Effective Selling

9. Closing the Sale

9.1 Don't expect your customer to do the work of closing the sale for you.

9.2 Once you realise the prospect is ready to buy, stop selling.

• This can even happen before you have started delivering any sort of sales pitch.
• If you do not stop, you may go on to talk yourself out of a sale.

9.3 Check and confirm what has been agreed.

• 'So, you have chosen the blue one.'

9.4 Close the sale:

• This is best done in an upbeat, positive manner.
• The 'alternatives' close is also effective, particularly in retailing: 'Do you prefer the blue one or the red?'

9.5 Some people find it hard to close a sale, even when a customer is eager to buy.

• The simplest way of all is to ask: 'Can I take your order now?'
• Once you have asked for the sale, resist the temptation to say any more. Your silence encourages the customer to think things through and reach a decision.

9.6 When there is just one objection left and you have checked that any others have been answered (see 8), you can use a technique known as the conditional close.

• Ask: 'If I can guarantee to get the delivery date brought forward to meet your schedule, will you place the order now?' A hesitant buyer can often be won over by this reassurance that the one remaining stumbling block is now an explicit condition of the sale.