Sales: Touchdown - Closing Skills for Successful Selling

Touchdown - Closing Skills for Successful Selling

Written by Sally Bacchetta

It’s early January 2004. The Green Bay Packers are just 72 seconds away from their fourth NFC Championship game. They have a three-point lead over repparttar

Philadelphia Eagles, who face an impossible fourth down and 26 yards on their own 28-yard line. All Green Bay has to do is hold Philadelphia to less than 26 yards. One play. That’s all.

Just one play. In sports bars and living rooms across repparttar 127069 country jaws drop when Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb completes a 28-yard pass to Freddie Mitchell, and repparttar 127070 Eagles get repparttar 127071 first down. They kick a game-tying field goal and force repparttar 127072 Packers to dig in for overtime.

Philadelphia receives repparttar 127073 ball. After struggling for little gain repparttar 127074 Eagles punt it away. Green Bay’s task is simple. Keep repparttar 127075 ball on repparttar 127076 ground and advance into field goal range. Favre takes repparttar 127077 snap, drops back, and inexplicably heaves a long pass... into double coverage. Into repparttar 127078 hands of Eagle Brian Dawkins. Into history. Philadelphia marches into field goal range and kicks an easy three to win. Game over. Lights out. Thank you for playing.

The Packers lost because they didn’t close. They played well, but in repparttar 127079 end it came down to repparttar 127080 fact that they didn’t close and repparttar 127081 Eagles did.

More than just preparation

Talent, tools and preparation are vital to repparttar 127082 success of NFL players and sales professionals. But in order to change buying habits, we must also incorporate closing into repparttar 127083 natural life of our sales presentations.

In simplest terms, a close is an agreement to take repparttar 127084 next step together. What you close for varies based on your overall objectives and your history with a customer.

Have you ever seen a football team attempt a one hundred-yard touchdown pass? Not likely. Both players and coaches understand that a touchdown is repparttar 127085 last of a series of plays, each designed to bring repparttar 127086 team closer to repparttar 127087 goal line, which increases their chances of a successful touchdown attempt, which brings them closer to their ultimate goal of winning repparttar 127088 game. Every play is important.

It’s repparttar 127089 same principle in sales. If you try to close a sales call without first executing a customer-focused presentation, you’re probably not going to be very successful. However, as repparttar 127090 Packers found out on that crisp January day, you can execute a lot of good plays well, but if you fail to close, you don’t get repparttar 127091 win.

Sales Performance and Motivation: How to Get Your Edge Back

Written by Sally Bacchetta

Performance and motivation are like chocolate & peanut butter; repparttar

combination is better than either one alone. Motivation feeds successful sales performance, which in turn generates increased motivation, which encourages performance, and so goes repparttar 127068

synergism of our days. Until one day...

... you don’t feel as enthusiastic as you used to, or you find yourself missing opportunities during your sales presentations. You start to cut corners and begin to care a little less. After a while you can no longer ignore repparttar 127069 thought that tugs at you...“I’ve lost my edge” .

We’ve all experienced repparttar 127070 dreaded slump. As someone who has survived to sell another day, here is a time tested plan of action to jumpstart your sales motivation and performance.

STEP 1 - Acknowledge

The first step toward overcoming any challenge is acknowledging it. Recognize it as a real, but temporary obstacle to your ambition, and you’ve already begun to remove it. STEP 2 - Take responsibility

Personal responsibility is a hallmark of success. We each decide every minute of every day how to spend our time, and those decisions shape our thinking and our selling behaviors. Accepting responsibility encourages us to be proactive in creating solutions rather than cultivating excuses.

STEP 3 - Refocus Refocusing on your goals is a great way to spark something innovative in your attitude and your sales presentations. Remind yourself that your daily activities are parts of a larger whole. You’re not just selling to move market share. You’re selling to accomplish personal and professional goals. If your sales presentations aren’t as strong as they used to be, refocus on basic selling skills for an immediate impact: •Begin each call with a clear statement of purpose •Probe to uncover customer objections and needs

•Close for some type of commitment on every call

•Follow through with an action plan

STEP 4 - Self-assessment

Sharpen your self-awareness to get your motivation and performance back on track. This step challenges you to go beyond a basic inventory of your strengths and weaknesses. Carefully consider: What steps of repparttar 127071 selling process do you try to rush or avoid altogether? Compare repparttar 127072 selling situations you find most challenging with those that are easier for you. Examine how you respond to different personality types. Your goal is to identify any impediments to your success, so be as specific as you can.

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