare for the meeting, drive to the meeting and arrive on time, meet with your customer, spend time talking about his interests and getting him to like and trust you, do a needs analysis, present your product or service and match your solutions to his needs, you present the price.......... and then you sat back and say “So what do you think?”

There is an emotional point where the customer is expecting you to close. They are expecting you to close because you have done everything right up to this point and they see and respect you as a Professional. It is generally at this point (the point where you know you should close, they know you should close) that the salesperson freezes. Your mind says "close", your heart says "no, don't be crazy, maybe they’ll think you're trying to sell them something" and you throw away you entire presentation because you weren’t able to initiate the closing process.

You ARE a salesperson and you ARE selling something! It’s you job to close!

Remember, at this point, it should not be your intention to close the sale, but rather to initiate the closing process. Like your groundwork, and your needs analysis and your presentation, closing is a process - not a once off hit. Expect to get the sale, stop whining and looking for excuses, take responsibility and do what you are paid to do: - SELL!!

 
Should you wish to learn more about Ray Patterson, please visit www.raypatterson.co.za