Inside a 70% Closing Rate

Don’t ask for the sale, simply advise.

BY PETER CANNELLA

Published in the May 2012 issue

Our sales staff closes approximately 70 percent of its sales. This is not a typo — they really close approximately 70 percent of their sales. Couple this with the fact that we work in a high volume store, and the closing percentage becomes even more impressive. How did they do it? Well, the answer may surprise you: They do not ask for the sale.

I know you likely are saying to yourself now, what is this man talking about? After all, everything we have been taught since our “probie” days in the jewelry business revolves around asking the customer to buy.

So, let me clarify: Our sales staff does not ask for the sale; they advise instead. They make an affirmative statement politely instructing the customer to buy.

The customer does not hear a question such as, “Did you want to go ahead and take this home today?” Instead, the customer hears a consultative statement such as, “Based on what we have discussed, this item meets all of your needs and you need to go ahead and take it home now!”

As they progress in their selling process, they have encouraged their customer to speak and, most important, they have listened to the needs that their customer has. As such, the customer has opened their position to the salesperson and they are now receptive to the sale. Then, my staff specifically meets those needs. By knowing their product and their customer, they often anticipate objections and overcome them before their customer can make them.

When they do hear an objection, it is welcomed instead of feared. It is viewed as an additional opportunity for the salesperson to listen to and satisfy a need the customer still believes has not been met. The staff member answers the objection directly and does so with a smile. Yes, passion and friendliness matter too!

Finally, and this is vital, right before they advise, they ask their customer if anything else needs to be addressed. If the answer is “yes,” the salesperson listens to the customer’s other needs and then fulfills them. If it is a “no,” then it is time to advise the customer to buy. Since all the customer’s needs have been fulfilled, it’s very difficult for the customer to come up with a reason why they shouldn’t ask for gift wrapping.

If you want to take your store to a whole new level, make closing so much easier, and increase your own personal sales as well, I advise you strongly to use this extremely powerful technique.

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