Ask the Sales Doctor - Total Selling Systems

Warren Wechsler's
Ask the Sales Doctor

What is the best way to close a sale?

Warren Wechsler, bestselling author and national sales and motivational speaker, provides many valuable resources free of charge to sales trainers and sales managers. Some restrictions apply to the use and distribution of this information. For more valuable materials, visit Warren's web site www.totalselling.com. All materials and content © Warren Wechsler, 2001 – All rights reserved.

Becky Norton writes:

What is the best way to close a sale? I get a lot of people interested and then the sales cycle just drags on. What is the best way to close that you know of?

Warren answers:

Well, Becky, I’m not sure you’re going to like the answer to this question. A lot of people write books on closing. There are entire chapters and volumes that are written about how to close the sale. The thing about closing a sale is you can’t close a sale. So when you ask me what’s the best close I can think of, there is no best close. I had to memorize all these when I was new in selling because I was trained in the "go-get-'em" model, and I was all enthusiastic, and I had learned all these closes: the Ben Franklin close, the Reduce to the Ridiculous close, the Sharp Angle close, the My Dear Old Mother Always Told Me close. And you know what? They are completely based on manipulation and they don’t work.

Let me tell you the best way to get business. It’s not learning how to be a good closer. It’s learning how to ask obligating questions. When you get to Step Six of The Six Steps to Excellence in Selling, you know that the sixth step is ask for the commitment. All you need to do, Becky, to be better at shortening your sales cycle is think in your own mind, “OK, what’s next? Where do we go from here?” And as soon as you know the answer to that question, you will know what to ask. It could be, “Who else do I need to speak with? How are we doing so far? Can I expect that you’re going to send the next order my way? Would you like to take a half carton or a full carton? Would you like to start this advertising program in the month of June? Would that be the best gift for your mother this Mother’s Day?” These are all examples of obligating questions.

Now there’s something else in your question I want to respond to. If you get people interested, and the sales cycle drags on and on, I’d ask you to examine Step Two of the Six-Step Model. Step Two is called find the decision-maker. Especially with new salespeople (although, Becky, you didn’t say you were a new salesperson), it happens often that they are not talking to the right person in the company. You ask for the commitment, and they say, “We-e-e-ll…” And what they’re really saying is, “I’m not the decision-maker. I have to go find out, and then I’ll get back to you.” So make sure that when you are working with people in the sales cycle, that you’re talking to people that when asked the question, “Can you do this? Will you do this? Would this be a good idea?” they are the people who can say yes. In addition to saying no and maybe, they can also say yes.

So, Becky, that’s my answer to your question. You really can’t close a sale, so I’m not going to tell you my best close. I am going to tell you that if you learn how to ask obligating questions, your sales will skyrocket. So please email or write or call me, and let me know how that strategy worked for you. Why don’t you try that all this week, and see if it makes any difference for you.

This was a partial transcript from Warren Wechsler's weekly radio show. Warren Wechsler, bestselling author and national sales and motivational speaker, provides many valuable resources free of charge to sales trainers and sales managers. Visit Warren's web site www.totalselling.com Also, listen to Warren's weekly radio broadcast Wednesday's at 4:05 - 5:00 pm Central time, on KMCD-AM 1570AM. Shows are broadcast live on the internet at http://www.warpradio.com/asx/KMCD-AM.asx