One of the main things about being a successful consultant or coach, is to understand and accept the fact you don’t have all the answers. The main thing is that you know where to find them!
I just stumbled upon (literally through www.stumbleupon.com) this website that had the best summary of closing techniques I have seen in a while. It is literally an ABC’s, in alphabetical order list of available options to use with your clients and customers.
The link to the web site is; http://changingminds.org/disciplines/sales/closing/closing_techniques If you go to the web site, you can click on each of these for more description on the technique and even some examples. I like this list as just a reminder of my options.
Below is a quick summary list of what you’ll find. Most of us know these techniques exist, but we don’t have a list of them available. I recommend keeping this list in our office, pin it up on your bulletin board or wherever it is you can. When you are stuck closing a deal, or negotiating a point, take a look at these closes. With this list, you can come up with a selling strategy to win that next deal.
- 1-2-3 Close – close with the principle of three.
- Adjournment Close – give them time to think.
- Affordable Close – ensuring people can afford what you are selling.
- Alternative Close – offering a limited set of choices.
- Artisan Close – show the skill of the designer.
- Ask-the-Manager Close – use manager as authority.
- Assumptive Close – acting as if they are ready to decide
- Balance-sheet Close – adding up the pros and the cons.
- Best-time Close – emphasize how now is the best time to buy.
- Bonus Close – offer delighter to clinch the deal.
- Bracket Close – make three offers – with the target in the middle.
- Calculator Close – use calculator to do discount.
- Calendar Close – put it in the diary.
- Companion Close – sell to the person with them.
- Compliment Close – flatter them into submission.
- Concession Close – give them a concession in exchange for the close.
- Conditional Close – link closure to resolving objections.
- Cost of Ownership Close – compare cost over time with competitors.
- Courtship Close – woo them to the close.
- Customer-care Close – the Customer Care Manager calls later and re-opens the conversation.
- Daily Cost Close – reduce cost to daily amount.
- Demonstration Close – show them the goods.
- Diagram Close – Draw a picture that draws them in.
- Distraction Close – catch them in a weak moment.
- Doubt Close – show you doubt the product and let them disagree.
- Economic Close – help them pay less for what they get.
- Embarrassment Close – make not buying embarrassing.
- Emotion Close – trigger identified emotions.
- Empathy Close – empathize with them, then sell to your new friend.
- Empty-offer Close – make them an empty offer that the sale fills.
- Exclusivity Close – not everyone can buy this.
- Extra Information Close – give them more info to tip them into closure.
- Fire Sale Close – soiled goods, going cheap.
- Future Close – close on a future date.
- Give-Take Close – give something, then take it away.
- Golden Bridge Close – make the only option attractive.
- Handover Close – someone else does the final close.
- Handshake Close – offer handshake to trigger automatic reciprocation.
- Humor Close – relax them with humor.
- Hurry Close – go fast to stop them thinking too much.
- IQ Close – say how this is for intelligent people.
- Minor points Close – close first on the small things.
- Never-the-best-time Close – for customers who are delaying.
- No-hassle Close – make it as easy as possible.
- Now-or-never Close – to hurry things up.
- Opportunity Cost Close – show cost of not buying.
- Ownership Close – act as if they own what you are selling.
- Price-promise Close – promise to meet any other price.
- Puppy Close – acting cute to invoke sympathy and a nurturing response.
- Quality Close – sell on quality, not on price.
- Rational Close – use logic and reason.
- Repetition Close – repeat a closing action several times.
- Retrial Close – go back to square one.
- Reversal Close – act as if you do not want them to buy the product.
- Save-the-world close: – buy now and help save the world.
- Selective-deafness Close – respond only to what you want to hear.
- Shame Close – make not buying shameful.
- Shopping List Close – tick off list of their needs.
- Similarity Close – bond them to a person in a story.
- Standing-room-only Close – show how others are queuing up to buy.
- Summary Close – tell them all the things they are going to receive.
- Testimonial Close – use a happy customer to convince the new customer.
- Thermometer Close – they score out of ten, you close gap.
- Think About It Close – give them time to think about it.
- Treat Close – persuade them to ‘give themselves a treat’.
- Trial Close – see if they are ready for a close.
- Valuable Customer Close – offer them a special ‘valued customer’ deal.
- Ultimatum Close – show negative consequences of not buying.
- Yes-set Close – get them saying ‘yes’ and they’ll keep saying ‘yes’.
If a list isn’t quite enough, Pinnacle Sales has been training pro’s like you for nearly 20 years. Give us a call and we can work on this together.
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