Simon’s Notes

Selling is an integral part of any business, whether we like it or not. Sometimes we try to come up with different names for it, or maybe we disguise it as something else, but when the crunch comes you will find yourself selling something in one way or another. In some instances selling is when you’re trying to grab that huge account, or in other instances it might be convincing prospective investors to fund you.

Lets face it, we all hate the close. I used to get so caught up in my sales talk, and I would blabber off a bunch of nonsense just so that I could avoid the close. But there comes a time when you have to stop the chit-chat, or the sales talk and just cut to the chase. You have to close that sucker. As time went on I started looking forward to the close, and hopefully, with the following tips, you will to.

• Don’t put yourself in a position where you’re dependent on your prospect. Develop the mindset that, if the deal doesn’t go through, he will miss out and not you. If you have this attitude you will find it much easier to pin him down.
• Your job is not to make a sale, your job is to help your client or prospect. Find out what they want by asking lots of questions, then tailor your close to their needs. This works just as well if your prospect is a potential investor, find out why it would benefit him to invest in you.
• Don’t be afraid of awkward pauses. As long as you don’t break the silence, you are in control.
• Avoid “yes/no” questions. Instead of “are you interested in *******”, you could say something like “in what way could you see your company applying *******”. You want to get the prospect involved so that instead of feeling that you sold him something, he will feel that he bought something. There is a difference.
• Certain “yes/no” questions can help you lead the prospect to the close, but you should use questions that you already know the answer for. For example, you could use a question like “it’s impossible for your company to completely avoid taxes legally, right?” The obvious answer would be yes, or right, which would then lead you to the next question such as “But you must know that with proper planning you could minimize your taxes quite considerably, right?” Nobody wants to be the idiot, so the answer to that one will also be yes. With questions like these it’s quite easy to make the prospect feel that he is the one having all the ideas, and eventually you will lead him to making a purchase, instead of chasing him to make a sale.
• When the time is right, just go for it. Honesty is always the best suggestion. Start peeling away the objections. Ask something like “can you see any reason why you wouldn’t want to do this?” If he gives you an excuse then say “if we could solve that problem, you’d get on board, right?” Repeat that question till he gives you the real objection, then solve it, once you’ve done that you’ll have the prospect hooked.

The important thing is not to be phased by negative prospects. Seldom will the meeting be perfect, and if you get a negative prospect that just means that you’re one closer to the positive one.

These tips won’t guarantee a sale every time, but hopefully they will stack the odds in your favor.

Simon

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Filed under: Money and Finances by Simon Rodrigues