Close More Deals – Part 2 of 3

In my last blog entitled: Close More Deals, I discussed the growing concern of business owners and sales people in closing the sale. I suggested anyone faced with this challenge ask themselves three questions:

1. What were their buying signals – the triggers that drove you to know how they would be making a decision?
2. What “call to action” do you ask of them before they leave or hang up the phone?
3. What is your follow up process?

I covered Question #1 in my July 9 blog. Today let me share my suggestions for the second question:

What “call to action” do you ask of them before they leave or hang up the phone?

At the end of every prospective sales meeting, you must give the buyer an assignment or call to action to keep them involved in the process. And, you must consider the buyer’s personality when doing so. Let me give you a few examples.

There are basically two types of buying styles: The kind that want to make a decision right away and move on; or, the individual that needs time to think about it. Let’s call them the Rabbit and the Turtle.

When dealing with the Rabbit, you need to be quick with your answers, stay on point, and ask for the sale. The Turtle, on the other hand, wants you to be thorough, allow for processing time, and not be rushed.

If I am with a Rabbit, I will try to close the deal right then by asking for it, assuming I got it, and moving to the next stage of the sale. If I were selling a product, I might say something like “Once I have your signature, I can go ahead and get all of the paperwork started, so won’t have to wait very long.”

Selling the same product to a Turtle, I would ask them if they would like time to read over the material before making a decision. In fact, I may even let them leave with it. Then I make sure I have their contact data and establish a time and date when I will be calling them to “answer any questions” they may have.

No matter what you sell: product or service, you must have some call to action to either close more deals or bring you closer to the sale.

In my next blog, I will cover #3: What is your follow up process?