SellingPower.com released an article from their archives that discusses 4 factors to consider when closing a prospect. Now, I am not one to believe in “closing moves.” Sales are won or lost during the qualifying stage. Qualified deals close themselves. However, I think the author hits on the exact problem during the closing stage: Most salespeople focus so intently on their own performance that they fail to notice when the customer is ripe for the close… Presenting is a pressure-filled activity and most salespeople spend their mental resources ensuring that they do not falter. I understand this approach because I used to do it also. One quick fix to this… Read More
Continue ReadingWhen To Close
This topic comes up often in sales discussions – when should I go for the close? Or hiring managers often ask, “Is he a closer?” Or articles state that most salespeople fail because they don’t ask for the order (i.e. close). So what are we to make of this topic? Selling Power offers a bit of an enigmatic article titled Knowing When to Close. The responses are from a sales meeting from 1929 (I don’t know why). The pull quote: A still smaller minority expressed the opinion which I believe to be the correct one, that while there is undoubtedly one moment that is the best time to close any… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Two-Minute Warning
It’s playoff time for the NFL and I love to watch quarterbacks (and coaches) who can execute in the red zone, run an effective two-minute drill and get the job done. That may be why I get so nervous when I hear salespeople say – ” It’s in the client’s hands now, all we can do is wait.” We’re waiting on such an opportunity right now, and we’ve been waiting since before Christmas 2007. I’m nervous because there is no two-minute drill in progress to help the customer make the right decision and there appears to be a lack of urgency in our salesperson’s approach, now that the proposal is… Read More
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