Close the step you’re on — cheap advice but invaluable results!
My biggest realization in selling was that there was more than one “close” to every sale. I discovered very early on, that if you take care to completely handle all of the little closes, the big one takes care of itself. The final close is only the last step in a long series of closes that occur along the way.
I found that many people would put me off if I tried to even talk about what I had to offer in the first meeting. Their natural sales resistance was a stopper. Unless I think my client is very anxious and ready to buy, now, I always use the first appointment to sell only the next step in the sales cycle. That’s my close du jour. I give them a reason why it is in their interest to meet with me again. They’re more relaxed because I didn’t try to sell them anything else, and yet I do succeed in closing the exact thing I intended: the next contact with them.
Then, once they meet with me the second time, their commitment to me is much higher, and I have a better chance of moving them to the next step toward the close. But again in the second meeting, if they’re still not ready, I close on another meeting or some other action.
I’ll keep this up as long as I believe they are qualified and the end result is worth the time I’ve spent in handling all the previous closes.
If you’re having difficulty on one step of a sales cycle, you have not done a previous step thoroughly.
Focus on closing the step you’re on until it’s complete – the next step will come much easier.
daniel w. jacobs
© 2005-2010, all rights reserved
thesalesmaster.com
