One of the most asked questions I get from salespeople, sales managers, and entrepreneurs is...
How do I know when to close? How do I do it without being sleazy?
Not knowing when to close is like a gardener not knowing when to pick the tomatoes in the garden.
Check out my answer for when to close and what to do when they say no in this video clip.
When someone asks me "How do I know when to close," or, "How do I do that so that it doesn't come off as cheesy?" it still surprises me.
Here's the answer that I have- if you have gone through your process (which is aligned to how your buyers buy) you understand their compelling reason for change and the cost of consequences if they do nothing, and you're talking to the decision makers, then the three questions that you can ask to know if it's time to close are simple.
I learned them from Dave Kurlan's book, Baseline Selling.
The Three Questions:
- Do you believe that I understand everything that's going on in your world, Mr. Buyer?
- Do you believe that we have the solution and expertise to help you with that problem?
- Do you want our help?
It seems so simple!
Yet, I see so many salespeople who are avoiding asking this question, and it's one simple reason, fear. They're afraid of the answer. They're afraid that they might get a no.
Getting a no is not the end. It's actually a new opportunity for you to ask a clarification question and for you to re-frame their objection in a way that reminds them of those compelling reasons and cost of consequences.
This is how you can know when to close, and close in a way that seems natural to your buyer and not some cheesy tactic that quite frankly isn't going to work.
Learn more
Check out the recaps from the Live Sales Lab to learn more tips like this!
