5 Reasons Why You Haven't Closed The Sale

Closing the sale. The final step in the sales process to creating a new client or keeping an existing one. Many sales professionals struggle at this last step and often fumble their way through one of the most critical steps in the sales cycle.

Here are 5 of the most common reasons that sales professionals and business owners aren't converting their prospects into buying customers.

1. You don't believe in the product, service, or company you represent.

In order to deliver a sincere presentation regarding your products and services, you must first be completely convinced that you, your company, your products, and your services are with out a doubt, the best and only viable option for your potential client. The moment you begin to let in negative thoughts, memories of a bad customer experience, or a boss that let you down enter into your mind, you begin to erode your own ability to convince someone else to choose you as their solution provider. Negative self-talk, also known as that little voice in your head that reminds you of when things went horribly wrong that one time in the past, can be debilitating to your sales presentation. So how do you get past it? You could talk yourself out of it, but you may look a little strange having a one person argument in your office or cubicle. Instead, create a list of your biggest wins to review before a big presentation. Put up pictures of what you want to do with your commission checks, where you would love to travel, or experiences you can't wait to have. Remember how great you felt when you made your first big sale. Recall that elated feeling of closing your last deal with a difficult customer. Gather all of that excitement and joy and funnel it into every word of your presentation. Your smile, tone of voice, and body language will always tell your client more about you and your company than any slide show could ever communicate.

2. You haven't tasted your own Kool-Aid.

A good chef always knows exactly how their creations taste. What is it like to buy from you? Have you ever tried to buy from your own company? Are your products any good or do they break two days later? Is it easy to buy from your company or is it a series of tedious forms and policies? How can you sell someone on a product or solution, if you have no idea what they will have to go through to get it? In More than likely there are aspects of your customers' buying experiences that may not be aware of. Your ignorance to these aspects may affect how the client views your credibility for any successive buying opportunities. Additionally, the more familiar you are with the buying process, the better you will be able to walk your customer through any issues or obstacles that may come up. For instance, an initial credit card payment may be required to close the deal. What if the card is declined? What do you do? Having the experience and knowledge on how to handle these situations can be the difference between a new customer and no commission check. Many times, credit cards have daily limits or transaction limits that must be manually cleared by customer service as a means of fraud protection. A salesperson that understands this can put their client at ease, instruct them to call their bank card company and move forward with the sale.

3. You are more anxious than your customers are about closing the deal.

As a professional salesperson, you should be comfortable with discomfort. Making the decision to buy something can be unsettling to the buyer, and looking across the table at an equally nervous person doesn't make it any easier to move forward. In fact the more nervous you appear to your potential new client, the more they will question if you are the right solution for them. When it is time to sign on the dotted line, the salesperson should exude stone-cold confidence that reassures the client. Your confidence and gratitude will reinforce the idea that this was the correct choice and will improve the client's situation or solve their problem.

4. You won't stop selling when it is time to close.

The deal is good, the customer has all of the information, and now it is time to finalize the deal. Everything is ready to go, except the excited salesperson won't shut up long enough about the features and benefits of the product or service long enough to start walking the customer through the final acceptance of the deal. In the home loan industry, the sale of the loan is so completely separated from the closing that selling is not permitted during the closing process. The loan closing is simply a procedure where all of the proper documents are signed in order to finalize the deal. When a deal is ready to close, the time for selling is done. It is time to switch gears and move your client through the final decision process. This process requires a different set of skills and strategies. First of all, the main goal of the conversation has to move from convincing the client that the deal is the right choice to moving past client delays and apprehension of finalizing their choice. Learn how to move your clients through this tendency to stall before making a buying decision and your sales will go through the roof!

5. You let your customer sell you.

There is an old adage in the sales industry that goes like this. "There is a sale made on every call. Either you sell your customer on your product, or they sell you on why they can't buy it." One of the easiest ways to lose a sale is to let your customer convince you that now isn't a good time or that they need to think about it. Throughout my career, I have watched salespeople get handled by their clients so quickly that I wonder why they even bothered to make the call in the first place. A salesperson must have a goal for each and every call they make. It could be to get a follow up appointment, find out more about who makes the buying decisions, or when a current contract will be up. Making calls to fill an activity quota for your CRM or sales manager is a complete waste of time. This all ties back to your belief. If you believe so strongly that you have the one thing that will change your clients business and life, it will be almost impossible to convince you otherwise.

With practice and training, anyone can improve their sales and closing production. Learn more and earn more!

Happy Selling (and Closing!)

- Julio