326: Asking For The Business In Sales

<p style="font-weight: 400;">I was listening to a sales podcast and the expert guest was lampooning some typical closes as outdated, insulting and useless.  He was relating how early in his sales career he had come across these closes and they didn’t work.  Naturally he had written his one book with a better alternative.  I was thinking about what he said and asked myself are these typical closes actually outdated or not? Everything is contextual so it is hard to give a bullet proof undertaking, but I think they still work and it is all in how we deliver them that makes the real difference.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">All of this discussion presupposes we have done a proper job in all the stages of the sales cycle leading up to asking for the business. We must have developed trust with the buyer.  That means we have worked out the stye of business communication they prefer.  Are they super direct or do they want to have a cup of tea together and get to know each other first?  Are they highly detail oriented or do they prefer big picture discussions and don’t want to get into the weeds?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Have we dug deep enough in asking questions to fully understand their needs or are we missing some crucial insight.  Often buyers won’t share all their dirty laundry with a salesperson they have only just met and they keep key information from us.  That means our proposed solution may not fit their needs perfectly and we won’t get the deal done.  Did we explain our solution in terms which makes sense to their situation and they can see how they can adapt it into their company?  When they raised some issues were we able to deal with them fully and eliminate all concern and doubt?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">All of these conditions have to be met, before we raise the issue of buying the solution we are proffering.  Once we get to this stage, we can vary how we ask ,based on the client and how the preceding conversations have played out.  If the client is the direct type, then we can ask a ve