CLOSING IS NOT a moment in time. It is not simply “getting the money”. It is a process. It is the agreement you work on with the customer, from the moment they say “just looking” to the moment they agree to purchase. Moreover, closing should never be viewed as an ending, but rather as a golden opportunity to build a professional, long-term relationship with your customer. Performed correctly, closing should be about 20 percent of your presentation and will be integrated throughout, until your customer says, “Yes, I’ll take it!” Let’s look at the seven types of closes you can use:
With these handy tools in your selling arsenal, you will be able to close any customer …
1. Direct. A favorite of Missile types (see March’s “Mirror Image” column on understanding your sales profile), this is simply a direct request for the customer to buy the item. Examples include “Just do it!” and “Buy or die!” or even “How long is this going to take?”
2. Compliment. Used by the Serpentine and the Sneak, this close makes the customer feel good about themselves and thus about the purchase. Examples include “Wise choice!” and “The blue in the sapphire will match the blue in her eyes.”
3. Whisper. A favorite of the Sneak and sometimes the Missile, the content may be similar to any of the other closes … but it’s whispered to the customer. Using the whisper draws the customer in, making your comment feel more like a secret, thus lending it more weight, especially when used sparingly.
4. Indirect. Used by all three sales profiles, though mostly the Missile, this close just misses the mark of being a Direct Close by inferring the customer should go ahead and make this decision. Examples include “Why wait until she has to ask?”, “Trust your instincts,” and “Do what your heart says.”
5. Reassurance. All three sales profiles must master this close and utilize it from the time they open their presentation all the way through the finish. The reassurance close is easy to say, and the customer needs to hear it in order to feel good about the purchase. Examples include “She’s going to love it” … “She’ll never take it off” … “That will look great” … “It’s okay to spend the money” and “You’ll wish you’d done it sooner.”
6. Question. The Missile most often uses this approach to get the customer to commit to the sale through interaction. Examples include: “Does she know you’re doing this?” … “What color of paper do you want to wrap it with?” … “How do you want to pay?” and “You are going to buy this, aren’t you?”
7. Assumption. All three sales profiles can and should use this close, which involves using words like “you”, “yours”, “he”, “his”, “she” and “hers” to imply ownership. An example is: “I can show you the internal characteristics of your diamond so you’ll always be able to identify it.”
With these handy tools in your selling arsenal, you will be able to close any customer (provided you use these closes through your presentation).