JUST ASK THEM… everyone knows that the shortest route to a target is a straight line. Everyone knows that to get somewhere you eventually must head in the general direction of your ultimate goal. The Business of Sales makes that very clear. In order to "sell something" you need to…a) find a willing buyer, b) show them your product, c) ask them to buy it. The problem is that 9 times out of 10 it's not quite that simple. Sometimes the Customer complicates things and sometimes the Salesperson complicates things. Regardless of who is the guilty party, to be a Superstar you must keep bringing things back to the concept of "taking a straight line approach".
This concept was brought home to me very recently while making a presentation to a successful, veteran Real Estate Broker. He said to me, "Bruce, I just tell my Salespeople that to get the job done you only really need to do two things. First of all make sure that they can afford the house you are showing them. Second of all, just ask them the following question…Can you live here?".
Hmmmm…Can you live here? That certainly is using the "straight line approach"… just ask them if what you are showing them is what they want. This works for all products, not just houses! IE: "Will this product help you?" Does it really need to be any more complicated than that?
Here is your ACTION STEP… the whole idea of Closing the Sale revolves around asking simple questions. Decision-making for most buyers can be a tense issue. Often times there is a lot of money involved and certainly they do not want to make a mistake. Here's three simple rules to follow…
THREE CLOSING RULES
1. Make sure that what you are offering suits their needs and their wants (and that it is within their budget).
2. Use simple closing questions… "Can you live here?", "Does this choice makes sense?", "How does this one feel?", "What's the next step for you?", Etc.
3. Close more often. If you don't ask you will never know what they are thinking… get used to feeling a bit uncomfortable… remember you are in the Sales Business.
Always be conscious of how people make decisions. Make sure you are helping them buy what they want. There are two parts to this process. #1. Initially your customer will use logic to help eliminate the unwanted choices. & #2. Ultimately emotion will creep in to the final decision. Remember this very important truism… people buy what they WANT much more frequently than what they NEED. This is not a negative reality. As long as they are not making an unwise decision, help them get what they want. That's what will make them most satisfied. In the end though, closing does not need to be difficult for the Customer or the Salesperson. Take the "straight line approach", ask simple closing questions. Everyone will appreciate the candor in that approach. NO Excuses.