Old-School Closing Strategies That Work

Once your marketing efforts gains a prospect's attention you have got to sell to them. Every business owner has to implement one or more of the following sales closes. How well you do that determines if you make a sale and a new customer. The following closes are from the book Selling Today.

1. Trial Close -
Is a closing attempt made at an opportune time during the sales presentation to encourage the customer to reveal readiness or unwillingness to buy.

2. Direct Appeal Close -
This close involves simply asking for the order in a straight forward manner. It is the most direct closing approach and many buyers find it attractive.

3. Assumptive Close -
This closing approach comes near the end of a planned presentation. If you have identified a genuine need, presented your solutions in terms of buyer benefits, presented an effective sales demonstration and negotiated buyer concerns satisfactorily, it may be natural to assume the person is ready to buy.

4. Summary-Of-Benefits Close -
This close is to reemphasize the value-added benefits that can help bring about a favorable decision. This tactic is also referred to as the step-by-step close. This closing statement gives you the opportunity to restate how the benefits will outweigh the costs.

5. Balance Sheet Close -
The close is for the customers who are having difficulty making a decision even though they have been given plenty of information. Let's assume that the salesperson draws a T on a sheet of paper and places the captions on each side of the crossbar.

6. Management Close -
To close a major account, salespeople sometimes call on top management for help. One important reason to involve management is to make prospects feel your whole
company's resources will be available to support the customer.

7. Impending Event Close -
This close involves making positive use of the negative needs of the prospects well enough to turn their objections into your selling points. More often than not, you will need to have a good relationship with your prospects to make the method work.

8. Special Concession Close -
Offers the buyer an extra incentive for acting immediately. A special inducement is offered if the prospect agrees to sign the order. The concession may be part of a low-price strategy, such as a sale price, a quantity discount, a more liberal credit plan, or an added feature that the prospect did not anticipate.

9. Multiple Options Close -
In many selling situations it is a good idea to provide the prospect with options regarding product configuration, delivery options, and price. This is especially true when you are dealing with the price-conscious transactional buyer.

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Maddison D.Cephas
EastLake Marketing Group
The Small Business Marketing Spot