Closing techniques are the ways through which a sales manager, sales rep, or sales team converts a lead into a sales deal. It is a way of getting a prospect to agree to a deal and sign a contract for the final purchase decision. Closing strategies are used for converting promising opportunities and through this, a sales rep reaches the culmination of all their efforts.
After making a sales pitch, getting to that yes from a lead or prospect demands patience, persistence, and positive thinking. Sales closing is an absolute stage of the sales pipeline, so the sales team will be a closing conversation. Closing is considered to be the make-or-break moment in sales. This is how revenues are grown by a business and how the reps make their quota. This is the culmination of all the efforts put in by sales professionals, and that’s why they are expected to generate the best win rates for the efforts they put into it. Quite a large number of sales techniques have been developed over the years because of their significance.
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What are Closing Techniques?
Closing techniques are a sales stage that encourages prospects or leads to convert into customers or purchasers and can be defined as a process of closing deals. Businesses or salespeople first optimize their product’s reach, generate leads, convince them by sharing the benefits of the products, and offer unbeatable deals to ultimately convert them into paying customers.
In sales, it is a stage used by sales professionals to turn prospects into customers. There are several steps in a process that the professional needs to follow to get the deal done. The professional needs to provide an individual with an unbeatable deal so that they don’t regret it.
20 Sales Closing Techniques
Following 20 closing sales techniques include traditional as well as modern sales closing techniques that sales managers or sales reps can use to close sales effectively and optimize successful selling ratios. So, without any further ado, let us delve into 20 effective sales closing techniques-
1. Now or Never Closes
The now or never close is a traditional sales technique that gives some added benefits if the prospects take action right now. Now or never works well when an individual finds it difficult to move to yes. When the benefits have been added, a sense of urgency is created.
In this, a persuading offer is placed on the prospect to make a clear decision. It is used for creating a sense of urgency to optimize the craving of a prospect to make a buy. Offering a discount or promotion is an integral part of effective sales closing techniques.
2. Summary Closes
Summary closes is a sales closing technique that is tried and involves repeating all the benefits and features of the offer before the order is asked for. If the prospect is distracted, this technique helps move them to a yes. Salespeople summarize previously agreed-upon points into one impressive package in this to let prospects visualize what they will be getting out of the deal.
3. Assumptive Close
Assumptive close is a sales tactic that is useful to close a deal. The salesperson assumes that the prospect has agreed to buy, so phrases at the finishing of the sale that implies they are ready to move ahead.
4. The Take Away Close
This is a very effective sales technique used by professionals. In take away close, the potential client is given a specific period under which they need to decide between buying that product before the offer stands void. Examples include prices of products or services that are there for some specific time only. If the client cannot make up his mind during that period, the benefits are taken away.
5. Scarcity close
People tend to act fast in the face of probable scarcity. Through this technique, the probability of probable scarcity is taken advantage of. The urgency to acquire the product or service increases and a salesperson can leverage this.
6. The Sharp Angle Close
During the closing period, the additional information may be held out by the prospects or form a discount. An individual must stay ready to negotiate. If they are in a decision-making position and know about a counteroffer, this becomes very easy.
This technique is considered very effective as the prospect’s request has already been received. This might look like an approach only for sales, but the top boxes are checked for a successful close.
7. Question Close
To become a successful sales professional, questions need to be asked, stay engaged, and listen genuinely to the prospect’s responses. To finalize the sale successfully, even asking questions at the last stage holds importance.
There are several advantages linked to this technique, as it encourages the prospect to confirm and finalize the deal by confirming that you have met all the requests.
8. Something For Nothing Close
Humans tend to return good deeds. In this technique, an extra feature is provided to the client as goodwill, and something in return is expected from the client as well; it could be anything take, for example, buying that product.
This technique works well because people tend to like free benefits. One thing that needs to be kept in mind is that the value should mean something to the client, and the added value should not cost you dearly.
9. The Objection Close
The salesperson has to make sure that the deal gets done by asking the clients for any objections that may have arisen in their minds after making sure that clients understood everything about the offer.
10. The Ben Franklin Close
Named after the famed businessman and investor Benjamin Franklin, there is a technique called Ben Franklin close. In this strategy, the pros and cons of the product are listed.
With the pros and cons listed down, the prospect will find it easy to visualize how useful is the product for them. It is useful when the prospect finds it difficult to decide whether to go with the product or not.
11. The Needs Close
The best way to get prospects to buy a product is by satisfying their needs and needs close do exactly that. Listing down what the prospect said was needed by them is done.
Reviewing the list against the product and starting the ticking off the ones that match is done. Higher the number of ticks, the better.
12. The Empathy Close
Sometimes closing a deal requires empathy rather than pressure or leverage. That is where close empathy steps in. This technique allows using emotions to understand the prospect’s situation better.
13. The Artisan Close
This technique highlights the efforts that are put into the specific product. This makes the real focus of sales behind the scenes of the product. This technique will best work on prospects who focus on the effort put into making a product special.
14. The Alternative Closing Technique
The alternative close is the variant where it is assumed that the prospects are interested in the product, and there are two alternatives provided to them to make the deal move forward.
This technique works best for prospects who do not have any queries about the product.
This technique, by giving the clients alternatives, simplifies the decision-making process.
15. The Opportunity Cost Closing Technique
The cost someone incurs by not doing something else is called an opportunity cost in business language. This technique, too, works on the same principle of what someone may miss out on if your solution is not implemented. While using this technique, it should be insisted that purchasing a particular product is an investment rather than an expense.
16. The Ownership Closing Technique
Classic Ownership close; this is a technique where a salesman puts up an idea of a product being owned by a buyer. This technique works at its best when backed up by facts by showing how they would improve by getting the products. Continuously stating the advantages of having a product, we influence the client to get it.
17. The ‘Best Time to’ Closing Technique
This technique is very effective when an individual realizes that a trigger event is related to a prospect. There is a persuasion in this technique as to why the time is right now to invest in the product.
18. The Calendar Closing Technique
This technique comes into play when you cannot leave a prospect and can’t wait for him to make up his mind either. In this technique, a date is set to finalize the deal shortly. This helps individuals fix a certain date rather than hop from one date to another.
19. The Testimonial Closing Technique
As trust and credibility are two main factors that drive a business to greater heights, this technique helps build credibility and trust with the prospects. The experiences of the actual users are shared rather than talking about the product itself. Because testimonials come from people who have experience with the product, this technique becomes advantageous.
20. The Thermometer Closing Technique
This technique will help identify and overcome any objections the prospect may throw at you, which stops the deal from moving ahead. The prospect is given a scale of one to ten and is asked to rate how likely are they to purchase the product. If the prospect marks a rate of less than six, he has significant objections related to the product.
What To Do After Closing a Sale
A successful deal requires celebration, but there are a few steps an individual needs to follow after the deal is finalized-
1. Logging the deal in the sales software
Logging will help an individual keep the team on its target to forecast and help keep the pipeline updated.
2. Providing an introduction to the next team
It is possible that closing the deal might be the first step to getting a customer’s journey with the business. They might speak with support or customer success to get onboard from this point on. Setting up an e-introduction for the person next in the line to take over is a wise step.
3. Following up with the customer in a few days
A simple check of how the new customers feel about the purchase can become an advantage in the long run. Customers can be helped when they face any issue.
4. Taking an honest look at your sales process
If you tend to lose a prospect long before the process of closing, you need to look at the sales cycle carefully. Some questions need to be asked to do that.
- What are the customer’s views on the sales process
- How easy or hard is it for the customers to buy
- How can the CRM be optimized to help streamline the sales pipeline
- How CRM helps salespeople in improving the overall sales cycle along with nurturing campaigns, generating leads, following up, and ensuring long-term relationship management
- What a new sales team can learn from the top performers and how to include their sales tips and best practices
- What customers say about the sales process
- How to improve sales training and effectiveness
- Should we give a closer look at our sales compensation structure?
Here is a video by Marketing91 on Closing Techniques.
Tools to help in Sales Closing Techniques
Some of the tools that can help in optimizing sales closing techniques of the sales teams are-
- SalesTrakr
- Mothernode
- DemandForce
- PipelineDeals
- HubSpot
- Do.com
- Clearbit
- Acquire
- Zoom
- Mailshake
- SalesLoft
- GoTo Meeting
- Slack, etc
Conclusion!
In the end, it is clear that closing is the process of helping your leads to make a decision and convert to your product or service.
Brands and their sales team should keep in mind that everything they say during the process should be directed toward closing the sale. They should start the process of closing the sale when they first meet their potential customers. From the very first interaction, sales managers should process all their talking, strategy making, thinking and activities should be directed toward closing the lead.
Now, on the concluding note, what closing techniques do you consider most effective in optimizing sales? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.
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