"The way we have traditionally tried to close a sale is problematic?" - discussion with John Smibert.
Many salespeople have been taught how to close a sale using strong closing techniques which are often badly timed, manipulative and disrespectful to the client. Most customers will no longer accept this behaviour. There is a better way.
In this discussion Tony Hughes expresses a strong message for those who find closing a sales order difficult. He points out that closing should be a simple and natural step in the sale. He told me that when people have an inability to close, the real problem is usually one of four underlying issues; 1. an inability to build trust, 2. an inability to establish strong, compelling value, 3. not understanding the customer's timing and priorities, 4. not understanding their selection, evaluation and/or procurement process.
"Because" he says , "if you can build trust and rapport, you establish strong value, and then you know their process, closing becomes just a logical next step".
See the full interview below.
Tony is a leading author and keynote speaker in the world of B2B sales and sales leadership. He is well known for his strategic selling book "The Joshua Principle" and for the RSVPselling methodology.
See more of the 'TALKING SALES' series here
Interview
John: Tony Hughes - welcome back!
Tony: Hey, John!
John: Hey, I saw an article you wrote recently, that the problem is rarely closing.
Tony: Yes, yes.
John: I can have affinity with that - I've been called in often by organisations. Sales guys getting through a deal, and the close just goes on and on forever. They don't get to that close, and they want me to teach them how to close.
Tony: Yes.
John: I think you've got a solution to that.
Tony: I think I do. The thing I found in business, 30 years of experience, is that the problem is rarely the problem. People talk about symptoms as if they're causes.
John: Yes.
Tony: When people have an inability to close, my experience is usually that the real problem is an inability to build trust, an inability to establish strong, compelling value, and then the third piece of it then is not understanding the customer's timing and priorities,and in big complex selling not understanding their selection, evaluation, procurement process - it's really those three things. Because, if you can build trust and rapport, you establish strong value, and then you know their process, closing becomes just a logical next step.
John: It just happens, doesn't it?
Tony: It does.
John: In fact, these days if you have done what you say you often don't even ask for the order - it just happens. "It's now time to go to the next step - let's commit."
Tony: Yes, yes. And the thing every sales manager needs to do with their salespeople is when they look in that CRM system and see forecasted dates for deals, they need to say to the salesperson "Is that your date, or is that the customer's date? And why is that date important?" And that's the best way to really test.
John: So, understanding the customer's journey that they're going through, where they're at in that journey, some of the drivers, like compelling events or whatever, need to be absolutely critical in your planning, and that's what you mean by "Is it the customer's date, not your date?"
Tony: It's true, it's true. And the very last thing I'll say is that closing needs to be earned; putting the blowtorch on people at the end of a quarter usually just damages the relationship. In many industries, especially the technology and software industry, we are renowned for training customers about the discounts they can get at the end of the quarter, right?
John: Crazy, isn't it?
Tony: It absolutely is. And what we need to do is in the beginning of the quarter we need to focus on trust, value, and understanding their timing and process, so things happen naturally.
John: And they're not destroy it at the end of their quarter by getting them to make a decision when it's not within the buyer's journey right now.
Tony: Correct, that's true.
John: Great advice, Tony - thank you very much! I looking forward to the next time we talk!
Tony: Thanks, John!
****************
More interviews with Tony Hughes:
***************
Your Invitation: I invite you to join the Sales Leader Forum group on LinkedIn where you can experience informative discussions with your peers and sales thought leaders on subjects like the one we have discussed here. I also invite you to subscribe to the
- Sales Leader Resource Centre here
- Sales Leader YouTube channel here (300+ sales leadership videos)
Please Share: If you valued this article, please share via your Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Facebook social media platforms. I encourage you to join the conversation or ask questions. So feel free to add a comment on this post - I promise to respond. If inclined please follow my LinkedIn post page here.
Want to touch base? If you have questions please feel free to contact me - email: john.smibert(at)salesleaderforums.com, Phone: +61 404857893 or Skype: john.smibert