Closing: An Essential part of the closing process

Written by Jelani Khalfani


Closing: An Essential Part ofrepparttar Selling Process

The ultimate outcome ofrepparttar 127091 selling process is to closerepparttar 127092 sale. Closingrepparttar 127093 sale is extremely problematic for most sales people often causing them to lose sight of this vital objective. Studies show that a vast majority of sales people never even try to closerepparttar 127094 sale by simply asking forrepparttar 127095 order. Some marketing executives estimate that as many as 50 % of all sales representatives quit after their first sales meeting and fewer that 12% persist until a buyer finally says “yes”.

It is imperative that you learnrepparttar 127096 art of asking for business, or your chances of consistently selling your products or services will be reduced significantly. When a sales presentation is made properly,repparttar 127097 natural conclusion torepparttar 127098 transaction is to closerepparttar 127099 deal. Most buyers expect to be asked to take action when your sales presentation is followed to its natural conclusion. At this point in a sale, you do not need to use special closing techniques you simply to ask forrepparttar 127100 business.

Closing is actuallyrepparttar 127101 easiest part ofrepparttar 127102 selling process. However, most sales representatives and professionals do not believe that closing is easy, because most of today’s sales training teachesrepparttar 127103 closing process backward.

Using a marriage proposal as an analogy, marketing professional Steven Brown in American Salesman suggests thatrepparttar 127104 emphasis on presentation and closing skills putsrepparttar 127105 sales or service industry professional inrepparttar 127106 position of a suitor in Victorian England. “He has barely metrepparttar 127107 girl, but convention demands that he propose marriage before he can get to know her. He uses a well-rehearsed speech to try to persuade her of his worthiness. He has no idea of whether his attention is welcome or utterly inappropriate. He’s terrified because everything hinges on her ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

An effective closing process turnsrepparttar 127108 sales pyramid upside down, withrepparttar 127109 small point atrepparttar 127110 bottom. Closing should follow a patter similar to today’s marriage proposal. “Will you marry me?” is most often no more than a rhetorical question, of which both suitors should knowrepparttar 127111 outcome, provided they have a well established relationship. As Brown suggests, “When he asks for her hand (or when she popsrepparttar 127112 question), he’s pretty sure of getting a ‘yes’. Closing a sales transactionrepparttar 127113 right way is a natural outcome of a relationship that is built on a foundation of mutual respect and trust.

Keeping Your Sales Team Motivated

Written by Frank J. Rumbauskas, Jr.


Sales managers frequently approach me for advice on how to keep salespeople motivated, especially when sales reps get into a rut - and seem to keep slipping deeper into it. Telling managers what not to do usually solvesrepparttar problem. Most managers do things to de-motivate salespeople without even knowing it.

Let's takerepparttar 127090 idea of funnels and forecasts, for instance. Funnels and forecasts are important aspects of running any sales operation. Both salespeople and managers need to know where they stand in terms of potential opportunities, and funnels serve to track those opportunities. No successful business can operate and properly plan forrepparttar 127091 future without accurate forecasting. In theory, these are absolutely essential torepparttar 127092 success of any operation. In reality, however, few words strike terror inrepparttar 127093 hearts of salespeople like "funnel" and "forecast."

For most salespeople,repparttar 127094 term "funnel review" equates to micromanagement, probation and performance improvement plans. Just hearingrepparttar 127095 term is enough to shift a sales rep's frame of mind from positive to negative. He or she suddenly loses enthusiasm and doesn't know why. Many managers increase funnel reviews as performance slips, which causes performance to slip further, and inrepparttar 127096 end nobody wins. Endless funnel reviews, especially if they're not positive, only serve to reinforce salespeople's self-doubts and limiting beliefs.

Forecasts are a similar problem, but in different ways. Few salespeople forecast accurately. Nobody wants to fall short on their forecast, so they embellish, exaggerate and make surerepparttar 127097 numbers add up to where they should be rather than where they really are. This results in managers who expect those numbers, and salespeople who dodge managers because they know they aren't going to perform as forecasted. Then there are salespeople like myself who dorepparttar 127098 exact opposite - since I hated nothing more than having a manager constantly ask me, "When is this one going to close? When is that one going to close?," I intentionally left good deals off my forecast. While it eliminatedrepparttar 127099 problem of constantly being asked when all those deals would sign, it created another form of stress in having to deal withrepparttar 127100 consequences of a funnel that fell short of expectations.

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