How To Close The Sale Faster!
Do you struggle closing the sale? Is following up something you cringe at? Well, it is for me to slightly, but I’m learning to perfect it.
I know follow-up and closing are a big part of what we do for our business, and yes, we need to learn to love them over time, but it does get hard if you’re getting a lot of “maybe’s” instead of that Yes or No response.
I’d much prefer the “No Thanks” over the “I’ll think about it” response, because at least you have a firm answer and can move on quickly.
To be the most productive for your business, you don’t want to be following up with the same people multiple times and dragging it out over time. You need to respect the valuable time you have and also respect that the timing may just not be right for that person right now.
If you’re not getting an answer from them after about 3-4 follow ups, its time to move on.Get people committed to a decision whether that’s a Yes or No, doesn’t matter, just get that answer so you can at least confirm what to do next.
Give the right expectations to your people from beginning. The way you start a meeting, is the way you’ll end it. Make sure your prospects know what it is they are turning up for, make sure they have some understanding of why you want to speak to them and this will help your meeting run far more smoothly. If you set it up wrong, you will get nothing but hassle at closing time.
When setting the appointment with the prospect, make sure they give you their undivided attention for the time you need it.
Don’t go sending them a link to a video or recorded presentation and expect that they will have full eyes and attention on it with you not around. You’re not controlling the situation if you use this approach. Think about the fact that you may have sent them the presentation/video while they are at their kid’s soccer game, or school activity. Of course, if this was the case they wont be watching the video properly!
What this means is they then wont have made an educated decision on the overall picture, and you’ve basically wasted both your time and effort.
A good thing to do is to schedule the opportunity and have them commit to a time where you know they can watch the video/presentation properly and with full concentration, or make sure they are seeing the video/presentation in front of you.
So they’ve now seen the presentation either in a home meeting with you, over a video or phone conversation, now lets look at how to avoid the “I’ll think about it” response!
An amazing way to avoid the “ill think about it” response is to make sure you’ve target an emotional trigger with them that you’ve learned before the meeting happens.
This is why its essential to always learn a lot about our prospects before going any further. Asking a lot of questions will help you find their pain and struggles and by then mentioning that within the meeting or after the meeting, you are triggering those emotions that will give them more of an open mind in their decision overall.
A good example of this is: What if they told you throughout your prior conversations that they were wanting to have some more money coming in to go on that family holiday next year, or to pay for their daughter’s wedding, or to even to save a bit extra for that new car!
Make sure you mention and remind them of the fact they told you about those things. This will get them to pay attention more, and be far more open-minded.
Ask For The Sale!
So if you want to close properly, you need to ask for the sale! a good way to do this is by asking “what did you like best about it”? Once they respond to that, you then have an idea on how to move to the next step which will be an easier flow, once you hear what they liked about it.
If you just ask them “what did you think” you are leaving it too wide open for them to give you negative feedback, and you don’t want that at all.
If they tell you all the amazing things they liked about it, purely because you’ve asked them that directly, you can then go on to the next question which is: “Do you see an opportunity for yourself with this”? If they say YES, you know you can move forward, and if they say NO, you know you can cross them off your list and no extra time has been wasted!!
So What Happens Next If They Say Yes!
If they say yes, your next approach is to ask them if there’s anything else they need to know before you get started with the sign up!
Usually, if they are saying “I’ll think about it” it’s because they have unanswered questions, so try to work out why they want to think about it. Also, If they walk away from the meeting with the “I’ll think about it” response, make sure that you have booked another meeting to follow-up with them.
This is called BAMFAM: [Book A Meeting, From A Meeting].
We don’t want the “maybe’s, the “I’ll think about it” prospects walking away without a follow-up meeting booked, this is not going to serve you well, and will only drag the whole process out longer, wasting your valuable time.
You either want people to be IN or OUT, or have another meeting booked ready for follow-up! You will find that if you’re doing this, you will have a much more productive and enjoyable business, and more time to find new, amazing people to talk to.
Lets all learn to love the close and the follow-up, its key for our business to be more productive and less time-wasting.
Was this of value to you? If so why not drop a comment below or let me know some of your favourite tactics for follow-up and closing. I’d love to hear them.
Keep being Amazing, Authentic and Inspiring.
Janelle Emma xx
