Closing a sale: 4 ways to successfully close a sales pitch

High-revenue salespeople are characterized by the fact that they switch from the consultation to the conclusion of the sale at the right moment. With these sentences you will confidently come to the end.

Closing a sales call at the right moment sounds easier than it is. Some initiate this too early, even before the customer is convinced. This often deters buyers.

Others, on the other hand, don’t finish at all for fear that the offer might be rejected. “They advise, advise, advise and hope that the customer will say yes at some point,” explains sales expert and coach Toni Hisenaj from Hamelin. “But the salespeople of the future are right in between. They are interested in their customers, listen to them carefully and then close the deal,” explains the sales professional.

In his book Psychology of Selling. Radical principles for top sellers” Hisenaj shows four ways how you can confidently conclude a sales pitch and convince customers who are still hesitant. Which way is right depends on the sales situation.

Closing path 1: Use signals of readiness to buy

Your customer signals a willingness to buy without stating it directly. This is an opportunity you should seize immediately. In particular, when customers ask questions about the offer, it is often a buy signal, writes Hisenaj.

Examples:

• “What would I have to do exactly?”
• “What would be the next steps?”
• “Is it possible to deliver the machine within a week?”

You can then initiate the sale, for example, as follows:

• “What do you think if we do it this way?
• “In order to be able to realize your desired delivery date, we should get it on the road now.”
• “When do you think it can start?”

It is important that you are sure of the purchase intention of your counterpart.

More about this here: Identify buy signals: You should never make this mistake when selling

Completion Way 2: Use the five-finger method

If you have the feeling that your customer is still hesitant to make a decision, summarize the five most important sales arguments briefly and concisely. To do this, take up the words and wishes of your customer and use your fingers when listing the arguments.

Example:

• “You said that quality is important to you: with our product you have exactly that, and our company is TÜV-ISO-certified” (thumb up).
• “You also said that the topic of sustainability plays a major role for you. Through our quality procedures, we pay particular attention to this topic.” (pointing index finger)
• …

“The five-finger method sticks in your head, it can have an extremely good effect,” says Hisenaj. But the effect fizzles out if the method looks like a sales pitch to customers. Ideally, practice by going through them once for a specific product.

Does the customer agree with all points after you have listed the five arguments? Then you can transition to selling by saying something like:

• “Great. In your view, is there anything else that speaks against a collaboration?”
• “What do we have to do to get together today?”

If there are no more objections, the conclusion is as good as completed.

Completion path 3: ask test questions

If you are not sure whether your customer has understood your offer and will accept it, then make a so-called test conclusion. Strictly speaking, according to Hisenaj, these are questions that you can use to check whether your messages have been received correctly by the customer. For example, you can ask:

• “How does that sound to you so far?”
• “Does what I presented to you meet your expectations?”
• “What are you thinking about right now?”

If there are still doubts, you may need to take a few steps back and refocus the sales pitch. “Try to get as much information from the other person as possible and you’ll be able to make an offer that really excites,” says Hisenaj.

Completion Way 4: the use the method of artificial scarcity

Do you have the feeling that your customer is ready to buy, but wants to take his time with the decision? You can use the artificial scarcity method to speed up the sale. They suggest to the customer that the offer is not always available in this form.

This impression is created, for example, by the following statements:

• “I’ll talk to the production manager for a moment. If he says the product is actually available, then we’ll launch it, right?”
• “Let me check if we can carry out the order in the next few weeks. If yes, we can bring it on the trip. What do you mean?”
• “We had a campaign last week, our customers got service Y for product X. The promotion is over, but I can make an exception for you. How does that sound to you?”

“The method of artificial scarcity often works very well, but it should be authentic,” says Hisenaj. In other words: Your information about the offer should be correct.

More about this here: Artificial shortage: This strategy encourages customers to buy

Would you like to learn more closing techniques? Then read on here: Closing Sales Calls: These 6 closing techniques turn prospects into buyers