Telling is not selling, God gave you two ears and one month so you should listen twice as much as you talk.  The excellent salesperson questions skillfully and listens attentively to the prospects needs.  She asks her way into a sale, she doesn’t talk her way into it.

Talking past the close:  The most valuable instruction my father gave was, "Son, when they are ready to buy, they are ready to buy stop talking and grab your contract."

When you ask a closing question and your prospect confirms he is ready to own, the conversation stops, your presentation ceases and you start preparing the paperwork.

As an example, a salesperson asks, "Current production schedule guarantees delivery by the end of the month.  Is that satisfactory?"  The prospect answers, "Yes, it is."  At that moment he has made the decision to own.  End your presentation.  Move swiftly to prepare the contractual agreements.

Arguing with the prospect or customer:  When you receive objection or challenges to your claims and you defend your product, you are in essence telling the person he is wrong. People dislike to be told they are wrong, even if they are.  You are in business to win the customer, not a battle. Always be agreeable.  Remember, when people have objections, respond to their questions in a positive non-threatening way.  "A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still."

Knocking the competition:  The first rule is to not make reference to your competition.  If, however, something is said about the competition, negative or positive, simply reply with, "They are a fine company, and seem to do a good job.

If you are asked why he should purchase from you verses the competition, respond with a two-part question.  Ask, "Why do you feel you should do business with that company?"  Allow him to answer and he will tell you how he wants to do business.  Follow-up the questions with, "What would cause you not to do business with that company?"  Listen carefully to hear objects why he would not do business with our competitor.  This information provides you with elements upon which to build you presentation and overcome objections on what you have been told, verses your assumptions.

1.  The Customer Must Want or Need Your Product or Service

Your obligation in professional selling is to provide solutions to meet the customer’s requirements.  If a need for your product or service does not genuinely exist, or if it is clear to you what you have to offer will not satisfy the prospects problems with solutions that are in their best interest, then move on to other prospects.
Secondly in regards to wanting what you have to offer, prior to asking for the order you must have kindled a strong buying desire.  Awakening the buying desire is the function of the presentation.  Also the function of the presentation is to bring clarity and understanding about the benefits of your products and services.  If you prematurely attempt to close before arousing sufficient buying desire or before your prospects gain complete understanding of the benefits, you will destroy your chance for the sale.

2.  Your Customer Must Be Able to Use Your Product or Service
Your customer should be able to take advantage of your offering for its intended use.  This means never oversell or undersell. Selling a small, low-volume copy machine to a medium-sized business is underselling their needs.  Likewise, placing a high-speed copier capable of producing 20,000 copies per month to a two-person start-up venture is grossly overselling the small business.

3.  The Customer Must Be Able to Afford Your Product or Service
Your customer should not only have sufficient funds to buy, but be able to own without being strapped.  If individuals and companies are sold products that result in financial burden, they are not truly enjoyed.

Whenever my wife and I enjoy dinner out, she invariably seeks the waiter’s recommendation.  It is not that she lacks confidence in her ability to select a meal, only that she seeks reassurance.

In most cases your customer seeks your recommendation prior to the buying decision.  Like my wife, it is not that the buyer lacks total self-confidence with his decision, only that he seeks reassurance.  As a salesperson, you operate as an assistant buyer and many times will be asked, "In your opinion what do you recommend?"  And you answer, "This particular model would be the best one for you."  The customer then places the order based on you advice.

Remember… be sensitive and only offer perfect solutions that satisfy the customers wants, needs, and budget.

This simply is not true. There are many components to closing a sale and not all of them occur at the time of the sale. For example, if you create a fabulous presentation with a good script designed only to close the sale, you are not seeking a relationship with the customer but merely a one-night stand because you are neglecting the importance of follow up. Then, you might manipulate the customer into making the decision that you want rather than the one that would best satisfy his or her needs. You may get them once, but will they give you referrals or call you again?

Some sale’s trainers believe that success in selling is a number’s game. If you make enough calls, a percentage of sales will almost occur by themselves. And they will. But think of all those sales you didn’t make that you could have IF you had closed strategically to a process.

Granted, we are closing sales differently today than in the seventies, eighties and nineties, but there are fundamentals that have always worked and will continue to work, culminating in great success in a salesperson’s career.

Relationship selling, partnering and consultive selling are valid, modern-day selling strategies. However, they certainly are not meant to supplant the time-honored skill of closing but rather to supplement it.

Some buying situations call for salespeople to operate on the premise of the one-time call and close. Others may require spending months or even years working with prospects to determine needs and build trust and credibility before closing the transaction. Regardless, it still comes down to gaining commitment and reaching the final agreement, which is closing the sale.

There are, in my estimation, these six basic critical steps to a sale:

1. Meet and greet
2. Discovery/qualification
3. Presentation/demonstration
4. Handling objections
5. Closing the sale
6. Following up and following through

If you carefully analyze the six steps, you will notice that every one requires specific closing techniques and skills. As each step is completed, the sale moves toward the end result.

When Vince Lombardi assumed the position of head coach for the Green Bay Packers, he was asked his strategy to turn around and lead the struggling team to its eventual number-one position. Mr. Lombardi replied, "I plan to lead by becoming brilliant at the basics."

The basics for him were passing, running and kicking the ball. Regardless of criticism from skeptics, Lombardi never lost his focus. He coached Green Bay to five NFL titles, won two Super Bowls and died as NFL’s all-time winningest coach with a .740 percentage.

The basics for you as a professional salesperson are the six critical steps to selling. Like Lombardi, if you become brilliant at the basics — including closing — you, too, can reach the top.

You may spend a lot of time with a prospect, but in the end, if you do not close, you do not get paid. Closing is not an event that will occur on its own. Even if you have a phenomenal relationship with a prospect and you deliver an excellent presentation, you must be prepared to ask for the order.

You cannot delude yourself into believing that the presentation, numerous sales calls and a solid relationship are all that’s necessary to entice a prospect to buy. There must be that one final step that only you can initiate and complete. In any sale’s transaction, there must be closure before there’s a check.