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Why I Hate Closing Techniques
"I will never, ever train people on closing techniques if they sell to the corporate marketplace."
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Jill Konrath
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Jill Konrath
“My salespeople need to get better at closing,” the Vice President of Sales said to me shortly after I arrived in his office.
If I’ve heard that line once, I’ve heard it a hundred times. Despite being on an important sales call, I couldn’t help but cringe. You see, I will never, ever train people on closing techniques if they sell to the corporate marketplace.
Why not? When you analyze what happens when you teach sellers how to be great closers, you’ll understand my perspective.
So right now, I want you to imagine yourself as a decision maker in a large organization. Perhaps you’re a manager or even an executive.
You agree to meet with a seller who’s been trying to set up a meeting with you for several months. When she mentioned the business results her firm was achieving with your competitor, you decided it was time to learn more.
But you’re still a bit leery. You’re absolutely swamped with a workload that’s so big you can’t seem to get out from under it.
After a 10-minute discussion with her, you start to notice that nearly every other sentence ends with a question: “Don’t you agree?” or “I’m sure you’ve experienced that?” or “Is that true here?”
(Because she’s been trained to “always be closing,” she starts using the “Constant Close Technique” right away. This method is designed to get your head bobbing up and down. The more “yeses” you say, the easier it’ll be for her to get your business.)
After sharing a bit more about her offering, she begins to implement the “Little-Decision Close” by asking:
• Do you usually start out with weekly or monthly orders?
• Can you get this through purchasing fairly easily?
• Do you agree that this methodology would be helpful?
(By getting you to agree to small things first, she’s warming you up for the big close.)
Inside, your head is spinning and these thoughts are racing through your mind: “I’m not ready to get started on anything right now. I’m just learning. Besides, I don’t know if it’s even worth it to make a change. Shoot, it could be really disruptive right now with all the new initiatives going on in our company.”
But the sales rep persists. She’s really good at closing. She moves into the “Assume-the-Sale Close.” With a winning smile on her face, she says to you, “We can get going on this by mid-month.”
If you’re normal, by now you’re feeling a little pushed – or maybe even a lot pushed. You’re not ready to make any kind of decision on the spot like this. Who does she think she is???
Trying to politely get out of this mess, you ask, “How much money are we talking about?” No matter what she says, it will always be too much!
When you tell her that, she chimes back in with the “Better-Act- Now Close”.
Petulantly, she looks at you and says, “We’re really busy right now. So many people are ordering. If you don’t go ahead right now, I have no idea how long it will take or even if the pricing will stay the same. I’ve heard it’s going up.”
You tell her you’ll have to take your chances, because it’s out of the question for you to make decisions so quickly.
Not to be deterred, she comes right back at you with her best “Referral Close.” Pulling a list of testimonials out of her briefcase, she lays them in front of you one-by-one.
“Look at all the great companies who we work with,” she says. “They love us. We’ve done great things for them.”
Glancing quickly at your watch, you say, “I’m sorry. I have to run to a meeting right now. Thank you so much for your time.”
“If you act now, we’ve got this great promotional offer,” she says using her best “Last Ditch Close”. “We’ll throw in 20 hours of free training and a new iPod.”
Enough already! At this point, all you can think about is, “Get this woman out of my office.”
That’s what happens when you train someone on closing skills. They close and they close. At the same time, they tick off their prospective customers royally.
Whenever someone talks to me about their salespeople needing to be trained on closing skills, I have to redirect their thinking.
The inability to close is a direct result of poor needs development. It is the symptom of the problem, not the actual problem itself.
The very best salespeople don’t employ any special closing techniques at all. They simply focus on understanding their customer’s business and helping them achieve their desired outcomes.
Instead of talking about their product or service, they ask a ton of questions. They keep their focus on their prospect’s business challenges and the gaps that need to be closed to achieve their objectives.
Then, knowing that corporate decisions take a while to make and often involve many people, they simply suggest the logical next step.
So please, don’t talk to me about your salespeople needing to improve their closing skills. I can’t help you with this.
If they’re selling to big companies, the more they close, the less successful they’ll be.
ChopperBH81
2 months ago
4 comments
I sell water treatment to homes and smaller offices. I'm not sure if this works in the corporate world, but I'm always calm and laid back, never pushy. If they don't sign a contract right then and there i follow up 4-5 times and almost always land the deal. That only works by not being pushy.
RobertHartley1
4 months ago
4 comments
Two sales dynamics really present themselves here, one is the current sales environment and the other is the complexity of product or service itself. Sales calls have changed over the years as a result of environmental changes. In my opinion from the 50's to the early 90's the "closing" techniques used by sales professionals were part of a sales persons tool kit. By the way these "pressure" techniques are part of the reason the sales profession is held in such low esteem. "Closing" was often successful because the sales person knew more about alternatives and competitive products than the buyer. In the early 90's, with the expansion of the internet, information about complex products became easier for decision makers and economic buyers to gather. These people became increasingly unreceptive to "Closing" because it represented an affront to their level of expertise and their positions within the company.
The other dynamic is the complexity of the product itself. Simple products like shoes and suits lend themselves to closing techniques, million dollar portable machine tools for the oil and gas industry do not. As a product increases in complexity, more people are likely to be involved at the purchasing decision. The purchasing decision also becomes more strategic than tactical. Rather than earning the right to close it is a better strategy to identify the buying decision makers early in the process, isolate objections, consult on possible solutions and move the process along incrementally. One caveat, learn to spot people that will not buy from you quickly and get them out of your funnel ASAP.
The reality is no one likes to be closed. Business people with purchasing decision responsibility dislike it even more because they are exposed to it on a daily basis.
jimdwalton
4 months ago
816 comments
The author brings up a fine example using a situation in which the seller has not earned the right to close. You have to listen but prior to that you have to know how to connect with your prospect and ask questions that will lead you toward the thought process needed to understands the needs of your prospect. If you do a good job uncovering needs and providing solutions then the closing questions are not a pain but rather a successful conclusion.I assume the author does such a good job in training her classes on listening and probing and ducussing value that the close is easier.
RalphRoath
5 months ago
48 comments
100% agreed with rodiehl. The problem is NOT the close it is the inability to listen.
james1g
6 months ago
138 comments
Critical in any sale is you have to connect with your customer. Constant closing statements being thrown at the customer, does the salesperson really hear the customer. If the rappore is not built, coming at it like a Jackhammer (Harriet's comment) this willbe a lost sales opportunity.
smile
6 months ago
228 comments
Way too pushy for me. The sales person is too busy worrying about closing he/she is not listening. oh my , Listening is more important than shoving your words down a customers throat until they can't breath anymore. Maybe the sales person should be in the auctioneer business instead. This article just showed me what not to do and a technique to stay away from. I want to keep me customers. But, thanks anyway.
HarrietAlison
6 months ago
468 comments
Makes me think of jackhammer hammering away untill it breaks loose and caves under the pressure or an irresistable force is met and you can't get any farther.
rodiehl
6 months ago
78 comments
The problem in the situation in the article is not that the salesperson was always closing it was that the salesperson was so busy closing that she didn't see and hear that this customer was one that didn't need to be pushed at this time
SalesMan33
7 months ago
20 comments
Tirvin, Top sales professionals who consistently make 100k plus a year would never take your approach. First of all you have to be in alignment with the buyers process. Buyers are going to purchase when they are ready to do so and not when you need to make a sale.
I noticed that you kept mentioning your product. Stop focusing on your product and start by focusing on your prospect's wants and needs. What are their objectives? What are they trying to accomplish? Ask some good questions and shut up and listen and forgot about your product. If you do this right, then you will have enough information to recommend a solution that is on target and makes sense. 85 percent of my sales the prospect closes the sale themselves because they do not see me as just another self-centered salesperson. By the time I'm through asking questions, they often ask me what I recommend. As for the other 15% oftentimes, all I have to ask is the following: Is there anything else that concerns you? If they say no, then I simply ask and I know that I'm following their buying process then it's a matter of asking Are you ready to get started? A great sales methodology and process will help you stop having to close and start being positioned as a trusted advisor. If you are lumped in the category as just another salesperson that focuses on your product then the odds are stacked against you and you can only compete usually on price. Even then, if the competition is seen differently you will always loose. This is why I hate cold calling because it completely mispositions the salesperson as a desperate salesperson begging for business.
HarrietAlison
7 months ago
468 comments
I would think it would be tiring to Always be Closing??? take time to relax, smell the coffee, get to know your customer
To "Always be Closing" feels Tense to me and who wants to be tense all the time????
james1g
7 months ago
138 comments
The article makes a good point. The close techniques can make the buyer uncomfortable. The conversation becomes a canned presentation. The buyer may start to feel, is the salesperson really interested in their business? Needs development is most important. Sell the benefits of your product to those needs. Customer is going to close if they can see how it will helped them.
rich34232
8 months ago
878 comments
excellant point larry.There arw ways to always be closing without hammering your client to death, building the relationship
LarryGrimes
8 months ago
94 comments
Any salesperson worth a darn should ABC, "Always Be Closing". Closing is "Getting the Business". Getting the business requires the salespeson to establish and maintain trust and rapport.
That's NOT gonna happen if you get the prospect/customer is stressed out and/or upset with you, your "Salespeak" and your "Closing" tactics. Your job is to engage in a productive conversation where you continually ask meaningful questions and respond to them in a way that the sale closes itself. If the person has no more objections, how can they not buy from you? This also means qualifying the person as soon as possible so you don't waste anyone's time chasing an impossible transaction.
With typical, amateur, inane sales techniques, you may badger a person into buying something from you, BUT your chances of repeat business (where the real money is) is destroyed, not only for you, but your company as well.
rich34232
about 1 year ago
878 comments
The item which I am surprised no one has caught,time limitation to the meeting.Always find out how much time you have,if a meeting has to go on in a relatively hsort time no decision will ever be made.
At the time I find a scheduled meeting may cut my presentation short I only put out feelers on how we can help the organziation out.How we have helped many save money ,raise the service level and deliever on our promises never leaving the presentation or proposal with them. Reschedule a time to go over all phases of the presentation when time is not an issue.
I do disagree you do need to ask for the close and sale.Perhaps not always using a clsoing question on each point.
tirvin
about 1 year ago
6 comments
I really dont agree with this, first of all if the CEO or whatever is so busy in the first place, what makes you think he will get back at you?? Yes i know you should follow up but then again your going to get his secretary or answering machine. So you need to bring it ALL with you!! You have to SELL your product, if you just leave your preso and # what do you think the chances of that BUSY man to look at your stuff?? What seperates you from everyone els that just leaves their info??? You have to show him you mean business, show him how commited you are to your product. If he thinks your to pushy and rejects you well leave him your stuff and keep following up untill the answer is NO! If he is a business man im sure he knows how things are done, and if he is so busy and you have that little 10 min period to meet with him by all means CLOSE THAT DEAL!!