How To Perfect The Art Of Closing Sales

I like the word consummate… I like the sound of it and the image it brings to mind. In the dictionary, the word “consummate” means “perfect ending.”

And it really is the perfect ending—it means everyone is happy, at least for sales, that is.The new client is happy with the benefits they’ll receive. You’re happy because you now have a new client and a sale. Your manager will be happy because you moved product. Everyone is happy.

When I wrote the book “Low Profile Selling,” I wanted to get away from the term “closing” because it’s considered by some as too hard-sell. So, I decided to use the word consummate, which I think describes closing sales perfectly.

So, since it’s such a good thing, how do we go about consummating more sales?

Most potential clients you’ll encounter have strong needs and/or wants for your product by the time you feel they are ready to consummate the sale, if you do your job right.

In doing your job right, you need to determine your potential client’s specific needs. Then show them how your product or service fulfills those needs.

This is where psychology comes into play. Even when your potential client sees the value of your offering, they’ll still have to rationalize the decision of the sale. They may want it emotionally, but they’ll need to rationalize it logically before they make that final commitment and before you can claim the sale.

When you see that your potential client is heading toward a stall, you’ll know that they haven’t yet rationalized that having the product is worth more to them than keeping their money.

So they may lean toward procrastinating and postpone the decision. If you let it go far enough, they’ll actually begin to feel fear about the decision and freeze about making any decision at all.

They may say something like this, “Oh, I’m not sure about the quality of this product.” Or, “I don’t know if we’re ready to go ahead.”

When you hear things like that, you know you need to move into an even more helpful mode.

Begin gently by trying to find out specifically what’s holding them back.

Say these words, “John, obviously, you have a reason for saying that. Would you mind sharing it with me?” Let him expand and elaborate. He’ll usually give you the opening you need to help him rationalize.

Or, in some cases, a spouse might jump in and help you overcome the objection. I’ve had situations where the other decision-maker jumped right in and closed the sale because he or she had already reached a point of rationalization.

The key is to help them see that the benefits outweigh the investment they’re making. Until you do, they may be feeling a little bit of pressure that’s purely internal–nothing you’ve exerted on them.

However, you will have to be the one to relieve that pressure if you want to move ahead.

Consummating a sale is a gradual process. It might take you a little while to catch onto the whole consummating thing, but once you nail down the tactic that works best for you, you’ll be in heaven.

Just take it slow, and remember, once you become successful, when someone asks you, “How many sales did you close?” You can tell them, “Zero… But I did consummate some…”