First, what’s the definition of “closing” a deal to you? To me, it is any question you ask, or anything you do that moves the sale forward. Closing is not some “trick” question you ask when you feel it’s the right time, or after you present the product. It starts the moment you get out of bed in the morning. If you get up in the morning with a positive attitude and high enthusiasm, aren’t you more likely to have a much more positive and productive day? Wouldn’t that lead to more closed sales by the time you go to sleep? Absolutely it would! Keeping that in mind, let’s discuss some common mistakes that most people make when closing the sale. You should definitely learn to avoid these! We pre-qualify everyone. Some of us say we never pre-qualify, but are you being honest with yourself when saying that? Who hasn’t been in a Saturday morning pump-up meeting where the cash and weekend spiffs are flying, and they whip you into a frenzy. Then you come out of the meeting sky high, see a customer who you think couldn’t buy steam off a hot dog, and head the other way, hoping nobody sees you. Sound familiar? The next thing you know, the new guy has them on a demo ride, and then writing them up in his office. He brings it to the manager’s office, and you’re curious what the credit is like. You walk buy and see the guy is an 800 beacon. “Oh well, the new guy needed it anyway…” You’re killing your paycheck on the installment plan. One deal at a time. We talk price. Can we always bypass price? No, but if you can do it seven or eight times out of 10, wouldn’t that be worth it? The average initial price drop by a salesperson is $844. That’s the average drop. What’s 25 percent of $844? You’re right, it’s $211. If you did it JUST twice a week, that’s $1688 a month, times 12 for a year…. $20,256. Come on…don’t drop the price! Don’t give it away. It takes guts and skills to hold price. Learn to bypass price. We take shortcuts. There are normally two times we start taking shortcuts. First, when everything is going well. You feel like Superman with an “S” logo on your chest. You know the times when everything you touch seems to turn into a deal. It’s easy to start taking shortcuts then. The other time is when we are in that 2 by the 15th mode. We need to make a paycheck because the bill collector is still coming at the end of the month. We start finding out if everyone can buy within the first five minutes. Don’t take shortcuts. Remember, the real shortcut is the Basic Steps to the Sale. We give up too soon. If you follow the Basic Steps to the Sale, can you ask for the sale four or five times? Of course you can! You have the right product and you have built rapport with the customer. We use the least effective closing questions. That good old stand by, “If I Could Would You?” Take the initiative and learn some real and effective ways to close. What trap are YOU falling into? What do you need to work on?

THE ART AND SCIENCE OF HOW TO INCREASE EFFECTIVENESS: THE BAD GUYS GOT IT DOWN TO A SCIENCE. Who’s your favorite movie villain? Dr. Evil, Dr. No, Gordon Gekko, Hannibal Lecter, Darth Vader, The Joker, Dr. Octopus, The Terminator, The Penguin? Google movie villains to see the big list and pick your favorites. Every super villain you and I know has one redeeming quality: they are the model of efficiency in their respective specialty. They get the job done. And they can teach us a thing or two to increase our own effectiveness as sales and management professionals as we go about saving the world by providing valuable goods and services to a world under siege from villains of all kinds-real and imaginary. Super villains also have a number of additional commonalities at their disposal that we all envy and thrive to possess: They never have to get up from their desk chair to destroy the world-one button, maybe two are within easy reach. Caboom!–they’re done for the day. They’re desk is on the shop floor. They see and are seen all the time. They never skimp on purchasing a high-end, ergonomically correct, efficiently designed, really cool desk and chair. They get more done with more technology available to them and they experience less neck strain as they can swivel 360 to view their monitors and other evil workers doing their best to ruin the world. (Think about it: When have you ever seen a super villain having to visit a chiropractor?) They’ve been paperless for decades. They love to laugh and they don’t text while driving. If they work from a virtual office, they are connected to their headquarters and data at all times. Rarely are they not able to access evil information. They all subscribe to some kind of RSS feed on steroids to supply them 24/7 data, pictures, video and all-encompassing competitive intelligence on their adversaries. They typically dress conservatively and are always neat They don’t use a stapler, paperclips or have a trash can under their desk They use hands-free phones most of the time They have worker bees doing tactical stuff, allowing their evil, brilliant minds more strategic evil-thinking time They don’t use coasters They terminate employees that are not loyal, effective or have outgrown their usefulness. Ouch. They are tenacious, hard to slow down and are good negotiators under pressure. As you read the list, I’d like you to consider for a moment how much more effective you could be in your own evil pursuit of capitalism in growing your sales numbers, leading your sales team on to record sales and bonuses. How much more time, energy and fun would you have if you were more efficient in just a few areas, 15 percent more, for example. that could create more contact with prospects, remain in contact with current customers, and streamline your day for more production with less stress? Big promises, you say. You bet! Here’s a list, no particular order that you can implement to help you become immediately more efficient and effective in your daily activities in your workplace (desk, car, home office, cubicle, briefcase, PDA) that won’t cost you a penny, won’t require moving anything over 20 pounds and is a task you can complete in 30 minutes, in most cases. Define “A” customers. What does a ideal client look like? Size, scope, traits, location, revenue, level of contact, urgency, competitive advantage, etc. Now begin to target “A” companies before any other B or C. Write it down now. Fill your pipeline with constant A and B deals. Review and define your revenue stream: A-business and projects you’re currently working on that will be invoiced. B-business leads, proposals, personal meetings that are in negotiations that have substance and evidence the deal will happen. C-this could be a lead, a tip, rumor, hunch, that does not yet have substance of a “B” item. Writing down all work and proposals in-progress will let you visualize cash flow and activity for next quarter and will motivate you to start finding “A and B” targets. Keep all materials for client contacting (lists, phone numbers, labels, directories, etc.) within arm’s reach of your work station. Research shows this is not the case most of the time. Prospecting calls list: Have names/numbers on your desk for to make the calls. Set list out before you leave at night. Fight the tendency to relax after a good month or quarter of revenue, only to have a down next period. Fill the pipeline during busy times with calls and proposals. Competitive Advantage: Can you truly define what you can do for the client Right Now that will get them to sign your contract? Write it down and believe it. What do you have that you can’t wait to tell your customers about? If you don’t have something exciting….better find something right now. Write or co-author an article related to your expertise that will resonate with your ideal customer. Tips like this bullet list is all you need: simple, to the point and implementable ideas for the reader’s world at work. Publish the article on the web, your company newsletter or industry magazines. Send this article to your clients. Commit to learning more about how to use email more effectively. Read tutorials, time-savers, database management, etc. to enhance your effectiveness. Spend time on your competitions website to learn the valuable info to sell against. Review the great educational presentations for free on ted.com to learn valuable tips on how to communicate with emotion and interest in your daily discussions with clients and viable customers. If you really want to emulate your favorite villain’s effectiveness, start today by acting on and checking off items on this list to become more effective in your job of sales and management. The tactics are so simple, most of your competitors are not practicing them.

Suggestive selling is a powerful tool that can increase your revenues, and your bottom line, significantly. We are all used to the order taker at a fast food place asking if we want fries with our burgers, or if we would like to “Jumbo-Size” our orders, but suggestive selling can work in any business. Shoe stores suggest socks or polish to go with your new sneakers, hair salons recommend styling products, and stores selling electronics offer an extended warranty on the gadget you just bought. In each case, the business encourages the customer to add on to the purchase they are already making. Upselling can be done in person, on the phone or over online. Many online shopping carts allow you to set up a product-specific upselling page. That means that when someone orders Product A, they get the suggestion that goes with that product. Someone who orders another product receives a recommendation appropriate to that product. Here are some tips to make suggestive selling work for you: Make the suggestion after the customer has made a commitment to buy. Don’t try to add on to the sale before the customer has made a firm decision and is in the process of buying. Upsells should be related to the original purchase. An upgrade, a warranty, accessories, or something else that adds on to what the customer is buying can be effective. The customer is more likely to see such a suggestion as helpful than as simply a sales ploy. Consider making the upsell a “two-fer” offer. Because the customer bought one item at regular price, they are able to get a second at half price. The add-on product should have a lesser cost than the base purchase. Suggesting batteries to go with a radio works. Recommending a radio to go with a battery purchase doesn’t. Don’t hit customers with a lot of upsells. One (or possibly two) is enough. Badgering them to buy more can backfire and maybe even kill the sale completely. Make sure employees and order takers are making upsell offers to customers. Remind them of the importance of doing so, and consider rewarding them for great results, or even when you “catch” them upselling. Done properly, an upsell is helpful to the customer and builds your profits as well.

You’ve just finished giving your presentation to your prospect, and you shown him all the benefits and reasons why he should take action, now, and purchase your product. Everything was presented in a very logical manner, and he was supposed to say, “Yes.” But he didn’t. You’ve just been told no, and given some objection or reason why your prospect doesn’t want to make a purchase or make a decision. For a moment, all that head of steam that you were so neatly and professionally building up, has just collapsed like a withering balloon. You’re facing your prospect, trying to figure out what went wrong and how to salvage the sale. How can you convince this person that they are wrong by not choosing to buy from you, right now? Every sales person has been in this exact same boat, more times than we will ever want to admit to or remember. However, it is very important to remember that being told no, right after making your close and asking for the sale, is a fairly common experience. It does NOT, however, mean that your sale is now doomed. It does NOT mean that your prospect has automatically shut you off. And…most importantly, it is vital to remember that your prospect is saying no to the product/proposal you are offering, and NOT saying no to YOU. There many ways to overcome and handle objections. This is not the purpose of this article. Instead, what I am going to give you is an important tip on how to TRANSITION from hearing an objection, to proceeding to handle it. This technique works on any kind of objection that you will come across, and it’s very easy to master. First of all, always keep in mind that if you try to tackle your customer’s objection, head on, as an objection, then you are setting the stage for an adversarial situation, and in that scenario, you will never win. Your goal is not to make your prospect wrong, but rather to let your prospect be RIGHT. When your customer voices an objection, do NOT immediately respond to it. Jumping right in and attacking the objection only makes your customer more defensive and also makes them believe you really didn’t hear nor understand what they were saying. Instead, count to five, in your head. As you are counting. slowly nod your head so your customer sees that you are truly listening and comprehending what they are saying. Doing this will work wonders in bringing you and your prospect closer together. Repeat the objection back to your customer, but repeat it in the form of a QUESTION. “Well, Fred, I definitely can understand what you’re saying, and it’s a very good point. In fact, many of my clients also felt the same way, when they were considering this deal. Am I correct in believing that you do feel that this makes sense, but you’re concerned about…..(state the objection, here)?” When your prospect then AGREES with you on this question. Simply ask them if this is their only concern. (never use the word “objection” to your customer) Your next move is to say the following: “So, Fred, would it be reasonable to say that if we could find a way to effectively address this issue, to your satisfaction, then there really would be no reason to not move ahead with this?” Once you get that second agreement/commitment. Proceed with addressing your customer’s concern, and then re-close. You will find, that if you remember to use these simple steps, your closing percentage will greatly increase. See you at the top!