How To Close A Sale Without Needing A Cute Puppy

I had an interesting call yesterday from a lady in Chicago who was looking for somebody to coach her in SPIN Selling. SPIN Selling is a useful sales model and has been highly successful for many people over the last two decades or so. However, when people ask me about any particular sales model I always ask them, ‘why that one?’ Lets face it, there are enough out there and no doubt every single one has its devotees even if it’s only the person that dreamed it up. As well as SPIN there is, Power Base Selling, NLP Selling, Solution Selling, Consultative Selling, Funnel Selling and many more that I cannot even be bothered to dredge from the far reaches of my mind.

So what makes one work and another not? Well the real answer to that is the salesperson and not the ‘technique’. Yes, all of the above have merit and yes, they all work when implemented properly but they all follow a core process that is involved in almost every sale and without knowing what that is, the rest is just fluff.

I frequently get asked about ‘closing techniques’ and the person will always get an eye roll from me and a ‘here we go again’ look on my face. I know there are hundreds of books out there on closing the deal, I know that even the great sales Guru himself, Zig Zigler has written stuff on closing, but if you are having to resort to techniques to close a deal then you haven’t done your job properly. I guarantee that if you are in a closing environment and you cannot get the job done it is not because you don’t have the right technique it is because you have missed something along the way, or something has significantly changed (maybe a new vendor has arrived on the scene) and you are not aware of it. It really is that simple

Got that? Let me say it again just for clarification.

If you cannot close a deal it is almost certainly because YOU missed something during the sales process or somebody has moved the goalposts!

I just did a search on closing techniques and came up with 50 different closes! I know there are 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover according to Paul Simon but 50 ways to close a deal? C’mon!

Here are some genuine examples, and if you have ever used any of these I hope you are squirming with embarrassment because you certainly wont be busy counting your money.

The IQ Close – make them think it is only for intelligent people (if of course they are intelligent they will see straight through this and you too)
The Puppy Close – Act cute and invoke sympathy (works great with the Board of Directors)
Embarrassment Close – Make not buying an embarrassment (make ‘em feel real bad, that always works)
Courtship Close – Woo them! (No seriously, this really exists)
Hurry Close – Go fast so that they can’t think (buyers remorse, anybody?)
Treat Close – Make them ‘treat themselves’ (well Mr CFO, I thought I’d treat myself to that new $5m piece of software, have you got an issue with that?)

And on and on.

I am being deliberately cruel because I do understand some of the logic behind them (hmm, well maybe not the Puppy close) but wouldn’t it be easier not to have to worry about closing because it just happens naturally? I realize that you may have to actually ask for the order but you have to ask for most things in life, it’s not really a big deal.

The key to a deal closing is the sales person understanding the process and just as importantly, knowing where they are in that process at any one time. If you don’t understand it or know where you are in it or if you think it’s just a case of saying ‘should we sign with my pen or yours?’ then it’s time to either get out or get some help.

Good sales people are highly skilled; they are great questioners and listeners and have superb communication skills. They can build and hold rapport, they want to provide win/win solutions and they believe in their product. The really top people are also committed to life long learning and the ongoing perfection of their trade. (If you don’t believe me, go and read some Jeffrey Gitomer).

It’s not rocket science people, (unless of course you are a sales person for NASA, then it actually is rocket science) but it does require a bit of hard work and dedication.

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