Seal that deal: tips for closing a sale.

For many in business, their biggest marketing challenge is not finding potential customers but "closing" the sale. Here are some techniques followed by many successful sales professionals:

Test With A "Trial Close"

A "trial close" is a way to test the waters before you even think about closing the deal. Trial closes are non-threatening and, essentially, an opinion-asking event. If you don't get agreement with a trial close, you've not earned the prospect's permission to try to close the deal. Typical trial closes are:

"How does this sound so far?"

"Would this be what you're looking for?"

"Are we in agreement on this?"

"If I can help you (--.), would you hire us?"

"Assuming you were to go ahead, what would have to happen next?"

"On a scale of 1 to 10 how close are we to meeting your needs? (Regardless of number) How can I get it to (higher number)?"

Common Closing Techniques

Assumptive close: You assume the sale is yours and try to set up a meeting time to begin the project or move to the first stage. Risky with cautious prospects.

Alternate choice close: Give a prospect two logical choices, each of which is a "Yes." Use only when there are strong buying signals. Example: "Would it be best for us to start the work this Friday or next Monday?"

Recommendation close: Sometimes customers are unsure. They know they want or need your service or product, but are reluctant to commit. Position yourself as a trusted advisor and make a recommendation, such as: "What I recommend is we start with this initial stage and then move on after we see how that works."

Scare close: When time or money is at stake, you can nudge a prospect into making a decision by adding a sense of urgency. Example: "If you wait too long, I may not have many of these widgets left."

Puppy dog close: Just as a pet shop salesperson might put a puppy in your arms, let the prospect try out your product or service first.

Marsha Ledgerwood is a freelance writer.