Are You Making These Sales Closing Mistakes?

Closing a sale is arguably the most important part of the sales process, if you don’t do this, you don’t get the sale. That’s the bottom line. And, even the best salesperson in the world can be making closing mistakes that could hinder your chance of getting that signature.

Thinking any sale is a good sale

Don’t compromise on price to a point where you’re harming your company. A little leniency is acceptable and somewhat expected in some industries, however, don’t get carried away with reducing your price just to get a sale. Be accommodating where you can, if a potential customer can’t commit to a £9,000 one-off cost, be open to a three-month deal where the potential customer pays £3,000 a month or a longer payment process to secure the deal.

Not knowing the decision criteria

If you’re pushing for a sale when your potential customer doesn’t have enough information to make an informed decision is definitely not the way to go about business. Asking too soon for a sale without giving the potential customer enough information makes the potential customer feel rushed.

Find out exactly what the decision maker needs to make a purchase. Do you need to follow a certain review process? Do they need a presentation they can use to pitch the product/service to their boss? Would a demo or trial be of use? Once you’ve found out exactly what they need, provide the customer with enough information to satisfy their queries. Once you have done this make sure you give them ample time to review the information and then ask for the sale.

Not creating a sense of urgency

Timing and need are the two factors driving a purchasing decision. If your potential customer needs your product/service but other priorities are more important than your deal can get delayed or pushed back. Create the sense of urgency and the need for your product/service now. This urgency can be created through a time limited offer for your product/service or added features for buying sooner rather than later.

Not closing throughout

You should build in small closes throughout the sales cycle, don’t assume that a prospect has bought in to your product/service just because they’re not objecting. This is part of your qualification, make sure your buyer is a good fit and they want to move forward.

Set next steps throughout your sales cycle to make sure your prospect is committed to buying and want to continue. If they are unsure ask what’s holding them back, it could be something you can help with. If it’s something you can’t help with then you know where you stand and can make an informed decision whether or not to pursue the prospect any further.

Talking too much

This is a common mistake made throughout salespeople. When negotiating a deal silence is golden. Doubt can be put in to a potential customers mind when a salesperson continues to talk when they are ready to buy. Keep the negotiations short and sweet, after stating your price or responding to a question stay quiet and put the ball in your potential customer’s court. As soon as they say they are ready to move forward wrap up and end the meeting and let them know what is going to happen next in terms of contacts, installation or product.