Shut-Up and Close the Sale

Close More Deals With Less Effort

When we get our start in sales we are coached in all the ways of pitching our product or service, handling objections, and even preemptively satisfying objections.

While these are important skills to have, nearly flawless execution in these areas can mean very little if the sale isn’t closed.

If your solution or product meets the needs of the customer, the price is reasonable by comparison, and the customer can’t come up with an objection, it would seem natural that your conversation would result in a sale.

Of course, that doesn’t always happen.

‘I just need some time to think about this,’ is something salespeople hate to hear because there isn’t always a logical rebuttal to whatever is really bothering the client.

We know that – as salespeople – we have to give our client an opportunity to say ‘yes’ to our offer. But at the same time, we know that by incorporating an assumptive closing technique the customer isn’t given an outright opportunity to say ‘no.’

Even so, some prospects will hesitate to part with their money when you reach this point in the conversation.

Why? Where did the sale fall apart?

First, be sure that the sale has actually begun to unravel before you start to restack your value propositions. Be sure the prospect is definitively saying ‘no’ before getting ahead of yourself in assuming they will.

If the sale hasn’t really begun to fall apart you may do more damage than good trying to rescue a sale that wasn’t actually in trouble.

Confidence plays a big role in working as a salesperson, you need to be sure of your product, yourself, and of the match you’re trying to make between people and products. Buying decisions are emotional and if the person pushing a product doesn’t display confidence, the consumer won’t have any confidence in the purchase either.

By assuming a client’s answer to your offer will be ‘no’ and rushing in to refuting objections the client hasn’t actually given you, you’re likely to give them an impression of self-doubt, which will cause the prospect to question your entire presentation up to that point.

If you’ve done your job as a salesperson, you’ve painted a picture of what you’re client really needs, why you are the best person/company to fulfill that need, and why they need to act on that information today.

From there, it is only natural that they do business with you. Right?

Unfortunately, it is all too common for a salesperson to doubt the idea that a sale could be made so easily, and as a result they’ll start to talk over moments of silence that are to be reserved for the customer’s quiet contemplation.

In sales, it is important to remember that each part of the conversation between a salesperson and a prospect is sensitive to timing. By rushing through segments of the conversation a client can become uncomfortable and overwhelmed with a sense of panic.

If you really feel you’ve reached that point in the conversation in which it is appropriate to ask for the business, then ask for it. But, as soon as you’ve asked for the business stop. Stop working, stop selling, and stop talking.

If the job is done then just shut-up. What else is there to say?

Maybe you’ve saved the price as the last bit of information to present, ‘All together your solution comes to $100,000.’

While presenting the price in this way isn’t exactly asking for the business, it serves the same purpose. Once the price is made know to your prospect, there isn’t much to say, it’s time for a decision to be made.

If the client doesn’t immediately answer, some salespeople will make the fatal mistake of trying to fill the dead-air.

DON’T BE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE!

Find comfort in this silence. This conversation is one you – as a sales person – have every day of your professional life and you should feel confident in what is about to happen next.

Your customer is the newbie here. If they feel anxious for any reason they should be eased by your confidence. Your poise will suggest to your prospect, ‘oh this is the point in the conversation where I sign on the dotted line.’

If you rush through the moment reserved for them to meditate on what you’ve communicated so effectively, they can lose their focus, react with a fight-or-flight response, and you’ll lose the sale.

So, just SHUT-UP!

Don’t talk over your client’s final stage in agreeing with your argument. Allow them the time to reach the conclusion you’ve so kindly lead them to.

As Dave Ramsey puts it in his book EntreLeadership, “Shhhh, a baby sale is coming into the world.”

Some clients may still have questions before they’re ready to commit to the purchase, but they may also ask questions that are more-so a form of thinking out-loud rather than being a question that really needs an answer. So, be sure not to rush into answering questions after you’ve reached this point in the conversation.