A - Always
B - Be
C - Closing
The most important part of any sales process is the closing. The close is when you convince your customer to actually make their purchase. There are many different sales closing strategies and they all work differently depending on your product and your audience:
Customers buy because of confidence and competence - so show your customers both! The assumptive close assumes your customer will buy because not buying would simply be absurd.
Ask your customer if they have any questions, if not just confidently move them to the next step.
Imagine if a pet store let you take a cute dog home for a few days with no strings attached. How many people would return their new “best friends?” None!
The puppy dog close is also known as the free trial close. Offer your customer a no strings attached free trial and let your product do the work of closing for you.
The scale close is the sales equivalent of the playground question:
“How much do you like me on a scale of 1-10?”
The actual number your customer answers is less important than the follow-up question the scale close allows you to ask:
“What’s keeping us from being a 10?”
This allows you to identify and then address your customer’s key objections, moving you closer to the eventual “close.”
The scarcity close is a sales closing strategy we’ve all seen when we’re shopping. By using a “limited time offer” you create a sense of urgency for customers and incentivize them to move quickly for fear of missing out.
The takeaway close is when you tell your customer you’re not a good fit and attempt to walk away from the deal. By doing the exact opposite of what your customer expects - telling them no - the takeaway close uses reverse psychology to make your product seem more attractive and convinces your customer to actually chase you!
Note: the takeaway close works best when the reason you’re not a good fit is aspirational. You want your customer to think, “but, I am X!” For example:
“We’re not a good fit right now because our core customers are companies that are investing for growth.”
Every company aspires to be a company that’s investing for growth!
The assisted close is pretty straightforward - the assisted close asks your customer to “assist” you in closing them by simply asking:
“What else can I do to help you make your decision?”
The assisted close brings you to your customer’s side of the table and creates a consultative relationship.
The summary close is a version of the assumptive close. You simply end your meeting by summarizing all of the key points that have been agreed to. This creates a cadence of positive reinforcement:
“So to make sure we’re on the same page, we’ve agreed to X, Y, and Z?”
This gives your customer one last chance to ask questions but, more importantly, naturally leads to the assumptive close - if we’ve already agreed to everything then the only logical thing to do next is close!
At the end of the day, sales is just two humans coming to an agreement. The key to sales is asking questions, demonstrating value, building trust, and displaying confidence and competence.
The right technique will depend on your personality, your product, and your customer. Good luck!
