How to Close the Sale

There is one important factor in closing a sale that most sales professionals tend to forget: you and your customer must form a relationship! If you are not connected with your prospects, or if you don't genuinely care about their plight, then you will not close the sale! It is that simple. People tend to gravitate toward those who share their own concerns, and if you aren't one of those people, you will most likely be ushered toward the door.

Selling is a process! If you bypass, forget, ignore, or fast-forward through even one tiny step of that process, you can kiss your sale goodbye. It's about connecting with other people, and demonstrating how you can help them. The sale is, after all, not really about you. They don't know that you need the commission money, and frankly, they probably don't really care. It is more important to worry about what they might want or need than to focus on your own monetary troubles and, of course, your sales record.

Follow the steps below, and you will be more likely to close each and every sale. Be sure to study each module in depth, and if you are confused about any part of it, ask a trusted friend or colleague. Even if you are competing for sales, you should be comfortable enough with your co-workers to discuss tricks of the trade.


1. Prep

This is the same as with any kind of job. You must do your homework before you meet with a customer. For example, if you are an associated at Home Depot, you don't want to be left alone on the floor without any knowledge of home maintenance or repair. You are expected to be knowledgeable about your product or service, so you must perform any background research necessary to fully understand what you are selling. If you work for a company, then your company should offer training; if you work for yourself, then its entirely up to you.

You should also know your market. To whom are you selling? If your product is, for example, denture care products, you don't want to target customers age 25-40. They don't need your product, so why waste your time? You will also probably alienate and possibly insult people if you move out of your target market.


2. Expect to Make the Sale