The psychology of closing

The salesperson that cannot close is like the runner who trains faithfully all season, leads the field in the big race until 10 yards from the tape, and then falls down. Young or unsuccessful salespeople are often heard to say, 'I am all right until I start to close. Then I just don't seem able to put it over.'

The person who is uncertain of his closing abilities is handicapped throughout the presentation, for he cannot help being worried about the impending obstacle with which he has so much difficulty. Some people actually develop a fear of closing which eventually drives them out of selling. This usually comes about through a combination of ignorance of closing techniques and outright bashfulness about asking for the order. Many sales have been made simply because the person had the fortitude to ask for the order.

Reasons for failure to close

The difficulty many people seem to have with closing has fascinated and perplexed sales managers for years. Only recently have we begun to understand the mental barriers that block closing efforts.

Fear of failure

First, and probably foremost, is the fear of failure. Most of us are so psychologically programmed toward success as being the only worthy goal, that the mere thought of failure frightens us into a semi-paralytic state, in which we are afraid to ask for the order or final decision for fear of being refused. We seem to think that so long as the prospect is not asked for the order we have avoided failure even though no sale transpires. We just do not like to hear such awful words as, 'No!' 'Not interested!' 'Sorry, I don't want it!' These terms bruise our egos, and that hurts us. Suppose the prospect does say 'no.' Really that doesn't hurt one little bit. One can even learn to ignore it. One can develop deafness for the word. If you cannot learn to take 'no' for an answer and bounce right back without allowing it to affect your confidence, then you had better look somewhere else for a job. You will never make it in selling.

Guilt

Some people fail to close because of guilt feelings. They are ashamed of their profession. They feel as if they are intruders begging for a living instead of people helping other people solve serious problems. This guilt feeling usually exists in those who do not yet fully understand the power of what they are selling and what benefits it can bring the prospect. A 'no' is a challenge, not a red light to stop the salesperson. If you aren't proud of what you are doing, then you would be better off if you didn't do it. There is no room in selling for those who are ashamed of it. Unfortunately, some of this guilt stems from a lack of understanding by the person of his purpose in the scheme of things, the importance of his role in our socioeconomic system.

Imperception of need

Some people fail to close because they feel little need to do so; they think the prospect will automatically buy at the end of the presentation. Of course, some prospects do buy at the end of the presentation. But it has been proved that a larger percentage of prospects will buy if a good close is used than if it isn't, because many of them need a push to get them to act. Natural inertia stifles many purchases; it is easier to do nothing than to take action. Such prospects need a push to overcome their inertia.

Ineptness

Fourth, some inept salespeople just get bogged down meeting objections that the thought of trying to close never enters their minds. They are fighting for their lives; they are confused; they have lost control of the sale. The close must be so natural to the salesperson that he/she swings into it at every opportunity automatically.

Cultural taboos

Everyone is raised in an environment that teaches a host of cultural attitudes and behaviour patterns. Many people are raised in the tradition that there is something a bit impolite, improper, about asking another person for money or to do something for you. Closing means asking for the order, thus it can run afoul of cultural taboos in some circles.

Asking for the order

When you have made your customer inclined to buy and then have supported his inclination to buy by logical arguments that enable him to see that he needs what you are offering, you have completed the preparatory step towards a successful sale. But there is one last difficulty to overcome: you must persuade the customer to make the actual buying decision. To persuade, you need a proper closing technique.

It is sometimes said that you should just keep on talking and going over your sales points until the customer says yes. How easy it would be if concluding a sale were as easy as this old saying makes out. But you cannot talk a customer into a buying decision. A customer does not normally buy just because the salesperson has talked at him until he is on the point of exhaustion. The opposite is the case: a tiring flood of words often suffocates any potential desire to buy.

It is true that the customer does sometimes move, without help, into a decision, and then the salesperson does not need to ask for the order directly. If the salesperson has really aroused the customer's attention, interest, desire and conviction by entering into his problems with a perfect empathy, then the customer's decision really should come by itself; but in practice this is an ideal case that is very rarely encountered. Normally, it is necessary to have a closing technique which takes into account the fact that the buying decision is often an important and difficult step for the customer; that although he is interested in the offer and wants to buy, he may hesitate and may not be able to summon up the strength to decide by himself. Many purchases, for example, represent large financial sacrifices for the buyer, often forcing him to forgo other purchases or do without something else. Almost every buying decision has some negative aspects from the customer's point of view, and these have to be overcome through an appropriate closing technique.

At this point it should be made quite clear that, however skilled your closing technique may be, it will not lead to a sale unless you have already aroused the customer's desire to buy. There is no question of succeeding by using tricks at the last moment. The closing technique can only produce buying action when the customer is already considering the proposition seriously.

The secret of closing technique

The art of closing is to introduce the suggestion of buying in such a way that even if the customer reacts negatively, the sales conversation can still continue. Prepare your approach to closing before you start your sales talk. Be prepared for every possible objection, even for the worst objection of all, an emphatic refusal. Strictly speaking, the conclusion begins at the start of your conversation.

Don't let the moment slip

So as not to jeopardise his chances, one salesperson thought it necessary to suggest taking a little more time over the decision: 'Think it all over again. I'll come back tomorrow.' But by 'tomorrow' the customer's desire to buy had usually cooled off, and so the salesperson rarely made a sale. Tomorrow never comes!

Each time the salesperson puts off the moment of decision, he weakens his chances of selling. When he comes back, and asks, "Well, Mr. Miller, have you thought the matter over?" his question usually sounds like a rather awkward ultimatum. The salesperson has no new points to offer in favour of buying, so he repeats what he has said on earlier visits. He is fighting a losing battle. An old rule of selling is: the order that is within reach today will be over the hills and far away tomorrow.

Sensing readiness to buy

If a customer feels ready to buy, it isn't difficult for a salesperson to sense the fact. The customer's manner of speech and facial expression give it away. You can be sure he is ready to buy: