Closing techniques

Techniques > Sales > Closing techniques

One of the most important stages of selling is closing the deal, which is the actions taken by the sales person to gain agreement to the sale. There are many closing techniques in sales, which are prescribed actions that sales people take to persuade the customer to make the necessary commitment. Here are some of these:

1-2-3 Close - close with the principle of three.
Adjournment Close - give them time to think.
Affordable Close - ensuring people can afford what you are selling.
Alternative Close - offering a limited set of choices.
Artisan Close - show the skill of the designer.
Ask-the-Manager Close - use manager as authority.
Assumptive Close - acting as if they are ready to decide.
Balance-sheet Close - adding up the pros and the cons.
Best-time Close - emphasize how now is the best time to buy.
Bonus Close - offer delighter to clinch the deal.
Bracket Close - make three offers - with the target in the middle.
Calculator Close - use calculator to do discount.
Calendar Close - put it in the diary.
Companion Close - sell to the person with them.
Compliment Close - flatter them into submission.
Concession Close - give them a concession in exchange for the close.
Conditional Close - link closure to resolving objections.
Cost of Ownership Close - compare cost over time with competitors.
Courtship Close - woo them to the close.
Customer-care Close - the Customer Care Manager calls later and re-opens the conversation.
Daily Cost Close - reduce cost to daily amount.
Demonstration Close - show them the goods.
Distraction Close - catch them in a weak moment.
Doubt Close - show you doubt the product and let them disagree.
Economic Close - help them pay less for what they get.
Embarrassment Close - make not buying embarrassing.
Emotion Close - trigger identified emotions.
Empathy Close - empathize with them, then sell to your new friend.
Empty-offer Close - make them an empty offer that the sale fills.
Exclusivity Close - not everyone can buy this.
Extra Information Close - give them more info to tip them into closure.
Fire Sale Close - soiled goods, going cheap.
Future Close - close on a future date.
Give-Take Close - give something, then take it away.
Golden Bridge Close - make the only option attractive.
Handover Close - someone else does the final close.
Handshake Close - offer handshake to trigger automatic reciprocation.
Humor Close - relax them with humor.
Hurry Close - go fast to stop them thinking too much.
IQ Close - say how this is for intelligent people.
Minor points Close - close first on the small things.
Never-the-best-time Close - for customers who are delaying.
No-hassle Close - make it as easy as possible.
Now-or-never Close - to hurry things up.
Opportunity Cost Close - show cost of not buying.
Ownership Close - act as if they own what you are selling.
Price-promise Close - promise to meet any other price.
Puppy Close - acting cute to invoke sympathy and a nurturing response.
Quality Close - sell on quality, not on price.
Rational Close - use logic and reason.
Repetition Close - repeat a closing action several times.
Retrial Close - go back to square one.
Reversal Close - act as if you do not want them to buy the product.
Save-the-world close: - buy now and help save the world.
Selective-deafness Close - respond only to what you want to hear.
Shame Close - make not buying shameful.
Shopping List Close - tick off list of their needs.
Similarity Close - bond them to a person in a story.
Standing-room-only Close - show how others are queuing up to buy.
Summary Close - tell them all the things they are going to receive.
Testimonial Close - use a happy customer to convince the new customer.
Thermometer Close - they score out of ten, you close gap.
Think About It Close - give them time to think about it.
Treat Close - persuade them to 'give themselves a treat'.
Trial Close - see if they are ready for a close.
Valuable Customer Close - offer them a special 'valued customer' deal.
Ultimatum Close - show negative consequences of not buying.
Yes-set Close - get them saying 'yes' and they'll keep saying 'yes'.

This is a big list, but the real list of closing techniques is almost endless. You can go to each need, for example, and invent several closes around satisfying or threatening them. Here are closing tips to help you further.

'Sell on the tangibles, close on the intangibles' is good general advice. Note how many of these methods follow this rule.

Don't forget the caveat in all of this. If people feel tricked or otherwise betrayed, they will not only not buy from you now, they may well never buy from you ever again or even turn all their friends against you. In particular beware of using unsubtle techniques with professional buyers, who can usually see them coming from miles away.

Closing techniques

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