The Real Secret to Closing More Deals

                              The best ways to improve deal closing percentage

You can’t close an unqualified prospect. For many salespeople this advice falls on deaf ears. Instead, they live by the motto that any prospect is a good prospect. Unfortunately this way of thinking hampers their success and holds them back from the big commission checks they deserve.

Don't Waste Time

I hear the same sad stories again and again. Deals lost and time wasted on prospects who were not the decision makers, who were already under long-term contracts, who were just shopping for price to keep their current vendor honest, or who were not in the buying window. Each working day salespeople across the globe are surprised to find out that after investing blood, sweat, and tears, and of course promises to the boss, the account they have been working on won’t close. And to make things worse, many of these salespeople were completely blind to all of the signs that were blinking like neon lights saying – “this prospect is not qualified, move on!”

The Sales Guy’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Qualifying Prospects

Over my twenty year career in sales, one of the common attributes I have found in top producers is that when asked why they have such high closing rates they almost all say, “because I only call on prospects who are going to buy.” In other words, they only spend their time with qualified prospects. You see, these top performers clearly understand the value of time for Sales Professionals. Time is the great equalizer. Every Sales Pro is given the exact same 24 hours each day – no more and no less. The difference between the top performers and everyone else is how they use that time. Top performers know that the real secret to improving their closing percentage is the self-discipline to fully qualify every prospect before investing valuable time and emotion. In doing so they work less, earn more, and they close more deals.

#1: Uncover the Decision Maker

I cannot over emphasize how important this first step is. There may be multiple people in every account who will influence the deal, act as coaches, or even have the authority to say no. All of these people are important and should not be ignored. However, there is only one person who has the authority to write the check. You must uncover who this person is. Don’t be afraid to ask direct questions. Do whatever it takes to cut through the smoke screens created by influencers to keep you from the decision maker. Far too many deals have been lost because the salesperson was talking to the wrong person. Here are some qualifying questions to ask:

“How did you make the decision to buy this product or service last time?”

“What is your buying process for this kind of service?”

“How does your organization make decisions?”

“Who is ultimately responsible for this decision? Are there others who need to be involved?”

And after asking these questions, if you are unable to get answers you are comfortable with, walk away.

#2: Know The Buying Window

Many salespeople work on accounts that never close. They provide samples, do demos, give proposals, jump through hoops, and get their hopes up but the deal never seems to get done. The reason is, because the timing was wrong. Perhaps the prospect was under contract and unable to change even if they wanted to. Maybe there was no real urgent need. Maybe the budget had already been exhausted. Whatever the cause, the buying window was not open.

 

For every prospect there is a buying window during which there is high probability that they will make a decision to buy a particular product or service. Part of qualifying is uncovering this window of opportunity because working on the account at any other time is a ticket to certain failure. It may take a number of questions to uncover the buying window, including questions on budget, urgency, buying process, contractual obligations, inventory positions, and business climate. As a Sales Professional you must take the time up front to understand clearly if the buying window is open. If it is not, make a note of when it will be open and move on to another prospect.

#3: Understand The Competitive Environment

Top Sales Professionals have learned to uncover who they are competing with so that they know how to position themselves to win. To get this information they may go to multiple sources when asking questions. The bottom line though is that they develop a solid understanding of:

o    The number of bids/ quotes their prospect is considering

o    Which competitors have the best relationships or reputations with the buyer

o    Long-term embedded incumbents who will be hard to leverage out

o    Alternative solutions and potential landmines that could take their product out of play

By gathering the answers to these questions and others, top performers are able to analyze the probability of closing each prospective customer. And top performers have developed the discipline to walk away from low probability deals because they know that they can’t close an unqualified prospect.

Posted in: Getting Results