| I don't know who came up with the phrase, "Always Be Closing" but it's brilliant. In sales circles it's known more simply as ABC.
If you are in sales, this simple catchy phrase will help keep you on track to making sales.
Here's some insight into sales and how to increase the number of sales YOU make.
Buyers like to get the sales person off track.
They like to ask questions, lots of questions.
They ask:
Does it come in blue?
What's the guarantee?
Buyers like to stall, hedge, avoid.
They say:
I have to ask my wife.
I want to look around.
I think I can get a better deal somewhere else.
Buyers like to know that their business matters, that they are getting some personal attention to earn their business.
But sales people, know the ABC's of sales - Always Be Closing.
Smart, successful sales people know that happy customers and good sales people go hand in hand.
They know that spending a little extra time with a serious buyer, or creating a personalized offer can be exactly what is needed to clinch a sale.
The buyer wants their questions answered so they can make the decision to buy. The smart salesperson wants to answer those questions and move the person ever closer to buying.
My colleague, Dr. Jeffrey Lant talks about the sales dance. He likens the sales process to a type of courtship. The sales person approaches, the buyer is shy, aloof. The sales person comes closer, offers the right words, and assurances. The buyer plays hard to get but shows interest. The sales person is more engaging, tries harder with a better offer, always moving toward the close.
ABC - Always be Closing means this:
Answering relevant questions, eliminating obstacles to the sale being made, helping with payment plans, reassuring the buyer, making special offers, sweetening the deal, whatever it takes to get the sale.
Closing the sale means finding out from the customer, what it will take to get them to buy NOW, not next week, or next month. The best sales people are listeners. They listen to what the buyer wants and they determine a way to get it for them so the sale is made, today. You can HEAR someone who wants to buy, if you stop talking long enough to listen.
ABC means doing your job right so the customer gets a great deal and you make a great sale!
Most of us have been on the receiving end of a poor sales person, and we also remember that warm happy feeling when you've made a purchase that you feel good about. We like to feel special, a good sales person can make that happen or alternatively with the wrong approach can make you walk away.
Happy customer's who feel they got a good deal can be a repeat customer or a customer for life. Unhappy customers help you learn what you could perhaps be doing better. The right approach with an unhappy customer can convert them into a happy one! In fact, they may end up being your best customer because they see you actually cared and tried to make better a problem situation.
Got a sticky note? Write ABC on a sticky note, and post it on your computer. It will help remind you when you are talking to a customer, or answering an email, or sending a quote, or posting an offer, remember to Always Be Closing.
*** We invite your comments below.
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