Sales Close

The Soft Sales Close

• Sometimes the best way to close the deal is to simply ask the prospect. They may be worried, anxious, in a compromised mental state, or just simply indecisive. You are their expert they can rely on. Assist them by nicely asking to get things underway. For example, “Jim, there is a lot of work to get done here to protect you and get the best settlement for your case. As soon as I have an engagement agreement signed, I can start getting to work on your file. Can we get started today?” This will call for a response and allow the prospect the chance to give you verbal confirmation. Once this verbal confirmation is established, you can start sending over the information for signatures and deposits.

The Hard Sales Close

• Often the soft sales approach does not work, and a more direct “hard” approach is needed. Although it is pushier and extreme, this approach may work better in cases where the client cannot make a final decision. For example, “Jim, I will need that $6,000 retainer today to get your case started. Do you want to pay with cash, check, or credit card? I will get to work shortly after.” You need to assess the client and listen to their reactions do determine the best way to close the deal successfully. To create a sense of urgency, you can also say, “Jim, I am going to contact the IRS immediately after our phone call to protect you and place a collection hold on your account. I will be on the phone with the IRS in the next hour. Do you want to pay with cash, check, or credit card?

Ask the “Right” Questions

• When selling, as with doing pretty much everything else, it is important to set goals.  As a salesperson, are you looking to teach the caller about what you do? Are you looking to listen to your prospect’s “life story”? In both cases, the answer is obviously “NO”. You are trying to persuade the prospect to purchase your services.
• The key to succeeding in sales is to be both efficient and effective. You cannot just pick up the phone and say, “buy my services” and expect to close the deal. You also do not want to invest hours or days with someone only to find out that they are not going to use your services. You also do not want to discover, even if you close a sale, that your costs to recapture your time outweigh any profit you stand to make in getting the deal. As you have read throughout this book, you should listen to your prospect 70% of the time and speak only 30% of the time.

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