Sales Information |
How To Dramatically Improve Sales Closing Ratios
A closing question asks for a final decision. A trial-closing question is one that asks prospects for an opinion. Trial-closings should be non-threatening questions that ask how your prospective customer feels about what you have presented. Typical trial-closing questions can build in their directness as these examples illustrate: ? "How does this approach sound?" ? "Which of the two demonstrated packages do you like best?" ? "Do you see how this approach can save you money?" ? "What are your feelings about our guarantee program?" ? "Do you need additional information before making a decision these products and/or services?" Ron Willingham, one of today's top sales trainers has stated, "From the time you begin your demonstration to the point you feel a close is appropriate, your objective is to get opinions, reactions, feelings or feedback." Without asking trial-closing questions you'll never have enough information to effectively close a sale. When a sales or service industry professional closes after a presentation, tying off a sale is made much easier when trial-closing questions are executed throughout the presentation phase of your discussion. For example: "Paul, how do you feel about our program as it has been explained to you?" - or - "Paul, can you see how the cost savings in our plan will more than offset the cost of installation?" When you close on an appointment, tying off an appointment (sale) is made much easier when you use trial closings throughout the conversation. For example: "Bob, with your busy schedule, would an afternoon or early morning meeting time be best for you?" - or - "What this means to you, John, is that you can receive a free analysis on your present services with no obligation to purchase our services. Can you see how a 15, no more than 20 minute meeting might clarify some of your issues with your present vendor and give you the information you need to make a sound decision?" As you receive a favorable response from your trial closings, it really makes it difficult for your prospects to give you an arbitrary "no," when you later ask them to purchase your product or package of products that you have demonstrated. As you practice using trial-closing questions, you'll watch your closing ratios and profitability dramatically improve. VIRDEN THORNTON is the founder and President of The $elling Edge®, Inc. a firm specializing in sales, customer relations, and management training and development. Clients have included Sears Optical, Eastman Kodak, IBM, Deloitte & Touché, Bank One, Jefferson Pilot, and Wal-Mart to name a few. Virden is the author of Prospecting: The Key To Sales Success and the best selling Building & Closing the Sale, Fifty-Minute series books and Close That Sale, a video/audio tape series published by Crisp Publicantions a dividion of Thompson Learning. He has also authored a client acclaimed Self-Directed Learning series of sales, coaching & team development, telemarketing, and personal productivity training guides. To obtain a substantial discount on two of Virden's new manuals, 101 Sales Myths and Organizing For Sales Success, check the listings on The $elling Edge, Inc. website at: http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/book1.htm. Note: You can contact Virden at: virden@TheSellingEdge.com
MORE RESOURCES: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting |
RELATED ARTICLES
The Anatomy of a Sales Letter When Dr. Frankenstein exclaimed "it's alive. Dead Silence From Your Prospect: The Worst Sound Of All Could this be the worst moment in your selling cycle?You've done all the right things with your prospect:? You've identified a real need and developed a reasonably solid relationship.? You've determined that your prospect is interested in your solution. The Force That Drives Buying Decisions What do people buy? They don't buy your wonderful presentation. People buy solutions and visions. Stop Screwing Up Your Sales Letter "Sales Letter".. The Hands On Approach While living in the technology age where everything is computerized, digitized, and auto-responded, it is very easy to forget where we came from, and how all of this progress has almost completely wiped out the personal touch.In this article, I am going to discuss three different ways to reach out and touch your customers and get their attention in ways you could never do even with all of todays modern technology. Program Your Biocomputer For Sales Success Selling isn't something you do to people, it's something you do for them. If you feel as though you're being pushy or twisting arms when you are interacting with prospective customers or clients, you might be doing just that. Store Owners - Five Ideas to Increase Sales 1. Animate your window display. How To Sell Your Products or Services on Value And Stop Selling On Price Alone Have you ever met with, or talked to a prospect that wasn't ready to buy what you had to offer? What did you do with that prospects? Most sales gurus of the 1980's and 90's wrote books that told you to move on to the next prospect who is ready to buy now, and not waste your time on those that aren't ready yet.Here's the wrong assumption to make in that situation. Selling Skills - How to Handle the Dreaded Question Whats The Price? I've written previously about how to attract customers and how to manage the sales process. But one thorny issue keeps popping up for my clients? what should they do when a potential customer asks "How much will it cost?" as one of their opening lines. Selling More CDs at Gigs, Case Study: The Rogues A few weekends back, the Brobdingnagian Bards performed at the Austin Celtic Festival. We shared the stage with some amazing bands, but at the very top of my list were The Rogues. Going Back To Get Ahead Have you ever run DOWN an escalator that was going UP? Well, I did at the Tampa Airport last week. Here's what happened:Last Wednesday I was scheduled to fly from Tampa through Dallas to Phoenix on American Airlines. Whats Your Clients Style? When it comes to effective selling, one simple fact never changes: Selling is a relationship business. You already know all about your company's products and services - and you've learned the fundamental aspects of the sales cycle. Six Simple Steps for Getting More Applications When I first started out as a loan officer, one of the things I found to be the toughest, was taking an application over the phone. I just didn't seem to have the skills, nor did I have a plan. Diverting the Flow of Customers to Your Business I was a lucky kid when I grew up. Lucky, because I had a big back yard for playing. Do You Know When You Are Being Sold To? Britney Spears has recently caused controversy with suggestions that the ad campaign for her new fragrance range uses subliminal or hidden messages in its efforts to convince potential buyers. Advertisers have long been aware of the power of appealing to our subsoncious minds, so what methods exactly do they employ, and how widespread is the practise?Broadly speaking, there are three methods in common use - Product Endorsement, Product Placement, and Hidden (Subliminal) Imagery. Asking The Right Questions On an introductory call, how do you gather all of the information that you need from a prospect? An introductory call is usually fairly short, just a few minutes. You generally do not have the time to thoroughly question your prospect and then also move on to your next step, setting that introductory meeting. Never Stop Selling The question: "When should a growing company slow down its sales function and focus solely on delivery?"The answer: "Never!"When fast growth is the focus of your company, the only constant is that you will always, and I mean always, need more sales. It doesn't matter how full the sales pipeline looks, you need more sales. Doomed Before You Dial? Several weeks ago, I conducted a "Mastering the Cold Call" seminar for the Printing Industries of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. At the end of the seminar, a participant came up to me and said, "Thank you! I learned so much! I learned 'Don't Take No for an Answer. Sell More Products and Services with Testimonials Testimonials are all-important to sell anything. You may already have testimonials for your new book and service, but do you have testimonials for other promotional pieces? Next time you check out a Web site, notice the testimonials. Why USPs Dont Work The USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is based on the assumption that if you can't be better than the competition then being different will usually suffice.It is true that most businesses scrape by in the midst of mediocrity. |
home | site map | contact us |