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Chapter 11 - How To Close A Sale
Feeling in the prime of sales audacity early one afternoon, I approached a wealthy prospect about the purchase of an annuity plan. It entailed the investment of a substantial sum of money. I put everything I had in the presentation of that plan. Every phase, every value, and every advantage of what that annuity meant to him and his family were revealed, visualized, eulogized, and glorified. However, when I had finished my presentation, I discovered that the prospect was attentive but not responsive; he made no move and no comment. He was adamant and did not say whether he was for it or against it. Unable at this juncture to determine his feelings on the matter, I retraced the plan, step by step, making a comprehensive summary of every point. Finally, I asked him to give me a check. Again he said nothing. I then decided to play his own game, so I took a seat right across from where he was sitting. For a full 15 minutes neither he nor I made a sound; I was determined to wait it out. Finally, he said, "To whom shall I draw the check?" When I first heard of this prospect, I made plans to close the sale. I visualized the kind of person the prospect was. I took into consideration his temperament. I knew that he was adamant. I felt it would take two sticks of TNT to move him to buy, but I also sensed that three sticks might be excessive and kill the sale. Therefore, following this plan of attack, I approached the prospect, "touched off" two sticks, and let the silence close the sale. The two sticks produced the sale I had anticipated. The close of a sale is the climax of all selling activity. It is completing the job that you started out to do. You started out to make a sale, and the sale is not complete until you have received the order. Closing the Sale : The Final Step in Selling When I come to the close of a sale, I think of myself as a builder. Here I have built a house. It required time and effort to excavate, to lay the foundation, and to construct the walls. It is all complete but the roof. I am not leaving this building until I have built the roof. A sale, up to the time of its closing, is more or less a house without a roof. A builder certainly would not leave a house in that condition, so why would a salesman leave a sale? If he does, in all probability another salesman will step in, put the roof on, and capture the sale. Hammer until you get the roof on; persevere until you close the sale. The close of a sale can be easy, or it can be difficult. It all depends upon the amount of thought you have devoted to planning it in advance. Closing a sale is not a tug-of-war or a prize fight; it is a result of a well laid plan. The more time you spend in the preparation of the sale, the more easily you will be able to close the sale. The close of a sale is the last step in the sale. If you have made a thorough application of the other steps, the close will be comparatively easy. After all, the close of a sale is only the logical and natural conclusion of an interview that has been properly conducted from the moment it began. Review Your Sales Techniques At this point I think it would be wise to make a complete inventory of your sales techniques and review them in the light of the chapters you have read. When you bought this book it became your silent partner. By using its contents, you will be able to close more sales and make more money than you have ever made before. Your power to close a sale can be greatly increased by reviewing the chapters on "How to Attract a Prospect" and "How to Create a Sale." These chapters will aid you in developing positive thoughts and ideas to attract the prospect, in anticipating his needs and wants, and in making the right appeal. These two chapters not only show you how to attract the prospect, but give you sound and definite reasons why he should own your product. The chapter "Watch Your Words" will show you how to use the right words in presenting your proposition, in order to give the prospect full confidence and a complete understanding of what you are attempting to do for him. Have you enthusiasm about your product? Can you generate it in yourself and in the prospect? Review "Why the Prospect Buys." Do you lack pointers in meeting and overcoming objections? Learn how to turn objections into sales by getting a first-hand knowledge from actual experiences. The chapter on objections teaches you how to anticipate certain objections and overcome them with ease. This knowledge is vividly related in "How to Turn Objections into Sales." Are you making the full use of your imagination to improve your selling technique? Are your ideas getting shopworn and ragged around the edges? New ideas about common-place things often attract attention and arouse buying interest in the prospect. Read "How to Turn Your Imagination into a Junior Salesman." Have you inspected your talents lately? How about your equipment, to display your thoughts and ideas? Your speech, voice, and manner are the best features you have. A good overhauling will improve them. It will help you to display your product and make it easy for the prospect to understand you and have full confidence in what you say. Read "The Magic Power of Personality." Do you want to attract more prospects? Do you want to close more sales? Do you want to extend your sales services? Do you feel that you are getting paid for your efforts? Do you want to have more opportunities for closing sales? Read "How the Law of Averages Can Double Your Sales." Do you want to understand the feeling and the disposition of the prospect? Do you want him to realize that you are giving him the best there is in the shop? Do you want additional sustaining power to complete the sale? Do you want to draw on the Universal Bank of Divine Power when it comes to closing a sale? If you do, I suggest that you read "The Power That Sells" many times. This chapter will really revitalize and re-energize you. Your presence and your feeling of good will will instantly penetrate the consciousness of the prospect and he will not only feel, but believe, every word you say. Have you faith and confidence in your ability to close a sale? Read "The Philosophy of Selling," which tells you that you can get honey from a weed. When to Close the Sale The question often arises about
the right time to close a sale. In my opinion, the right time to close a
sale, although it varies with the prospect, occurs when you feel the
prospect yielding and know you can take an order. If the right As you conduct the sale, watch for signals; every now and then either ask for the order or make a suggestion leading in that direction. My friend, Harold Lannamann, one of America's greatest salesmen, has sold enough carpeting to stretch half way around the earth. He says: "I have never asked for an order in all my experience. My contention is that when I have done a good selling job, there is no need to ask for the order. It automatically takes care of itself." Edith Smith, a leading saleslady in the Wanamaker Store, Philadelphia, says: "If we approach our customers with a sincere interest, they will respond in a like manner. They will be ready to buy what we have to sell, and will return to us again and again—a happy customer will become a steady one." Tested Closing Sentences There are many suggestions for closing a sale and they usually come to you at the right time. Some examples are: "We pay the freight" . . . "We can allow you 30 days" . . . "We allow an extra 2 per cent discount" . . . "Will you be kind enough to let us have your signature?" . . . "Will you be kind enough to okay this order?" (Never ask a prospect to sign anything because he does not like the word "sign.") . . . "What time will it be convenient for you to see the examiner?" . . . "How is your physical condition?" . . . "Do you write your name Thomas J. Watson or Thomas Johnson Watson?" . . . "What is your wife's full name?" . . . "We have a good trade-in value." No matter what the terms of your proposition, you must frame them in the most attractive way. Make them suggestive, alluring, and compelling. Send feelers out every so often to the prospect. If they do not click then begin all over again by saying, "Mr. Sloan, I really feel that you do not fully understand what this proposition means to you." Then launch right back into the proposition, giving each step and calling his attention to one particular point that will enable you to stress the value and advantages of your proposition more fully. Then say, "You are a friend of Mr. Smith, who just bought this proposition and who is highly pleased with it. I am sure I can render the same kind of service to you." How to Close Sales Effectively Salesmen have been in the saddle for many years. They have had their own way, and they have forgotten that the prospect is better informed and thus has grown wiser. In many cases today, it takes a lot more selling than ever to close a sale. The best and most effective way to close is to just keep on selling until the prospect says "Yes." That is the principle I follow. I feel I have worked honestly and thoroughly to make a sale, and I am not going to leave the close open for someone else. In closing a sale it is effective to make your language very plain and simple. The summary should be complete in every detail and expressed with positive determination, indicating at all times that you believe every word you have told the prospect. Get understanding and be sure there is a meeting of minds. The prospect must understand everything that you are endeavoring to do for him. As you conduct the sale, observe the reaction of the prospect and you can usually determine whether he thoroughly understands all the values and advantages of your proposition and what they mean to him. If you notice any doubt in the prospect's mind, try to iron it out by asking him questions on the points which you believe are causing him to hesitate. Also, think of those questions he might ask and weave the answers into the explanation of your proposition. Anticipating questions will enable you to meet all the objections the prospect might use to delay the sale. So, cut through them, and, if possible, have the order blank in one hand and your fountain pen in the other. Help the prospect to say "Yes." The Mississippi is made up of many tributaries, and each one contributes its share to the power and strength of the great stream. You are like this river: you have tributaries of selling qualities and attributes, and each one contributes its share to the power and strength of your salesmanship. The full combination of your selling qualities and attributes yields the ability to interest prospects and close sales. Conduct the sale with understanding, consideration, and appreciation of the prospect. Do not attempt to bulldoze or coerce the prospect. Never rush or force him against his will. Scatter all selfishness. Exercise tolerance, patience, and a feeling of genuine kindness. If the sale is yours, you are going to get it. Try to do the best you can. If you do not close the sale, your efforts will have enhanced the understanding, power and skill with which you may close the next one. In closing the sale, insist with tact, plead with earnestness, and persuade with diplomacy.
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