Listening to your customers is the best way for you to learn how to close the sale with ease.
Previously, I have shared articles in ways that add value to your offer. We have considered how to help your customers to feel safe when they buy from you and presented some tips on how to make it easy for them to reach the point of purchase. You can catch up on any topics you’ve missed in my resources centre here.
The focus of this article is the final step for a successful business – having the right knowledge for you to know how to close the sale with ease.
Echolocation in Marketing
Today’s emblem is a fruit bat. I chose this image because most people know that bats use echolocation to find the insects on which they feed. That image perfectly fits your task as you prepare to close the sale. Bats have evolved to have superior hearing. They emit squeaks and those sounds bounce off any objects nearby. The bats can decode the sounds which bounce back to identify the exact place of their next meal before they swoop in to eat it. That’s how echolocation works for fruit bats. So fruit bats can be said to see with sound, which feels like they have a super power.
This article will help you to understand why listening can give you an additional power. I describe listening as a power tool for your Marketing toolbox.
Throughout the time that you’ve been in contact with this target you will have used questions very naturally to develop the relationship. This list will tell you how you can use those answers to inform how it will be best for you to close the sale. I will also describe the summary close, the assisted close and the assumptive close methods. You can choose which is right for each client and for you.
How to close the sale with ease by listening to your customers
1. Use questions as your radar system:
Most importantly, you can use questions to elicit the information that you need. You must pay close attention to each answer which you get from your audience. From the first touchpoint onwards, it will be important that you record anything that you learn about your target’s needs. You will need those details later when it is time to close the sale.
2. Select your method to close the sale to suit each client:
By listening to your client’s answers closely you will learn about their personality type and what is motivating them to buy from you. Choose a method to close the sale which fits their personality. For example, a client who is a stickler for details and accuracy will value the depth of a summary close. A summary close is when you repeat back to the target the points that they have told you that they want prior to them agreeing the deal. It is like the checkout stage for an online purchase where you have a chance to review what you’re buying and the delivery details before you click on ‘buy now’.
By contrast, a client who is in a hurry might prefer it if you use an approach called an assisted close. An assisted close is when you say, for example, ‘I know it’s important for you to get this in time for your wife’s birthday next week, so let’s shake on it now and I’ll process the order today to meet your deadline.’ You must have listened closely to your client’s priorities to know what will clinch the sale before you use an assisted close.
3. Respond to buying signals:
When you listen to your target with attention to each word they say, you will notice when they give you a signal that they want to buy from you. For example, they might say ‘can you fit me in next week?’. When you hear a buying signal from your target you can respond with a technique called the assumptive close. An assumptive close applies when you have full confidence that they will buy from you because they have already told you exactly that. An assumptive close means that you can feel positive and, in this example, you might say, ‘I have one morning slot left for next week – let me book you in for Thursday at 11am, is that ok for you?’.
Like a fruit bat you have listened and learned until you know exactly when and how it is right for you to close the sale.
Quote of the week.
As a marketer, every time you think you are near the point when you can close the sale you will do well to remember this wisdom from the ancient Greek philosopher, Epictetus, who said:
“We have two ears and one mouth
so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”
My Thrifty Marketing Tip of the Week:
Develop a system of call-reporting where you can record all that you learn about your client each time you speak to them. You can use that information to present them with their perfect solution when it is time for you to close the sale.