Sales Techniques & Closing Scripts

Asking for the order may be the most difficult part of selling.

A sales person is continually challenged by which sales techniques to use for which customers and how to close the deal. Listen carefully to your customer at the start of the conversation so that you can identify his needs and wants -- then tailor your sales pitch and closing accordingly, using sales techniques that are tried and tested.

Retain Attention

Work to keep the customer’s attention by keeping your sales pitch as brief and direct as possible in the circumstances and focusing on the benefit to the customer. Each time you list a benefit, ask a question, such as “How would you use that?” or “Are you with me so far?”. You will learn more about the customer’s needs and ensure that he remains focused on you. Watch carefully for signs that his concentration is slipping, as this could mean you are losing him.

Listen Actively

Active listening is the art of hearing, understanding and interpreting the speech of another. In a sales context, it means “reading between the lines” of what your customer is saying to identify what he is not saying verbally. Listen carefully to your customer’s answers to your questions; if necessary, repeat answers back to him to ensure that you have understood correctly.

Test the Water

When you feel that you may be headed for a sale, use a trial close to test the situation. Ask the customer: “Does this seem like the kind of solution you are looking for?”; his response gives you the chance to explore further and to switch angles if you are not on track. Otherwise, you might wait until the end of your pitch, only to find that you were not telling the customer what he wanted to hear.

Closing Scripts

Sales books sometimes list hundreds of closing scripts -- one or more for almost every imaginable scenario. In retail sales, for example, standard closing scripts include: admitting the customer is right, as in “I understand your hesitation over the price, but this is a better quality than you will find anywhere else”; calling the customer’s bluff, as in “If I can get it for you in red, will you take it?”; and offering a choice, as in “So which of these would you prefer?”. The “impending doom” close is overused and most people recognize it as a sales ploy: “We only have two of those left, so if you want one you should take it today.”

Ask for the Order

An experienced buyer, particularly in the business-to-business environment, knows before he meets with a sales person whether he is interested in the sales person’s goods or services. Often, the meeting is a formality, and the opportunity to deliver a sales pitch is merely to ensure that the buyer has overlooked nothing and to give the impression that he has other options. In a case like this, the buyer expects you to ask him for the order at some point; sales people often find it particularly difficult to do this. The ultimate closing script is to simply say: “May I make out an order for you to sign?”.