By Marco Longley
“We want to go home and think about it.” Does this phrase sound familiar? It probably does, as it is the number one response a salesperson will receive from a prospect when asked if they are ready to buy a product.
Successfully dealing with objections and stalls is an area salespeople must master to improve closing averages. There are many crucial steps leading to a sale, and if they are not addressed at the right time—and in the correct order—the sale will most likely be lost, rather than closed. The steps of closing a sale are essential to move a prospect towards making a buying decision, whether they are buying a hot tub, swimming pool or a million-dollar piece of real estate.
A successful sales professional must understand the different steps of selling and how to transition from one to the next. These should include:
- Greeting;
- Establishing credibility;
- Discovery;
- Product presentation;
- Creating urgency;
- Closing the sale;
- Addressing objections; and
- Followup.
How well do you follow these steps? Do you feel they are not important, and simply gloss over them? Do you rush into giving the price without building enough value first? If the prospect was not effectively ‘walked’ through these important steps, you may run into objections that could have been easily dealt with earlier in the presentation.
