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Stop Asking for the Business and Start Closing Deals

Apr 1, 2016

Recently I watched a video on YouTube of Grant Cardone. This video had 960,000 views to see Mr. Cardone jump on the phone and close a sale which his sales people were unable to close. Although I like Grant Cardone and imagine he was an amazing sales person, in these videos he was world famous for selling people who asked for information about the “Grant Cardone Training Program.” I would rather see a video of him cold calling companies who have never heard of him; that is sales! I believe most sales trainers are seriously out of touch with the realities of selling people.

The reality of sales prospecting has changed dramatically over the last five years. The old tried and true closing methods and corny lines are no longer as effective as they used to be. If you are using a “yes, no” question in the field as your primary closing technique, you are missing out on opportunity! Prospects today want a consultant. They want an expert to guide them through the decision making process. Here are the three steps to closing deals in today’s complex B2B sales environment.

Step #1 – Make a strong connection within two minutes of meeting the prospect. You absolutely must be good at this if you want to make sales. Learn the art of small talk. I have seen sales people annoy a prospect to no end through their pointless and never- ending barrage of topics about which the business owner has no interest. You must learn how to identify what matters to someone and then become genuinely interested in this topic of conversation.

Step #2 – Ask questions and confirm that you understand the issues and needs better than your prospect does. Although I can tell my doctor how I feel, the doctor’s responsibility is to ask the right questions and know more about my health and medical needs than I do. Become the expert in your chosen area. Then decide to use your expertise to ask insightful questions rather than talk everyone’s ear off that will listen.

Step #3 – Present a series of multiple choice options which all lead to a sale. To have a good understanding of this principle, imagine a maze where you always have 1, 2 or 3 possible paths at each decision point. However, imagine each of the three paths leading to the same finish. This concept gives a good understanding of what it means to create a great sales presentation. Here is an example for Credit Card Processing Sales:

Me: “Susan, do you feel like a touch screen tablet POS is something we should explore further? Or would you simply like to use one of the new Verifone EMV ready terminals that will also allow you to take apple pay?”

Response: “I don’t think we need a touch screen POS yet. Maybe we could revisit that in the future.”

Me: “Sure thing. I will ship you the Verifone terminal. What methods of payment would you like to accept in addition to the standard Visa, Mastercard and Discover cards?” or “Do you like having a pin pad?” or “Have you heard about American Express Opt Blue?” or “Is your business eligible for EBT / food stamp cards?” or “Do you want to look into a gift card program?” (I could keep going and going. The key is to design a series of questions which will result in a new client relationship no matter the responses.)

If you are asking for their business, stop!!! Prospects don’t like being put on the spot any more than you do. Instead, they want an experienced expert with whom they have connected and who understands their needs. Become the expert who will guide them through a seamless buying process that addresses their concerns and provides them with options along the way.

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