Closing the sale
After the discussion, it’s time to ask for the order
By Richard McKinley
Posted on Tuesday, October 20th, 2015
No matter what you sell, be it cigars, signs, water hoses or whatever, successful salespeople ask for the order. Sign makers are no exception. You’re asking a client / prospect to open their wallet.
Stephan Schiffman from his book, Closing Techniques, defines sales as asking people what they do, how they do it, when they do it, where they do it, why they do it, and who they do it with—and helping them do it better. These questions are essential as you must uncover their answers before a successful attempt at closing the sale, which means ending the discussion of the project and having the client commit to you doing the work.
Successful salespeople uncover any objections the client may have during their presentation using trial closes, which is a preliminary and soft attempt to close the sale. The prospect’s responses reveal the prospect’s reasons for hesitating, providing you an opportunity to make your close and ask for the order. If they agree with you, it’s time to finish the sale.
Richard McKinley is semi-retired from the sign business and the promotional products industry. He lives in Howard, Ohio. He can be reached at richo@roadrunner.com.
