It goes without saying; closing a sale is vitally important within any sales process. If you want to make more sales within your business, then you simply need to close more sales.
It doesn’t matter how many meetings you attend, how many leads you gather, or how many rounds of golf you play; if you aren’t closing sales then you aren’t making sales.
There are so many styles and techniques of closing styles that you can use for when it comes to closing sales. If you take a look at Relationship Selling, The Paragon Mindset, A Month to Improve Your Sales, and any of the free content listed on the Paragon Sales Solutions website, you will see that there is a closing style for every single person out there.
But do you want to know my favourite closing technique?
The Test Close.
You see, the test close is a great way to test the water with your prospect. Put simply you are not actually asking for a decision from the prospect, but you are asking more for an opinion from your prospect. What this then does is allows you the chance to either go ahead and close the sale, or allows you the chance to re-propose to your client, and perhaps answer any questions that they may have.
Remember, with this you are only asking for an opinion from your prospect. The distinct difference between a test close and real close is that with the test, you are not asking for a decision. To a degree, you are asking your prospect to imagine closing the sale, and to see if they like that thought.
For example, you may ask:
“In your opinion, would you like this in blue?” or “let’s just say you were to take this model from me today, do you feel It would benefit you and the family?” or, “if you were to buy this house, do you think you would keep the carpets?’ or even, “if you were to buy this car, would you want it valeted first?”
Questions such as these are not intended to close the sale as you can grasp, but more to just test the water, and to see if your prospect is willing to buy.
So, how should you use the test close?
The test close, in theory, can be used at any time during the sales conversation. Of course, it would be better suited towards the end of any sales presentation, pitch, or even towards a longer sales process. Similar to a full close, you shouldn’t really use the test close until you feel that there is trust between you and the prospect, and that there is a high enough level of desire to do so. Always ask yourself this: “in this situation, could I ask a closing question?”. If the answer is yes, then why not try the test close? If the answer is no, be patient and work towards it.
Remember, the test close when used well, is used as a kind of buffer to test the water and to see where your prospect feels about everything. If you utilise the test close and the prospect responds positively, I would advise you go ahead and try to close the deal. If not, you are then given a second chance to answer any questions they may have and will allow you the chance to present and propose all over again.
Paragon Sales Solutions are Leicester’s leading sales consultants, offering:
– Sales Contracts
– Sales Training
– Social Media Management
– B2B Telesales / Telemarketing
We cater for any size business, and what makes us stand out is that we truly care. Our services can be catered for your business and our sales professionals will work tirelessly to ensure your sales targets are met. Be sure to visit our website for more details on how our sales solutions can help your business.
