“Have you signed an agreement?” - 8 mistakes which keep you from closing the sale

When the client talks a lot, you start to feel a little drowsy, and you just wait for them to finish. You nod and smile, but you don’t listen. Lack of knowledge and an inability to recall the conversation lead you to choose a closing method at random. We’re not even talking about intuition (which isn’t a good adviser on how to close sales) – this is pure chance.

What should you do?

There are special techniques that can help you learn how to listen quickly and at low cost. Listening and processing information is actually the most important element of the sale. Read about eliminating barriers to listening, take it to heart, and learn to listen. It's that simple. You need to listen to the client, even if they’re the biggest talker in the world. Listening to and filtering what they say is the key to closing the sale later on.

2. You want it too much

You’re too tense. The client feels that, and starts to back away. When you give the impression that you want it too much, you often don’t make the sale. This can create bad energy, as the client feels that you want to push the product at all costs, taking advantage of their attitude to their own particular business. When you’re too tense, you don’t close the sale, because the pressure for a result is obvious.

What should you do?

You won’t overcome this without practise. You should start with a full understanding of the sales process. Happiness has no place in it. The measured behaviour of the salesperson plays the main role in the sales process. Start by planning the conversation – a red light should go off whenever you feel yourself switching to “buy, finally buy!” mode.

3. You use techniques not suited to the client or the situation

This is a classic way to ruin sales which would have been successful if the right techniques were used. A willing client, an excellent presentation, and you ask the question: “So, what next?” Then the client replies: “I’ll look it over with my wife and give you a call after the weekend.” This is a very common mistake - you give the client the opportunity to escape, and no wonder, they do.

What should you do?

Perfect the technique of closing the sale. When the conversation is over and you’re convinced that the client is ready to buy, never give them the opportunity to not make a decision, and never put the final conversation off for later. It’s better to say: “It’s great that we’ve reached an agreement, I’m glad that we’re working...” Confirm the matter and don’t give the client room to escape.

4. You’re not believable

Your body language is not consistent with what you say. You smile, but it’s forced. Your hand gestures are inadequate for the situation and for what you’re saying. You push your offer, but you’re not focused on what values the client expects: Why would he buy your product? What is he looking for? A lack of credibility turns a business conversation into a dry presentation and causes the client to lose interest or even seek out another salesperson from your firm. Credibility plays a key role in sales – without it, you can never close a sale.

What should you do?

Present your product in accordance with what the client expects. Each product can be described in many ways, depending on what the client wants to hear. You don’t improvise based on your knowledge of the client, and you get nervous. Make sure you’re always prepared in terms of client needs.

5. You don’t control the conversation

You talk a lot, and you’re happy that the client is listening to you, but you don’t even ask questions. You talk and you talk and you never finish, and at the end of the conversation the client smiles and says: “It all seams great, could you send me a summary by email?” You have the feeling that it went well, and that the client was impressed. But the goal – a sale – was not achieved. Because you didn’t completely control the course of the conversation.

What should you do?

There’s nothing worse than a meeting with a client which is all based on improvisation and chatter. Be prepared! Analyse what the client needs and then plan how the meeting should take place: how long it will take, what you will say, how the client should react, and how the conversation should end. Always have a plan. It seems trivial, but it is enough to prevent the conversation getting out of control.

6. You think the product will sell itself

You are so sure that when the client declines or puts off a decision for later, you make a face and walk away with nothing. And no wonder, because there’s basically no way out of that situation. You’re convinced that you’ll make a sale – after all, the client confirmed over the phone that you’d come to an agreement. You go with an agreement prepared, but instead of closing the sale, you count on the client to do it themselves.

What should you do?

Create a step-by-step scenario, just as you did for the clients you previously managed, and with whom you closed sales. Of course, the product is important, but how you sell it is much more important. Every product has competition, and products rarely sell themselves. You’re a salesperson, and as that title suggests, you have to sell. Change your attitude and treat each client as a person who could escape if you don’t follow the right technique.

7. You throw the weight of the decision onto the client

At the end of the conversation, you ask the client what they think (implicitly: about your offer), hoping they will say: “I’ll take it!” If there is no great pressure to buy at that moment, the client will certainly use the permission to express their feelings, saying something like: “It’s great, let’s talk on the phone after the weekend.” Ending the conversation that way certainly isn’t beneficial for you – there’s no sale.

What should you do?

You should always be the one to sum up the conversation, not the client. You can’t give them the chance to decline or delay a purchase, because they’ll always use it. Yes, you can ask the client for their opinion on the offer, but in the middle of the conversation. At the end of the ball is in your court, and there is no room for open questions. You can end the meeting with something like: “I'm glad we can make this work,” or, “That’s great Andrew, I’m glad that we can make this happen.”

8. You aren’t yourself

You speak like a coach or a boss (“because Barbara sells like that”). The problem is, you aren’t Barbara. You have your own personality, your own way of expressing things, and your own arguments. When you copy someone who is completely different, you’ll very soon come to the conclusion that it ‘just doesn’t work.’ Every salesperson should act according to a certain effective and universal scheme, but within this scheme there must be space for their individual personality and their way of communicating with the client.

What should you do?

Be yourself and conduct sales conversations in accordance with your plan. If you don’t have your arguments, don’t speak with clients. Start by finding these arguments – practice with your wife, with your friend, or in front of the mirror. What you say (beyond your plan) must come from your heart, not the heart of Barbara, Monica or Christopher. You’re the individual, and you have to be able to use that to work with the client.

I am convinced that when you start analysing your work, you will easily identify some of the above problems. That is half the battle. Then, you’ll have to work on yourself. You’ll have to be a bit like a robot aimed at a target: a thoughtful and well-planned process + a pinch of personality = closed sales.

Even if it turns out that you have every single one of the problems described above, don’t despair. Nearly every salesman has had to deal with problems closing sales – even many great authorities on sales. This is an area which undeniably needs to be developed, and which applies to all to all who aim for effective sales.

Vocabularies:

• drowsy – ospały
• forced – wymuszony
• isolated episode – pojedynczy epizod, sytuacja
• occurrence – przypadek, zdarzenie, wydarzenie
• sales funnel – lejek sprzedażowy
• tense – spięty, napięty
• the ball is in somebody’s court – piłeczka jest po czyjejś stronie
• there is no room for questions – nie ma miejsca na pytania
• to choose sth at random - wybrać coś losowo, na chybił trafił
• to decline – odmówić, nie przyjąć
• to make a face – krzywić się, robić miny
• to nod – potakiwać
• to push a boulder uphill – toczyć głaz do góry, po pochyłym terenie, tak że cały czas się stacza
• to remain under impression – pozostawać pod wrażeniem