The annual growth of any company depends on the proficiency of its sales team. An arsenal of techniques is used to persuade a person to buy a product or use a service; we wanted to take a look at the best closing techniques for sales.
The Basics of Closing a Sale
“Closing” a sale occurs when a client decides to pull the trigger and buy something. To achieve the close, the appropriate closing sales techniques need to be identified and implemented effectively. However, a lot also depends on the early stages of the whole sales process. If the foundation of the relationship is strong, the salesperson’s job is a whole lot easier.
Nine Surefire Ways to Close a Sale
There are a few effective sales closing techniques that allow you to achieve your goal:
- Now or never close
- Summary close
- Sharp angle close
- Question close
- Assumptive closes
- Takeaway closes
- Soft close
- The option close
- The opportunity cost close
Challenges You May Face When Trying to Close a Sale
Any job has its challenges, and this one is not an exception to the rules. Here are the most common challenges sales teams face:
- Attracting qualified leads or people who are interested in your goods or services
- Developing an effective messaging strategy
- Thinking outside the box and standing out from the crowd
- Raising the right questions
- Staying motivated
Best Sales Closing Techniques of 2019
Now, let’s move on to discussing the most popular and the most effective tips on how to close sales and increase the income of a company! All techniques are subdivided into two categories.
Traditional sales closing techniques
These are usually based on psychological tricks that can persuade a person to buy. Here are the most popular examples:
Now or never closes
In this case, a sales manager adds a special offer that works here and now. For instance:
“This is the last product sold at this price.”
“We’re offering a 30% discount to customers who buy this today.”
Summary closes
A sales manager sums up all the benefits of a product into one package. For example:
We have this laptop with a 3-year comprehensive guarantee, free delivery, and free technical support. When can we deliver it?
Modern sales closing techniques
If the above-mentioned sales closing phrases seem old-fashioned to you, you can use some other ideas. All in all, your goal is to learn the needs of your client, find out how specific goods or services can meet these needs, and finally close the deal. If you follow this rule, then you probably won’t face any obstacles to successfully closing your deal.
Sharp angle closes
People always want to get things at a lower price. Therefore, they will ask for price reductions. If you know that you can afford to offer a discount, you can use this tip. For example:
You client says, “Can you sell this product at a lower price?” You reply, “Sure I can, but will you sign a contract right now?”
Firstly, they aren’t even expecting you to agree to a discount. Secondly, they will definitely agree.
Question closes
This is one of the most effective sales closing strategies. When closing a sale with the help of sales closing questions, you have all the chances to persuade the prospect.
For example:
“Do you think our services can help you tackle your problems?”
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If your client says “no”, continue persuading them. But if they agree, then signing a contract is the next stage.
Assumptive closes
Mind that a lot depends on your attitude towards your job. If you believe that you can do it, you’ll definitely achieve the best results. Be a positive thinker!
Takeaway closes
If your clients are focused on the price, you can do the following. Just remove one of the product’s features and offer a discount without them. In all likelihood, the clients will change their mind, because the discounted price is not always the main decisive factor.
Soft close
This technique is a great chance to showcase all the benefits of your product and ask the client whether they want to find out more about it. All in all, you need to clearly state the main advantages of this product and ask the client whether it can meet the goals of their company. As a result, you’ll find out more about their needs.
The option close
It is a traditional technique that offers a client to choose between a few products. To put it simply, you give them two options. For example:
“We can deliver and install this washing machine at the end of this week or next Monday. Which day and time is more convenient for you?”
As a result, you’ll be able to move on to the buying process with less pressure.
The inoffensive close
The key mission of this technique is to make a customer say yes. All the questions have one goal: to confirm the value and importance of your services or goods. They usually sound like this:
“As far as I understand, you have some areas where our services can help you overcome difficulties. They are as follows… Do you have anything to add to this list?”
The opportunity cost close
Among all closing techniques in sales, this is considered one of the most effective solutions. When using it, you can highlight the importance of your product and show what the client loses if they don’t buy it. For example:
“If you don’t use this offer, you risk losing up to 30% of your future clients.”
The backward close
Mind that this technique is not for everyone. To implement it in practice, you need to create a sequence of questions that usually start with the end in mind and move backward. For example:
“To achieve your goals, when would you have to implement this?”
The puppy dog close
When using this technique, you have more chances to close the deal. It is based on the idea that most people who bring a puppy home for a day or two will not give it back. The same goes for products or services. If you provide your potential customers with an opportunity to test the product, they won’t give it back. You don’t push them to purchase; you just want them to give it a try!
The scale close
When analyzing all the sales closing methods, we couldn’t omit this one. It allows you to move from the qualifying to the closing stage. Thanks to this method, you can find out whether your client is interested in your offer.
It usually sounds like this:
“On a scale from one to ten, how would you rate your interest in our product? Why?”
The hard close
This technique is usually used to make last-minute deals. You can use it every week, month or year. Its main purpose is to create a deadline for a decision. These offers usually sound like this:
“I just got the news that our accounting department is changing our pricing policy. After that, the cost of this product will be higher. Would you like to take advantage of the existing price?”
The Ben Franklin close
You should use this technique when you see that your client is not sure or still can’t make a decision. Simply put, you need to list the advantages and disadvantages of your product. Create two lists where the first one will be longer.
The objection solicitation
In this case, you need to use lots of questions in order to move the whole process forward. For example:
“Is there any reason why we can’t deliver our products this month?”
As a result, you’ll find out the hidden objection that keeps your client from saying yes.
The probe for opinion case
When using this technique, you need to ask a client his or her opinion about the product. What do they think about your offer? Are there any issues? If you want to build a relationship with your client, this technique allows you to achieve this goal. By following this rule, you’ll build trustworthy relationships with your future clients.
The 70/30 rule
You can use this method combined with other rules mentioned in our list of sales closing techniques. The rule is that your future client should do 70% of talking whereas you do only 30%. This ratio is considered a healthy balance between a salesperson and a customer. As a result, you’ll be able to find out more about their needs.
Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs
There are some things you should never do when closing a sale.
Avoid these mistakes at all costs:
- Forgetting about the qualifying step;
- Offering too much useless information;
- Being too pushy with your clients;
- Losing your goal and just talking to your customer about other topics.
- Delaying your sales. Start selling here and now (even if your product is not ready yet).
What Are the Best Phrases to Close a Sale?
Nothing is more frustrating than a failed sale. To avoid this, you can use these sales closes examples:
- “If you choose our offer, you will start saving/increase your income/increase production as soon as possible.”
- “Our product will help your company increase its annual revenue. Do you agree?”
- “You said you wanted to see the results within one month. To achieve that goal, we need to deliver our product within the next week. If we sign a contract today, we can start working together immediately. How does that sound?”
- “What would you like to do next?”
- “I suggest we start our process now. As a result, your company will start getting benefits as soon as possible. So, let’s get started if there’s nothing that holds us back.
Sales Closing Questions to Turn a “No” into a “Yes”
What should you do if your client says no? Check out our effective tips that might help get the sale back on track:
- Listen to your client’s concerns that may be keeping them from saying yes. Let them express their opinion. In doing so, you’ll find out what stops them.
- Before answering your client’s questions, restate them. They will hear their own words repeated back at them. Sometimes, this can help change their point of view.
- Ask them to take immediate action.
- Always close the sale the same day. Not tomorrow or next week. Otherwise, the client will change their point of view.
- Offer more engagement.
- Agree with your client on some aspects of their objections. In doing so, you’ll be able to uncover what particular areas don’t allow them to agree.
Tips to Close Even More Sales
We have reviewed all the tips on how to improve sales. By following all the recommendations mentioned in this review, you’re sure to close more sales. However, we also want to provide you with some general tips that might help you close deals quicker:
- Disqualify prospects early.
- Estimate their budget at an early stage. As a result, you’ll learn whether your product or service is right for the prospect.
- Determine the timeline before your first meeting or call. Try to find out when they want to make the purchase: this week or next year. It will save you precious time!
- Respect your time.
- Make sure that the prospect trusts you.
It goes without saying that good results depend mostly on the salesperson.
However, we live in the 21st century and should use its benefits. One of them is a range of good CRM tools, like Nimble CRM software. Thanks to this product, you can be more effective and automate the majority of your tasks. Simply put, you can manage deals, access contact details, check contact data, generate highly targeted contact lists and much more! All these benefits are united in one solution. With Nimble CRM, you can work smarter anywhere you engage.
Fill in the Gaps with Nimble Prospector
We developed Nimble Prospector because email and phone remain the top channels for prospecting and engagement. We designed our new Nimble Prospector feature to give sales, marketing, and business development professionals an easy way to discover contact information such as email and phone numbers for qualified prospects in seconds.
Nimble Prospector is a powerful contact discovery and content enrichment engine that uses A.I. to uncover verified business emails, phone numbers, and addresses for the companies and people you engage with via Nimble! Prospector enables you to build and update records for outbound prospects wherever you work, accelerating pipeline and revenue growth.
How to Get Started
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You can also learn more about our 2019 Roadmap here.