5 Ways To Improve Your Closing Ratio

(By Loyd Ford) Before we begin, I want to point out that I am a big believer in building and showing clear value before any type of close. My own rule is that if a buyer sees more value than the cost of your product and they have a need, they buy. So, our real goal should be to stack the deck with value, communicate that value clearly and then close. But here are six (6) important ways you may improve your closing ratio and secure more revenue (and income for yourself).

• Question closes can become a favorite. Some of the best closers use questions. Effectively executed, each question narrows the focus of the buyer on elimination of objections and building a feeling of commitment to the product you are selling. Questions in the closing process also allow you to test how the prospect is really feeling about the discussion to see if they are ready to buy. The more you hear no, the more work you have to do. Yes, often takes you closer or all the way to signing the client on the spot.
• A summary close. This stresses value and buyer benefits, of course. You are literally summarizing things that hopefully you have discussed with the client and agreed upon during your presentation so that they have opportunity to see all of the reasons this fits their business, their goals and represents a real opportunity to solve the problem they are looking to solve today.
• Prompt an immediate close. You have been in this situation as a potential buyer in your personal life. “Our inventory is low. This is the last one I have available at this price.” This is all about creating a sense of urgency and pushing potential clients to buy based on a time limit or some other factor that means “act now or miss out.”
• The Take Away. In this close, you are using psychology of removing a noticeable part of your product presentation. This can be impactful when potential clients are looking to reduce price. There is more than one way to handle that. In this case, you offer them a discounted version that doesn’t include that piece. You want to make it obvious enough where the prospect is thinking about the missing piece. That opens the discussion about FOMO for what was removed and closing the entire sale instead of the discount.
• What about the assumptive close? This is also a technique that a lot of very successful sellers use to more rapidly close business. This is especially powerful for sellers who are good at reading behavior of potential clients. They watch for the right signs to appear that the prospect is interested and engaged in the presentation. When you get enough positive signs, you indicate when the schedule begins and move to close.

Of course, there are other closes. If you want to become the best seller in your market, you will invest in yourself and use every opportunity to learn many different ways to close business.

The main point of this article is this. There is an offense and defense in everything. Potential clients will have objections. You should be prepared to be nimble, plan ahead to overcome objections and have a variety of closes to help you accomplish the goal: Helping the client reach their goals.

Remember: Most battles are won before the first shot is fired. Business owners today are more sophisticated. You can’t be effective if you don’t research them, come with creative ideas, tell a story about their business that involves success and your product and – of course – choose your close carefully.

Ultimately, you want to grow a reputation as being someone really focused on helping advertisers achieve their goals. You want to build long-term relationships and deepen them across time to secure your real opportunity to close more business regularly.

Do what other sellers won’t.

• Do your homework before any visit (including phone, Zoom, in person, email, text or any other contact)
• Prep your butt off about options, products, how you open, information you bring to fit the client and – of course – closes
• Carefully watch behavior during the contact and get to really know your client, what they like, don’t like and what serves as their hot button
• Be interesting, always bring value (even when you are not selling/closing)
• Don’t waste someone’s time
• Sharpen your skill by seeking advice (and even watching) from sellers who are gold star winners at closing business

If you’ve never met me, it is important for me that you know that I am an encourager. I want your income to rise and your frustration to reduce over time so you can become more and more successful.

Selling can be tough. I feel you need all the encouragement you can get. Believe me, learning different closes and how to become effective with each will give you more confidence in any situation.

Loyd Ford is president and chief strategic officer at Rainmaker Pathway Consulting Works (RPC).  Reach Loyd at 864.448.4169 or [email protected].