Do You Know the Best Closing Question to Ask in Your Sales Presentation?
I have made communication a lifelong study. Heck, I even hold an advanced degree in communication and yet I continue to find fascination in the topic.
I find it riveting to dissect how we communicate with others, assess the results of our communication and identify the strategies (or lack thereof) that help or hinder us from achieving the success we so greatly desire.
However, in the world of sales, one of the most common communication problems is often not WHAT we say (or HOW we say it) but what we DO NOT SAY.
When we find ourselves in a situation that may result in some form of rejection, we tend to leave certain questions unasked or particular topics unexplored for fear of getting a “no”.
Behavior analysts often refer to these tendencies as a type of yielding behavior. We yield to the discomfort in the situation as a way of protecting ourselves.
But this “protection” merely offers a false cloak of comfort because failing to ask the bold questions keeps us in the dark about important information that will ultimately impact our prospects’ buying decisions.
Let me give you an example.
I’ve held many positions at many companies, so there was a period of time in my career where I found myself being interviewed. A lot.
I recognized an interview for what it was – a sales pitch! It was my job to sell myself to my new perspective employer, and I found one powerful question to ask that served me better than any other question.
At the end of every interview I asked my interviewer:
“Is there anything that causes you hesitation in hiring me for this position?”
Every single time I delivered this question my heart would skip a beat. It never felt completely comfortable to behave so boldly.
But the answers I received were worth the discomfort.
More often than not, my interviewer would say, “Well, we do have some concern about X” or “Now that you mention it, X gives us some pause because of Y.”
Success! I flushed out their objections and now enjoyed a chance to alleviate their concerns and go in for the close.
Now, in my case, I was asking for a job. But the principle applies equally to asking for the sale.
When we sell ANYTHING – be it ourselves, a service or a tangible product – we must always ask some version of this question:
“Is there anything that causes you hesitation about moving forward?”
When we reveal rather than hide from a buyer’s objections, we allow ourselves the opportunity to flush out the objection. Once we identify the objection, we can answer it and ask for the sale!
And that, my friends, is when you get to change someone’s world.
