Is Closing Something You Do “To” or “For” Your Customer?
To achieve top sales performer status, you will eventually need to work on your closing skills.
In fact, at some point, you will probably need to completely reinvent your closing skills.
Sure, you might skate by on your charm for a while.
Or you might luck into selling a product that is so good that buyers line up around the block and camp out in your parking lot.
But sooner or later (usually sooner) in your selling career, you will need to hone your strategic closing skills.
Before you get into the how of strategic closing, it helps to understand why you close.
Understanding the “why” leads to a better “how” because your mindset always guides your technique.
Mindset Shift #1: Closing is something you do for your customer not to your customer
Here is what I know: everyone ultimately buys for the same reason. And what is that reason? To improve their lives!
It follows then that all buyers bring some level of dissatisfaction to the table: “I think my life can become even better than it is right now”.
Now, this dissatisfaction ranges from slight discomfort to intense pain: “Jack’s new convertible Mustang GT is pretty sweet – I can see myself driving one of those instead of my trusty Volvo” as compared to “Holy smokes, I’m going to be late AGAIN because my car won’t start!”
The desire to improve one’s life may manifest itself as a long-term need: “I’m tired of shoveling snow – I think it’s time for a move.”
And sometimes that desire is short-term: “Dang it – I left my gloves at home and it is FREEZING out here! Where can I grab a new pair?”
In fact, this dissatisfaction may not even exist before they learn about your product: “OMG, I need to have that new double dutch chocolate salted caramel latte with fresh vanilla whipped cream RIGHT NOW!”
If you follow this logic and believe in the truth behind it, then you start to see closing not as something you do to people.
Instead, it becomes something you do for people to help them alleviate their pain or meet a need in order to make their life better.
Mindset Shift #2: Closing is about serving your customer
This is a paradigm shift for many sales people because now the sale, or more specifically, the close, is no longer about you, or your quota or the commission you will earn.
Instead, it is about truly helping the person in front of you improve his or her life.
When you adopt this customer-centric mindset, then closing on visit one (yes, I said visit one!) becomes not only easier but imperative.
At that point, you almost feel guilty when you don’t close on visit one because what you’re actually saying is, “Hey, I’m not going to help you here today. Why don’t you just go back to the pain you’ve been experiencing and keep living in your confusion, misery or unfulfilled desire. Let me know when you figure it all out, and then you can come back and ask ME about buying.”
Putting the buyer a position where they must ask you if they may buy is the most disrespectful things you can do!
So here’s your challenge: Will you change your closing paradigm?
Will you overcome your own mental obstacles and start closing (i.e., serving) your customers on visit one?
Trust me – when you do, you will change someone’s world!
