Roy Chitwood contributed a fantastic article on selling to the Sales Trainer Newsletter. He writes:
The problem with low-producing salespeople isn't only that they lack a proven, effective process to close the sale, but that they haven't effectively "opened" the sale through rapport, qualification and agreement on need.
Studies show that 62 percent of all salespeople never attempt to close the sale by asking for the order. How can they sell their product/service if they don't ask for the order? Imagine how effective these salespeople would be if they asked for the order even once, let alone twice or more. With the closing process I'll detail, you'll be able to close "softly" up to five times, if necessary, without high pressure, trickery or gimmicks.
Read the rest of his article here.
This is a powerful piece to read. Takeaways are that you need process, you need rapport, and then you work to bring the discussion to a next action.
People who are intimidated by using the terms "selling" and "closing" - just read this article over a couple of times and try what Roy suggests. Post your comments if you do, and what happens.
