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Now we’re going to spend time working on getting our closing ratio up! First, let’s assume you ARE following a sales cycle and USING a carefully crafted sales script. We’ll revisit each part of the cycle and make suggestions to help you with each, but the first area we need to work on is RAPPORT (Name-based Rapport!)
Name-Based Rapport
The easiest and quickest way to get your numbers up is to buy-into and start USING Name-Based Rapport! We also refer to this as 3rd person selling. We cover the reasoning behind this technique in depth in the Beginner Sales Manual, so let’s assume you understand the concept and just need to “tweak it out.”
You should know EVERY single customer you work with by name, and know several facts about each customer that will enable you to “tie their name” to any Prospect you approach. For example, where are your customers from (It’s a small world!). What groups or associations do they belong to? Where do they go to church, what clubs are they in, do they have kids, where’d they go to college, what are their interests, etc! Learn as much as you can. Because once you understand the power of 3rd person selling, you’ll quickly start tying EVERY point you make throughout the cycle to a credible 3rd person’s name! “Oh, you’re from Peru, Indiana? So is Mike Smith! He bought one of these from me last year! Do you know Mike? You do? Wow- you guys grew up next to each other? Sure is a small world huh! Let me show you what Mike liked so much about this!”
Keep your names of customers, prospects, referrals etc. in a database. Keep them organized with all relevant information (company name, best time to contact, product interest,) and learn and record as much “background” information about them as possible. Try to also include the secretaries names and info about them as well!
Once you’re truly get the hang of this, you should be able to give a 2 to 3 minute speech about ANY and EVERY client you have! You should also know a lot about your Prospects even if they haven’t purchased yet!
Remember- if you still find yourself fumbling with your Prospect’s or Customer’s name, you’re not even CLOSE yet!
Increasing your Closing Ratio by Tweaking the Sales Cycle
1) Profile (and Prospecting)
Get rid of “cold-calling!” In fact, we have an entire Course and Video devoted to ending cold-calling FOREVER by becoming an expert at referrals!
If you’re finding yourself spending half your week getting shut down making cold-calls, you need to tweak your Profile information. You should research (either via referral, from the secretary, trade journals, company data, etc) as much about your Prospect as possible (BEFORE you make the call)! In fact, we’ll be bold enough to say that your getting shut down by Gatekeepers is in direct proportion to your lack of Profile skills!
2) Contact
Very common mistakes made during the initial contact (whether via phone or in-person) include:
a) Not knowing your prospects first and last name when talking with the secretary. “Hi, can I speak to Jim” is INFINITELY better then “Hi, can I talk with your purchasing agent?”
b) Not having any credible rapport with the Secretary. Try to know her name ahead of time. All you have to do is ask or get this info from a referral! Even if you get shut down the first time,record her name so you know it next time!
c) Trying to “sell your product” during the first 5 or 10 seconds in talking with your Prospect versus using lead names to establish interest! If you want to get shut down, DON’T USE ANY NAMES, instead, start a stupid 30 second about your product or service. “say bye bye to your prospect!”
d) Failing to go for the appointment once you have the Prospect’s interest. DON’T get cold feet once you have your Prospect on the phone and are getting interest or “buy-signs” from her or him! Go ahead and say, “I’ll be over there on Thursday. Why don’t I stop by around 2pm.”
e) Failing to try to “sit-down” with their prospect prior to going forward with the Presentation. Remember, your goal of a sales contact is to set the appointment (unless you’re in telemarketing,) and your goal of the in-person contact is TO SIT DOWN someplace quiet where you can actually have the Prospect’s undivided attention!
3) Presentation
This is a HUGE part of the sale, so we’re going to focus on the nuts and bolts to help you quickly. Remember, the Presentation is where the emotional and intellectual sales are made. If you make one and not the other, NO DEAL. Or worse yet, if you’re skipping around in the Presentation or not even following one, then STOP RIGHT NOW and buy our “Beginners Sales” Course. If you’re leaving this step out, you’re really missing out!
Rapport
The first part of the presentation is RAPPORT, so from an advanced perspective, you have to make sure you’re using a TON of names and quickly identifying the “key” names that make sense to your prospect. Obviously if you received a referral, you are probably safe to use the referral’s name throughout the sale.
Try to use “like names to like names,” meaning names that will make sense to the Prospect. This can be done by area, company type, company size, and based on the type of product you’re selling. Try not to “mismatch” names or it can backfire on you. Don’t use a small company’s name with a huge corporation or vice-versa. And try to become proficient at recognizing names that either make great sense to a Prospect or conversely the “bad” names not to use. Your Prospect’s either going to look at you with a blank stare, say something like, “Oh- I know him, he’s really nice,” or say something like, “Oh, you work with HIM? That’s not good.” Obviously you’ll want to mentally record the three or four “good names” to use in making points throughout your sale, and stay clear from the “bad names.”
Make sure you keep going on your names UNTIL you connect with at least a couple to use (to tie into) throughout your sale!
Buying Atmosphere
Are you letting your Prospect “Off-the-hook?” Are you deflating the pressure? Make sure you’re creating an AWESOME, laid-back atmosphere with your Prospect to ensure that he or she is feeling ABSOLUTELY NO PRESSURE!
Qualifying
As mentioned in most of our training series, this is where the “Rubber Meets the Road!” Most people stumble with this one (and the procrastination part) and seem to get weak-kneed!
Make sure you’re adequately qualifying your Prospect, and make certain he or she is VERBALLY responding to you that they are indeed (or not) the person to handle the “call.” Try to avoid like the plague using words like “decision,” “commitment,” “sign the contracts,” (see list of “bad words to use at end.” And to help qualify your d.m., tie in your 3rd person names like this: “Ted, over at RR Company is the purchasing agent and he told me this was right ‘up his alley,’ and that he’d be the one handling the project. Is that kinda like it is here? I mean, would you pretty-much be the one who would handle something like this?” (get VERBAL REPLY)
Procrastination
Just like Qualifying, this seems to be the toughest part for most people. More than likely, to get to the next step in selling, all you have to do is start practicing this one. Most people don’t do this step or even try it! I can assure you that once you try it and start practicing it, it gets to be NO BIG DEAL; and you’re gong to LOVE the results of not getting “put-off” very often!
So again, using 3rd person names, try it this way: “Bill, over at RR Company was amazed at how many clients I’ve picked up. In fact, I try to keep my schedule really organized. So like I told Bill, if I could show you this today, and you were REALLY excited about it- to the point you thought it was a no-brainer, is there any shot you might be able to give me the yeah or neah today? (get VERBAL RESPONSE)
Recycling Around the Qualifying and Procrastination Parts of the Sale
Before we finish with these two, let’s briefly discuss an advanced method for working with a Prospect until you hear the answer you need! First of all, if the d.m. tells you they’re NOT the one who would handle it, you have to ask yourself, are they being honest with you? You will quickly get an idea whether or not you’re pitching someone who could really make a decision or not. Like for example, I always get a chuckle out of the owners who tell me their office manager or someone else would be the ultimate decision-maker- We know that’s a load of b.s. Or sometimes a purchasing agent will tell you that other people need to be in on the decision when in reality, they’re not being honest with you BECAUSE PEOPLE HATE TO BE SOLD, AND THEY HATE TO MAKE COMMITMENTS!
So if you’re pretty certain you’re sitting in front of a decision-maker, try to work with them until you feel like punting. When I say, “work with them,” I mean keep going back through the presentation, using new names and letting them off-the-hook until they feel totally comfortable committing to make a call on the product! If they keep holding-out on you, DO NOT LET ANY PRESSURE BUILD UP! As a second alternative, you can attempt to find out who else the d.m. is claiming needs to be a part of the decision-making process, and try to “sell” the d.m. on getting that person NOW! “Bill said the same thing, and he figured he’d go ahead and get the office manager while I’m here. That way, if she has any questions, I can answer them now! And you know what Bill found out? His office manager, Sherry, LOVED this! So let’s go get your office manager if that’s o.k.!”
As mentioned in the video, the Qualify and Procrastination parts of the Presentation are probably the most challenging, but once mastered, will elevate your Sales Career to new heights!
Need
When it’s time to talk about your Prospect’s need(s), you have an incredible opportunity to really trigger the intellectual side of the sale. Make sure you do your BEST to crystallize the need. It’s simply not enough to say, “what do you need,” and move on. You need to really break it out clearly for your Prospect.
Many times by really digging in to what your Prospect needs, you will uncover other needs that he hadn’t thought of!
Remember- never “invent” or “create” a need that doesn’t exist. This will backfire on you!
Temperature Question
Make sure you’re asking temperature questions throughout your presentation, and make certain you know where your Prospect is on the Buy-Line way before leaving the Presentation!
Product Demo
Have some fun with this! If you follow this sales cycle as instructed, by the time you get to the actual product demo, your Prospect should be salivating to finally get to see it! You can really have some fun in your demo- and NOW is when you get EXCITED! If you find yourself unable to get excited about your product or service, you might have a problem on your hands!
I’ve watched sales people get so excited about our product that they’re bouncing off the walls!
4) Close
We don’t promote a “heavy” or “hard” close. In fact, I personally don’t like to close at all, but I do provide the service to alleviate pressure off my Prospect. Yep, you heard me right. I close TO TAKE THE PRESSURE OFF! I honestly believe that one of the most pressured things you can do to a Prospect is to NOT CLOSE! Have you ever been with a sales person where it got incredibly awkward when it came to the moment to make a decision?
So we close quickly and softly. BUT WE CLOSE. Which is the point of this section. YOU CAN INCREASE YOUR CLOSING RATIO by making sure you:
ALWAYS ASK FOR THE ORDER!
Let me repeat:
ALWAYS ASK FOR THE ORDER!
I mean ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ASK FOR THE ORDER.
You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve felt CERTAIN that my Prospect was NOT going to buy. He or she may have NEVER qualified, didn’t show a single buy-sign, and was didn’t respond positive to a single temperature question. But low and behold, I went ahead and did my close, and to my astonishment, found myself filling out a contract and getting the client’s signature! Some people just don’t show any emotion, so NEVER assume they’re not going to buy! Always Always Always ask for the order!
ALWAYS ASK FOR THE ORDER!
5) Payment Arrangements
If you close your client and now have a signed contract, you can feel free to go through with the Payment Arrangement options. As we’ve mentioned throughout our series, always be completely clear with your Prospect/Client about the payment options. NEVER be misleading or dishonest.
The problem sales people encounter is when a Prospect is excited about the product, and asks “How do I pay for this?” Instead of the sales person recognizing the GRANDADDY of buy-signs, he instead looks at it as a question, and then proceeds to skip to this part of the sales cycle without having the contract signed first! And as we’ve mentioned on our tapes before, once you start talking details about payment, you have a very good chance that the Prospect will fall below the Buy-Line. So make sure you close him and THEN go into the Payment part of the cycle.
And as we’ve mentioned before, if a Prospect is asking you about payment options, try to give him enough information to satisfy him (don’t mislead him), and proceed to close. We usually reply to questions about payment like, “Joe, we have a million different ways to can pay for this. Let me get to that in a minute, but first, let me fill out some information.” And then close!
6) Cancellation Prevention
Although this part of the cycle may not help you close MORE deals, it can definitely help you loose LESS deals through cancellations or back-outs! So simply remember: ALWAYS solidify your sale!
7) Profile – Referrals
Probably one of the easiest ways to help you increase your closing ratio is by starting to acquire a huge number of referrals from your existing customers. In fact, this is such an important area, we devoted an entire course to Referrals (see catalogue).
But the fact is, if you start calling on qualified referrals, you will notice your closing ratio automatically go up. This is the power of 3rd Person Selling and ties right back into our Name-Based Rapport!
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