With alternative close, whichever one customer selects, you would have made a sale either way. You should always try to give customer two choices. Even if you are selling a single product, you can give him two choices with regard to payment, or delivery. For example, "Would you like this delivered to your office or to your home address?" "Will that be MasterCard or Visa?" "Would you like ATM 26 or ATM 30?" And so on.

Killer Closing Secret #2: The Secondary Close

The second closing technique is Secondary Close. This is extremely popular. It is a way of helping a customer making a big decision by having him make a small decision that infers big decision. Instead of asking customer to go ahead with product or service, you ask a question about a peripheral detail, acceptance of which means that he has decided to buy larger product.

For example, you could ask, "Would you want this shipped in a wooden crate, or would cardboard be all right?" "Would you like us to include drapes and rods in offer?" "Did you want standard rims or would you like customized racing rims on your car?"

In each case, if customer agrees to or chooses smaller item, he has indirectly said, "yes" to entire offering. People often find it easier to agree to small details than they do to making a larger commitment. That's why this is sometimes called Incremental Close, where you get commitment bit by bit to entire offer.

Killer Closing Secret #3: The Authorization Close

The third closing technique is Authorization Close, which is often used to conclude multimillion-dollar transactions. At end of sales conversation, salesperson simply asks if prospect has any questions or concerns that haven't been covered. If prospect has no further questions or concerns, salesperson takes out contract, opens it up to signature page, places a check mark where customer has to sign, and pushes it over to him saying, "Well then, if you will just authorize this, we'll get started on it right away." The word "authorize" is better than word "sign." A check mark is better than an X. Offering to "get started right away" is better than sitting there hoping for best.

However you do it, be prepared to ask for order in whichever ways seem appropriate at moment.

And finally, once you've got your sales letter or ad set up in this clean and simple format, make sure you're using clean and simple language to match, and not gobbledygook.

We all know what gobbledygook is, it's that overcomplicated, cliched and unnecessarily formal language that can either totally confuse us or just put us to sleep. Either way it loses customer, and loses you sale.

In an effort to seem smart or serious or professional, bad business writers often end up using gobbledygook. I see sales letters and emails all time with business-speak phrases like "in our considered opinion" and "enclosed please find." This makes seller sound stuffy and unapproachable. Simplify these into everyday language. Write how you would speak: "we think" and "here is," are much better choices. Customers relate to conversational language.

If you follow these pointers you should be able to come up with some pretty good copy. Keep plugging away at it, and you'll find you get pretty good. Who knows? People might even start coming to you for writing advice.