Close More Sales by Using Sales Closing Skills to Get the Prospect to Buy Now

To close more sales you need to add just one important sales closing skill to your selling process. This selling technique is a final motivator that influences the buyer to take action now and agree to the sale. Use this sales skill and you will increase sales and earn more money.

Think of time when your sale followed a smooth process with no major sales objections that you couldn't answer. You gained agreement throughout the sales presentation and then added a nice closing question. But the buyer still didn't commit to buying from you now. They haven't said no, but they will not give you a yes now. They give you weak reasons why they want to think about it, or call you back. If you start pushing them for a decision now it could become confrontational and you may lose any chance of gaining the business in the future. So what went wrong, where was the mistake, and how do you avoid these vague objections to commitment in the future?

The answer is to include a reason for the buyer to take action in your sales presentation and motivate them to buy from you now. Often the only thing stopping the sale is getting the buyer to take one last step and say yes. The reason it's difficult is that often the buyer has no reason to buy now from you. Unless they have their own reasons for needing your product or services now, there is no urgency for them to sign on the dotted line. So you need to add a sales closing technique to give the buyer that one last push and see the benefits of buying now. You can also use any consequences of not buying now that are linked to your sales proposal. Negative consequences can be a much stronger motivation to take action than positive benefits.

Take some down time and write a list of all the possible reasons that you could give to a buyer that would motivate them to buy from you now. Include negative consequences of putting off the commitment to a sale and think how you can paint pictures of two future scenarios. One should be of the consequences if they don't buy and one of future benefits of taking that small step and making a decision to buy. The most common benefit used in all sales markets is price. It is also the most used negative consequence used to push buyers into buying. This is when there is a price offered but only if the prospect buys today. Many sales people, and marketing adverts, use a believable reason why the buyer will save money by signing on the dotted line now. Spare capacity on vehicles or workload, a bulk buy of limited stock, or an imminent change that will raise the price in the near future.

Your motivator to buy now doesn't have to be price. It can be any benefit you like, as long as it's a benefit for the buyer, not just you. The bigger the benefit the more it will motivate them to agree the sale. The motivator can be any consequence that the prospect may suffer if they don't sign today. The more believable you make your reasons for the buyer to take action the more effective they will be. Take some time to invest in yourself and add this final sales closing technique to your sales skills. You will close more sales, grow your business sales, and earn more money.

I'm Stephen Craine, I'm a working sales manager and sales trainer. Sales closing skills are a personal favorite of mine and I enjoy seeing the results of good sales closing skills training with my sales teams. You can see the course I use to help my teams close more sales at How to close a sale. I look around the world for effective sales training on all aspects of selling. I use the best techniques with my team and I to share the information on my website which you can visit at http://www.sales-training-sales-tips.com.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Sales Questioning Techniques and How to Use Them to Close a Sale

Do you use effective questioning techniques that discover the buyer's needs, wants, and desires, or do your customers feel bullied and interrogated? Can you get buyer's talking freely, or do they give you short answers with little content? Learn to question your buyers with effective sales skills that lead you to the benefits the buyer wants, and help you to close the sale at the same time.

Many sales courses tell the delegates to start with open questions that begin with who, what, where, when, how, and why. Think of a question about your product that starts with one of the above words. Could the question be answered with one word or just a very short sentence? Many questions starting with these words can be answered very briefly. They do not encourage the buyer to talk. A low reactor type customer will not open up when asked this style of question.

So how do you get your prospect talking and telling you about themselves, and their wants, needs, and desires. It's easy, just do what you would in casual conversation with friends. Use a question that encourages the buyer to open up and give you more than just a short answer. This is a great sales skill to have that will help you close more sales. Start your questions with, tell me about, or, give me an idea. Ask them to, build you a picture, or, describe for you. How about, explain to me, and, bring me up to speed. Think of a question about your product that starts with one of the above phrases. It should be difficult to answer with a short sentence or just one word?

The key is to get the prospect talking and then give them direction. You don't want a stop-start process that interrupts the flow of the conversation. Once you have them opening up to you, use questioning techniques that guide them to where you want them to go. Move them towards describing their needs, wants, desires, and what they are currently dissatisfied with.

The next questions to use in the sales process will give the conversation direction. These are the who, what, where, how, and when questions. They elicit more detail and give direction to the now flowing conversation. And remember, this is a conversation, not an interrogation. These sales questions should be open ended and will give you information on the more general topics brought out by the opening questions. For example, what are you looking for, when do you do that, how important is that. All in response to, and focused on, the areas raised by the prospect.

Now you want more detail on the benefits the buyer is looking for. You want to ask open sales questions, on specific subjects, to start narrowing down the information. Think of the sales questioning process like a funnel. You have started with a wide open, conversation provoking question. Then narrowed the possible answers slightly with the where, what, how, type questions. Now you close the funnel a little more and look for tighter specifics. You ask questions such as, what size, how many, who else uses it.

You can now get to the real specifics, and fill in the gaps in the information you have. Ask alternative questions like, red or blue, Monday or Wednesday. Offer specific suggestions and ideas and look for their responses. Use direct questions that require yes or no answers. When you think you have all the information on one particular subject you can check your understanding of their needs. Then summarise and look for approval and agreement.

You may have only covered one area of the needs that they gave you in response to your opening question. Think of this as one funnel that you have completed. If there are more needs areas go back and start another funnel. Do this until you have covered all the topics related to the benefits they want that your opening questions brought out. After each funnel check your understanding of what they want. When you have exhausted all the benefits and needs topics, summarise and check your understanding of all the needs, wants, and desires that you have discovered.

This also helps towards the closing of the sale. You are gaining agreement that this is what the customer wants. Depending upon your product and your market you can gain agreement from the buyer. You can ask, in your own words, that if you can provide the needs you have just summarised are they in a position to buy from you. In a market where it is appropriate, you can ask the, If I Can question. If I can provide all these benefits will you buy from me today. But only if it is suitable for your product and your marketplace. Gaining this level of commitment throughout the sale makes closing the sale so much easier. This is how top sales professionals make selling look so simple, and why they close so many sales.

The above sales questioning techniques make the sales process more pleasant for the buyer. Compare the smooth style of communication, and letting the customer talk as you guide them, with the short sharp questioning techniques used by many inexperienced sales people. When you ask a sales question that needs only a short answer you get the stop-start sales meeting. Pauses and silences, no real communication. The buyer will feel like they are being interrogated, or completing a questionnaire. When you ask several individual questions in succession the customer will feel stressed. This is because they are having to think before each answer. They feel like they are on a high pressure quiz show. When you use conversation style sales skills the customer feels relaxed, as they would in an informal setting. When you talk in a flow of communication about one topic, down one funnel at a time, there is no stress. Just an exchange of information, gently brought out using an effective sales questioning process.

For more sales training and sales tips focused on how to use sales questioning techniques go to http://www.sales-training-sales-tips.com/questioning-techniques.html

Stephen Craine is a working sales manager and trainer for a major UK company. He uses his experience of sales, motivation training, NLP, and personal development coaching to achieve results for himself through the achievements of others in a sales environment.

All the sales training presented here, and on the website, has been tested and proved by working sales people in real sales situations. There are no acronyms, buzz words, or complicated techniques to market training courses. The focus is on practical sales training that achieves results in the real world.

Stephen has recently teamed up with a successful clinical hypnotherapist in Manchester uk to offer sales and career coaching to private clients and businesses. Combining the power of hypnosis to make personal changes and overcome obstacles, with the practical experience of a professional sales coach and trainer offers a unique training resource.

The aim is to help anyone looking to increase sales results, develop their career, or prepare for job interviews. The coaching program can also be tailored for businesses to give them access to resources usually only available to large organisations.

For more free sales training and sales skills information, and to see what else might be of interest to you or your company, visit the website at http://www.sales-training-sales-tips.com

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Car Sales Training on How to Close a Sale at an Unconscious Level

Car sales training focused on giving an attention grabbing sales presentation that closes the sale at an unconscious level.

Many car sales people hit the buyer with feature after feature. How boring. Is the customer going to buy a car because of a technical feature? How many of your buyer's can even identify engine parts, or care about the technical features? They are going to buy that car from you because you have shown them what the car will do for them. You have presented the benefits of the car, that match their wants, needs, and deep desires.

You know all the features of your cars. You want to show off your great knowledge in order to build credibility with your customer. But if you lose their attention you will not get them to that magic buying state. To move your customers to an emotional place where they are ready to buy you must know what they want, and give it to them in a way that fits into their view of the world.

They don't want a car

They want what the car will do for them. For some it will be a gleaming fashion accessory to attract admirers, and a sound system that is more important than the safety features. For others the car is a necessary tool, or a reliable means of transport. The buyer that cranks up the miles enjoying their leisure time will see a car from a different viewpoint than the daily commuter. The caring parent wants a safe way for the family to travel, and will benefit from in-car entertainment. While the rebelling student may want a unique statement on wheels that says who they are.

How are you going to meet that multitude of needs, wants, and desires, with technical features about a machine made of plastic and steel? The answer is, you're not. The features of the car are only ways of proving how the car gives the buyer the benefits. You have to relate those features and show how they will make real the pictures and feelings they have about the car they are going to buy.

Never assume to know what they want

The above examples are only possible buyer needs. Use your skills as a sales person to learn your customer's real needs. An important car sales training point is, the buyer may not be conscious of their real desires. Will that middle age man really admit to himself why he wants the sports car? He will tell you it's because he always wanted one, and only now can he afford it. The customer that tells you they are concerned about the environment may really be more worried about the cost of fuel. How many 4 X 4 off road owners ever drive over anything more than a speed control hump? Even with technical evidence that the gas guzzling 4 X 4 is not a safer vehicle to drive, many buyers still give safety as a reason why they drive one.

Great automotive sales training is about matching features of the car to the benefits the buyer really wants. The buyer wants to achieve an emotional feeling from their purchase. To understand those feelings, and identify how they will achieve them, the buyer makes internal pictures and holds internal dialogue. You find the surface needs, wants, and desires of the buyer, at the questioning stage of the sales process. But there are car sales techniques that help you get the deeper emotional triggers, and very few sales people become competent at using them.

Find the customer's real desires

What the buyer tells you they want may be only what they are willing to tell you, and are not their real desires. Beneath the surface communication will be deeper wants the customer has. For example, consider the business manager that wants a car that will project their high status to their staff. On the surface they may give you many reasons why they want a certain class of car. Reliability, image to customers, able to afford it, and many other reasons specific to them. The deeper reasons, of which they are consciously aware, could be that they want others to be envious, or to promote their own position. It could even be that they want to show off their wealth. It is unlikely that they will tell you this when you ask them what they want from a new vehicle. At an even deeper level there will be emotional benefits the buyer wants that are not fully within their conscious awareness. There will be benefits they want, their innermost desires, that they do not want to admit to themselves.

Back to the business manager that tells you they want a car that's reliable, looks appropriate for visiting customers, and is within their budget. They are not telling you about how they want to display their wealth and position to others at work. If we go even deeper into their wants needs and desires, we could find other benefits that will close the car sale at an almost unconscious level. What if you felt the business manager was really very insecure about their position. That the image they want the car to project was to build barriers with their staff. By asking about previous cars they have owned you feel they have come from a much lower income background. You read from their verbal, and non-verbal, communication that they need to be constantly proving themselves to others. Displaying a picture of their wealth and position to overcome their insecurities.

Take a new look at your car sales training

Now imagine the sales presentation you could give if you had that sort of knowledge about your customers. Take a new look at your car sales training. Yes, you need to have an expert knowledge about the technical details of the vehicles you sell. But you also need to know what questions to ask your customers, and how to read the deeper levels of meaning in their answers. What you are really looking for is their view of the world, their map of reality. Then you can show them how your car will fit into that view.

Let me give you a starting point. Why do you really drive the car that you currently have? Be honest with yourself. Look for some deeper thoughts and become more self aware. Then study family, friends and colleagues. Talk to them, look for inconsistencies. You're a sales person, you can read people. What is it about what the car does for them that lights up their face? Watch for the topics that leave them bored, or bring out the negative signs. This is a few simple paragraphs about people, not cars, and it could be the start of a whole new way of selling for you.

For more information on sales training focused on Car Sales Training go to http://www.sales-training-sales-tips.com/car-sales-training.html

Stephen Craine is a working sales manager and trainer for a major UK company. He uses his experience of sales, motivation training, NLP, and personal development coaching to achieve results for himself through the achievements of others in a sales environment.

All the sales training presented here, and on the website, has been tested and proved by working sales people in real sales situations. There are no acronyms, buzz words, or complicated techniques to market training courses. The focus is on practical sales training that achieves results.

Stephen has recently teamed up with a successful clicnical hypnotherapist in Manchester uk to offer sales and career coaching to private clients and small businesses. Combining the power of hypnosis to make personal changes and overcome obstacles, with the practical experience of a professional sales coach, offers a unique training resource.

The aim is to help anyone looking to increase sales results, develop their career, or prepare for job interviews. The coachng program can also be tailored for small businesses to give them access to resources usually only avialable to large organisations.

For more free sales training and sales skills information, and to see what else might be of interest to you or your company, visit the website at http://www.sales-training-sales-tips.com

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Close More Sales - Make Asking For the Order Automatic

There are well-defined moments in the sales process when you absolutely must ask for the order. You can't afford to have these precious moments slip through your fingers but unfortunately, that's exactly what happens to too many salespeople. I have some advice that will protect you from becoming one of those salespeople. The key is to make closing automatic and you do that by knowing exactly when you must ask for an order.

"Always Be Closing"

Unfortunately, too many salespeople were mislead into believing that "Always Be Closing" represents the "ABCs" of salesmanship. Frankly, nothing could be further from the truth. You can't always be closing because asking for an order is only one of the steps in the sales process. At a minimum, before you ask for an order you need to establish some rapport with your prospect, uncover a need for your product and present your solution. "Always Be Colsing" may sound great in a movie but it is meaningless when you're in your sales territory, attempting to sell something to someone.

Often, salespeople that think they should always be closing are, in reality, never closing. These salespeople do not understand the sales process because if they did, they would know when and how to ask for an order. Well-trained professional salespeople don't have these problems because they follow a well-defined sales process. These professionals know exactly when the only thing left to do is close the business.

Fear Of Closing

I also work with another group of salespeople that need help with their closing skills. These sales reps need to overcome their fear of closing. After all, you can't be sales rep and have a fear of closing, just as you can't be an electrician and have a fear of electricity! Salespeople close and if you are not closing you're not a salesperson... you are just a conversationalist. Salespeople that fear closing just keep talking and hopelessly praying that at some point, the prospect will ask for an order form to sign. Guess how often that happens?

In my work, I've uncovered many factors that cause some salespeople to fear closing. Some sales reps don't want to face the moment of truth. Other salespeople fear they may appear "pushy". There are also other salespeople that assume, without any data to support their assumption, that the prospect is not ready to sign an order. I help these salespeople by making closing an automatic reflex reaction to certain events in the sales process. When closing is automatic, you don't even have to think about it. You automatically ask for the business. This process helps most salespeople overcome their fear of closing.

Initial Close

At some point in the sales process, you'll ask your prospect a series of questions to uncover a need for your product or service. You'll then present your product and explain how the product addresses the needs you've uncovered. Once you've presented all the benefits your prospect with gain by using your product, you must close. You must ask for the order at this point in the sales process. Don't think about it ... just close.

Since this is the first time you've asked your prospect for the order, this closing attempt is called the Initial Close. Your prospect has two possible reactions to your Initial Close. Your prospect will either give you the order or give you an objection. Obviously, if you get the order, you've accomplished your goal. On the other hand, if you get an objection, you still have some work ahead of you. The answer is found in solid sales training

Overcoming Sales Objections

It is not end of world if you get some objections after your first closing attempt. In fact, you probably will get some objections after your Initial Close. Most prospects feel it is their duty to have some objections for the person attempting to sell them something. So relax and don't panic. Now that the objection has surfaced, you just moved one step closer to the order. Keep in mind that an objection is not rejection. An objection is only a request for more information. Your prospect is confused and unclear about something you said or something you failed to mention. By addressing the sales objection, you give your prospect new and additional information. Armed with the new information, your prospect is able to develop a new and favorable opinion about their decision to purchase your product.

Objections should not be ignored and must be answered in a way that completely salifyes the prospect. The salesperson should not get defensive or start debating the sales prospect. The goal is not to win an argument. The goal is to get the order.

The "No More Sales Objections" Close

Once all sales objections have been successfully addressed, you must close the prospect and ask for the order. As with the Initial Close, don't even think about it and make this closing attempt an automatic part of your sales process. I refer to this closing attempt as the "No More Sales Objections Close". Once the prospect runs out of objections, the salesperson must ask for the order. Don't think about it ... just close the sale.

Salespeople should always be direct and confident when closing a sale. The salesperson's confidence makes the prospect confident about the decision to purchase. Once all sales objections have been successfully addressed, the salesperson must confidently assume the prospect is ready to do business.

Also, you must remain silent after you ask for an order. The sales prospect must be the next one to speak. There could be an uncomfortable pause while the prospect thinks about the final decision. If you interrupt that pause, you greatly diminish your probability of receiving the order.

When You Must Close The Sale

As you now see, there are two moments in the sales process that call for a closing attempt. The first attempt is after you've presented the benefits of your product. The second time is after all sales objections have been successfully addressed. Implement this process and make closing sales automatic.

About The Author

Nick Moreno, founder of The National Sales Center, is a well-established sales training consultant with more than 30 years of experience providing excitement, empowerment and benefit to those he trains. Offering a competitive sales training advantage through education and cutting edge programs, his system, The Progressive Sales Process, is known for generating "Sales Superstars" who consistently reach much higher sales commissions. Mr. Moreno can be reached by contacting him at Nick@Nationalsalescenter.com or by visiting his web site at http://www.nationalsalescenter.com

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

How to Close a Sale by Turning the Conventional Sales Process on Its Head

With one simple change to your sales closing techniques you can bring out the majority of real sales objections, and smoke screens, at the start of a sales meeting. By making a simple change to the traditional sales process you will only be faced with objections related to your products or service when you try to close the sale. These are objections that you can overcome. Objections to sales that are related to the buyer, or their company, are not in your control and can be very difficult to resolve.

Make more effective use of your sales time because you will know from the start of the meeting whether the buyer can buy from you. Think abut the difference that will make to your sales conversion rate. From the introduction stage of the sales meeting, or even from the sales appointment making call, you will be in a position to decide if you are making the best use of your sales time. Working with the sales teams I manage and train we have developed this sales closing technique in real sales situations, not just in a classroom. These successful sales skills are used by working sales professionals that rely on their results to earn a living and keep their job.

In a traditional sales process the sales person usually starts the meeting with an introduction of themselves, their company, and the reason they are meeting with the prospect. This will be followed by questions to discover the buyer's needs, and then a sales presentation of the features and benefits that meet those needs. Then the sales person tries to close the sale, or gain agreement to the next stage of the process. After all this time and work the seller can then be hit with an objection to the sale that they have no control over, and no way of overcoming. These are sales objections that are related to the buyer or their company.

These objections can be: There are other decision makers. The buying process involves their head office. The company is tied into a contract. Budgets are over spent, and many others that stop the sale dead.

By turning the traditional sales process on its head, and using sales closing techniques at the introduction stage of the meeting, you can bring out the buyer related sales objections. When presenting sales training, on how to close a sale, I focus on gaining the strongest agreement near the start of the sales process, rather than at the usual closing stage, after the sales presentation. At an appropriate point near the start of the meeting explain to the buyer the sales process you would like the meeting to follow. Tell the buyer how you will establish their needs, wants, and desires, and then present the best proposal you can offer. You will then ask them if they are happy with the benefits of the proposal, and if they would like to do business with you.

Present this as a win-win situation. There are great benefits for the buyer. They can relax, and communicate with you freely, because they know you're not going to pounce on the smallest sign of interest, or buying signal, that they may show. Many people you sell to may not be full time buyers. By setting out the agenda you will help them with their buying process. When you do try and close the sale there will be no need for linguistic trickery or manipulative sales techniques. All it requires is a gentle direct question. You will find it easy to ask, and the buyer will appreciate your directness and honesty.

Setting the sales meeting agenda is the important point on which you want to gain their agreement. You are asking, if they like what they see, are they are in a position to buy from you, or to agree to the next stage of the buying process.

The strength of your agreement gaining question will vary depending upon the type of sales you are making. You can use stronger agreement gaining question with a one-time sale to a customer you will never see again than. With a repeat business prospect ,that you want to build a relationship with, you will be more tactful. Assessing the strength and directness of the closing techniques you use is a sales skill that comes with experience, practice and good sales training.

You've seen how to close a sale at the start of a sales meeting. If the buyer raises an objection to the sale, a reason why they can't do business with you, you can now make a decision on whether it is good use of your time to continue with the meeting.

Once you have gained their agreement to the sales process you know that the objections, which may arise when you try and close the sale, will be related to the sales presentation you have given. These are objections you are more likely to be able to answer or resolve with your sales skills.

Closing a sale by gaining agreement near the start of the meeting requires confidence. Like all change it may be uncomfortable at first, but the results make it very worth while becoming competent at using this sales closing technique. Once you've mastered this sales skill imagine what else you can add to it.

For more information on sales training focused on How to Close a Sale go to http://www.sales-training-sales-tips.com/how-to-close-a-sale.html

Stephen Craine is a working sales manager and trainer for a major UK company. He uses his experience of sales, motivation training, NLP, and personal development coaching to achieve results for himself through the achievements of others in a sales environment.

All the sales training presented here, and on the website, has been tested and proved by working sales people in real sales situations. There are no acronyms, buzz words, or complicated techniques to market training courses. The focus is on practical sales training that achieves results.

Stephen has recently teamed up with a successful clinical hypnotherapist in Manchester uk to offer sales and career coaching to private clients and small businesses. Combining the power of hypnosis to make personal changes and overcome obstacles, with the practical experience of a professional sales coach, offers a unique training resource.

The aim is to help anyone looking to increase sales results, develop their career, or prepare for job interviews. The coaching program can also be tailored for small businesses to give them access to resources usually only available to large organisations.

For more free sales training and sales skills information, and to see what else might be of interest to you or your company, visit the website at http://www.sales-training-sales-tips.com

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.