Episode #326: Asking For The Business In Sales

I was listening to a sales podcast and the expert guest was lampooning some typical closes as outdated, insulting and useless. He was relating how early in his sales career he had come across these closes and they didn’t work. Naturally he had written his one book with a better alternative. I was thinking about what he said and asked myself are these typical closes actually outdated or not? Everything is contextual so it is hard to give a bullet proof undertaking, but I think they still work and it is all in how we deliver them that makes the real difference.

All of this discussion presupposes we have done a proper job in all the stages of the sales cycle leading up to asking for the business. We must have developed trust with the buyer. That means we have worked out the stye of business communication they prefer. Are they super direct or do they want to have a cup of tea together and get to know each other first? Are they highly detail oriented or do they prefer big picture discussions and don’t want to get into the weeds?

Have we dug deep enough in asking questions to fully understand their needs or are we missing some crucial insight. Often buyers won’t share all their dirty laundry with a salesperson they have only just met and they keep key information from us. That means our proposed solution may not fit their needs perfectly and we won’t get the deal done. Did we explain our solution in terms which makes sense to their situation and they can see how they can adapt it into their company? When they raised some issues were we able to deal with them fully and eliminate all concern and doubt?

All of these conditions have to be met, before we raise the issue of buying the solution we are proffering. Once we get to this stage, we can vary how we ask ,based on the client and how the preceding conversations have played out. If the client is the direct type, then we can ask a very direct question such as “shall we go ahead?”. They won’t be offended and will prefer we get moving, because for them time is money.

If they are a “let’s have a cup of tea” type then something less direct might be needed. We can ask a question which requires them to make a decision for something in the future. The alternative of choice close works well here. We can say, “I know that planning and coordination within your firm are both important aspects of why you are so successful as a business, so to help me serve you properly, would you like to start next month or would the month after that be better for you?”. You will notice I set this question up. I didn’t just say, “Shall we start this month or the next month?”. It is best to link the phrasing of the question to the context of the conversation, to make sure you are demonstrating you are sensitive to their interests around the timing and not pushing you own wagon, because you need the commission sooner rather than later.

Another close looks at a small detail they will have to decide after they have purchased. Again, we should try and link this expression to the context of the previous conversations. We can say, “I notice that there is quite a push from the Government to move things across from paper to digital formats. This digitisation policy varies quite a bit amongst our clients. In this regard, would you prefer paper or if we send you a digital invoice, will that satisfy the accounting team in your firm?”. Whatever the answer it implies that they are willing to buy and pay. It is also critical that the tone of our voice does not vary when we get to the close. It must be a smooth transition to the sharp end of the decision and yet be seamless and comfortable, as if this was the most ordinary thing in the world.

If we are pushing for a deadline to be met regarding the buying decision this can come across as crass and pushy to the buyer, so we need to set this one up carefully. We can say, “Head Office has been very helpful to us here in Japan by making a discount available on the purchase, if it takes place before the end of next month. Normally, they don’t do many discount offers, so this is a rather rare occasion. It does however provide a nice 15% discount on the purchase and the deadline still has a couple of weeks to run before they withdraw the offer. Do you think that the leadership team would like to enjoy the discount before it disappears and make the agreement before the cut off date?”.

A similar close is the so-called last one in stock approach. Again, this come across as a bit dodgy unless we handle it correctly. We can say, “Demand for our widget has actually been surprisingly stronger than expected. Also, as you know, there are still major issues with supply chain for a lot of products and our case fits into that category too. Actually, it has been much more difficult that usual getting re-supplied and everything has slowed right down. If we can make a decision fairly soon, I am positive I can guarantee supply of the widget and I know that this will be a big help to your business to not have to wait for the re-supply process to kick in and risk delays. Are your procurement team in a position to make a decision fairly soon in order to secure supply?”.

All of these closes are what I would call “soft sell” and therefore highly appropriate for Japan. The important point is to provide some context around the close, so that the whole presentation comes across as logical and natural.