To be successful in closing, you must have the will to win. Selling is a win-win situation or it’s a lose-lose situation. There is no “fence-sitting” involved here. It’s all or nothing, and adopting a winner’s attitude will take you far along the road to success.

Closing should not be a separate event from the rest of your presentation – it should be integrated into the proposal and it should flow naturally and easily. But, just like the rest of the process, closing should be planned. There are many closing techniques and you need to master them and keep them stored away for future use. You can adopt any one of these closing techniques at any time – select the one most suitable for your presentation. The secret of successful closing is not in the technique that you will use, but to know when to close.

The Trial Close asks for an opinion and not a decision. This way the customer can feel that he has not been coerced into anything – you’re inviting him into the conversation and encouraging him to share his opinion. This is not a normal closing technique, but more like a test to see if your customer is ready to buy.  Best time to use it is after you handled the objection successfully. Ask questions and close your mouth – don’t say anything else. Wait for response.

Some examples:

• “So the date you would be looking at starting our training would be September 6th?”
• “How do you feel about this product? Does it make sense to you?”
• “What do you think of (insert your benefit here)?”
• “How does that sound so far?“
• “Did I miss anything?”
• “What do you see as a next step?”
• “Is now a good time to send you the paperwork?”
• “When should we send out our technician?”
• “Do you like it?”
• “Could you see yourself using it?”
• “Let’s put aside the price – would this be the right product for you?”
  

The Trial Close tells you when to ask for the decision. If your customer makes the decision on a minor point, he will be able to make the final decision easier (the sale). Very often after asking the trial question, I am using 3F technique – Feel, Felt, Found – I understand how you feel, other felt the same way, and here is the solution we found…

(Shameless Self-Promotion: More closing techniques presented in a unique and refreshing way you can find in my book “Selling Is Better Than Sex.” Read more here: www.sellingisbetter.com)

Can you name the questions you are using ?

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