I just typed “books on sales skills” into Google and got a mere 352,000,000 hits! Next, I Googled “sales closing skills “and got 109,000,000 hits. Clearly, sales skills and sales closing are very popular subjects.
Each and every author or sales trainer has their own selling style and selling system focusing on the market they cover. However, in the end, all of the books and classes focus on one thing: closing more sales.
Personally, I have been so lucky to have had the opportunity to sell to everyone from Home Depot, Grainger, and Sears to the independent mobile jobber. Sure, there are some differences in how we would structure our presentations, but, when the time comes, it doesn’t matter who you’re presenting to, you must ask for the order. I get a kick out of those who consider the term “consultative selling” as something new. Consultative selling is and always was the way to sell. You consult with your prospect about what they need and then you ask them for the order to close the sale.
The first step is to make sure you are speaking with the decision-maker. If you are presenting capital equipment for the shop, you need to be sure that the person you are speaking with is the final decision-maker. Simply ask the question: “Is there anyone else who should be seeing this demonstration and is involved with making a final decision?” This gives the prospect a gracious way of telling you that the owner or someone else will make the decision and not them.
Before you begin the actual presentation, you need to ensure your prospect is in a comfortable spot where they can concentrate with as few distractions as possible. The more expensive the product, the more personal the decision becomes. Giving a demonstration while a guy is cutting off an exhaust pipe with an air chisel in the next bay is not the best of locations. Get the prospect in your truck, meet them for lunch, or even go to their house.
