Question: What kinds of strategies can I adopt to close more sales. We get in front of plenty of new customers, but don’t seem to be able to close the deals.
Answer: In sales, it is more about the questions you ask than the answers you give. The most powerful sales tool in your arsenal is the ability to listen. When you ask questions and sit back and listen, you learn. And the most important element you learn is what is important to the buyer in the process of making a decision to do business with you. Questions not only provide clues, but they give the conversation direction. You can direct the dialogue between you and the buyer by asking the right questions and “listening with the intent to understand, not just reply." (Stephen Covey – "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.") This engages your buyer in a more relevant way compared with just pitching the client.
What are some questions you might ask to get the prospect talking with you?
How did you hear about us? If you can determine how they found you, you can follow a line of discussion that will keep them more engaged, since you now know a little more about them and where they get their information. Knowing where they get their information, in general, gives you great clues about how to approach them. It helps you understand from the get-go about their wants and needs and what is important to them.
What are the your must-haves, should-haves, could-haves? Understanding what is important to a buyer gives you great insight into how to approach your selling strategy. What is most important in their priorities? Know what they would be willing to trade to get to their “must-have” allows you to assess the approach that will get you to “yes" faster.
How do you make decisions? Knowing if the buyer makes the decision independent of others, if there is a committee or if the decision is the business owner’s alone allows you to once again create a working sales strategy that is focused on a specific buyer rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. You also might ask, “Who else is involved in making this decision?” That way, you can get your message in front of others who will collaborate on the decision to buy.
Who else are you comparing with us? All buyers look at alternatives. And it is not just competing vendors. It is not buying. A no-to-buy decision is competition to you getting an order. Sometimes the reality of the purchase creates inertia on the part of the buyer. Or a proposal might create the impetus of creating an in-house solution vs. buying from an outside supplier. If you can determine what options the buyer is evaluating, you can create a selling approach to counter the alternative strengths. If you don’t know who or what the competition is in a buying decision, you are working in the dark.
When do you expect to buy? What is the timeline for making a decision? If you know what the timeline is then you can determine the urgency in your sales planning. It helps assess how much time and when to invest it in the sales process. If they are going to make a decision imminently, then you are going to invest heavily now. If the timeline is longer, then you will invest some now and invest more as the buyer gets closer to decision time.
What is your budget? No one should plan on investing resources in trying to sell to someone who will not share their budget. It is like “shooting in the dark.” If their budget is so low that any proposal you make will not make sense, why invest time and resources in the first place? If you can get the buyer to share their budget and it is not realistic, then you have the opportunity to explain why they need to recalibrate their financial objective.
What does it take to do business with you? Many times sellers present their proposal and they get a “nothing” response. “Let me think about it” or “We review your proposal with others we have received and let you know” says nothing to you. It doesn’t give you a clue about next steps. So, why not ask, “What will it take to do business with you?” You will gain insight into their interests and hopefully objections they have relative to your proposal.
Other questions might be: What kind of service requirements do you feel will be needed to support this buy? This will help you determine how much resources they want or need in the period after the sale. How do you see your business in the next five years? This may give insight as to what you need to do to be a part of the organization’s growth. Teh question, Is there anything that could stop this purchase? will help you navigate potential roadblocks.
— Contributed by Marc L. Goldberg, certified mentor. Sourced from "12 Questions to Close More Deals," MaximizerCRM. For help with sales and marketing, contact SCORE Cape Cod and the Islands for free and confidential mentoring at capecod.score.org, capecodscore@verizon.net or 508-775-4884. Ask our about our new flexible mentoring schedule. We go where and when you need us.