Selling Supplies» Closing the Sale : Telesales Marketing Tips : Increasing Profit with Effective Telesales Marketing

3 Questions Won the Sale

Ann Barr — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:57:13 +0000

They started as tiny plants – just a few years ago – and then they grew and grew until they were tall trees. Her neighbor was concerned that they might topple onto his garage, so … on a cool evening in October, a tree-removal specialist knocked on the front door at Shelley Sterling’s house in Burlington, Ontario. She had asked for a quote on cutting down these two trees in her yard and this led to an interesting experience that illustrates the use of several very effective sales tools and three questions that closed the sale.

The Customer’s Viewpoint

Shelley Sterling sells imaging parts and supplies to resellers and is one of the best salespeople I know. She is usually in the role of a sales representative, but that evening in early October she became the customer.

After her experience, Shelley sent me an e-mail describing what had happened, and her e-mail is too good not to share. With Shelley’s permission, here is what she wrote:

“I called a tree-removal company from a flyer that I had seen. He came over last night and as I showed him the two birch trees I wanted a quote on cutting down, he said,

“‘We will take them down and remove them for $200.’

“Then he asked, ‘How does that sound to you?’

Shelley said:

“Ann, I smiled because he was using the trial close that you described in one of your books, but it really worked – it allowed me to vocalize my concern.

“I said, ‘Well, actually I feel these trees are on the small side and that price sounds a little high.’”

How He Won the Sale

“He then came back with:

“‘Oh, did you want the stumps removed too?’

“(Making me feel like the $200 he first quoted was a good deal.)

“Then he essentially asked for the order by saying,

“‘Do you want me to write you an invoice up right now and get this all taken care of?’”

(A good direct close.)

Shelley said, “Yes,” and the tree specialist had his order.

As Shelley wrote in her e-mail, “It’s not easy to sell to a salesperson unless you do it right.”

Are You Missing Opportunities?

If you are not using trial closes or checking questions, you may be missing out on some golden opportunities. Instead of using a direct close and asking for the sale before knowing how the prospect feels about your sales presentation or your products, use a trial close to get feedback from the client and “test the waters.”

How can you do this?

Example: After your prospect expresses an interest, but hesitates and doesn’t place an order, you can say:

* “We can start your auto-ship program next month and you will receive four cartridges every other month. Does that sound like a good plan for you?”

or

* “We can ship these products out today and you will have them tomorrow, how does that sound to you?”

As Shelley said, the trial close used by the tree-removal specialist allowed her to “vocalize her concern.”

So, if your prospect expresses a concern, you can address it and then move on to a choice or direct close.

Try using a checking question – at least once a day – before you ask for the order. Chances are, you will increase your sales and the trial close will become a habit for you.

About The Author

Ann Barr is a telesales marketing success coach with a passion for teaching. She loves helping people who are starting out in new telesales careers and working with experienced sales reps who are looking for new ideas and tips. In addition to presenting monthly e-classes, she writes and edits direct-mail marketing letters and emails for clients. Sign up today for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips and get marketing tips and ideas to increase your sales!

One Question Generated a New Sale

Ann Barr — Fri, 28 May 2010 21:17:16 +0000

Here is a surprising fact for you: Results from a recent 15-year study found that 80% of salespeople failed to close the sale when the buyer was ready!

So. . . it is interesting that this buyer (me) was not ready to buy, but ended up ordering a new service I did not intend to purchase because of the attitude and the words of a good sales representative. Okay, I’ll admit, it was not that much money – but it means an increase every month in my telephone bill.

This is what happened: Three years ago I called the local cable company to find out if unlimited calls to Canada would be covered under my new digital land line telephone service.

The cable representative was very positive, cheerful and helpful. She answered: “Can you hold a few seconds while I check to find out?” I answered “yes.”

After a few seconds, she said: “Good news: Yes – all of your calls to Canada – unlimited – are covered with your digital telephone package. Plus all calls within the U.S.”

Making the New Sale

After I thanked her, she said: “While we’re on the phone, I wanted to let you know that for just $2.99 a month, all of your wiring will be covered – both inside and outside wiring.

“Can we sign you up for that today?”

Since I had not been thinking about buying a new product or service during the call, this took me by surprise. I had to think about it. Not a lot of money, but I still had to think about it.

The representative then went on to explain further how all wiring would be covered, so if I ever had a problem, all I needed to do was call the cable company and a technician would immediately be dispatched – and the cost of the service call, time plus parts and labor would be covered.

Then she asked – again: “Can we sign you up for that today?”

Still, I hesitated. I said: “I need to think about this.”

Again: She repeated the benefits of the new service and said for the third time (in a cheerful voice):

“It’s only $2.99 a month. Can we sign you up for that today?”

I could not think of a reason not to add this service. So I did.

She asked for the order three times!

Another Interesting Statistic

Marketing studies have found that – except for customers calling specifically to place an order – only 3% of prospects/customers actually offer to buy, telling you: “That sounds good; I’ll take it” or: “Okay, you’ve got yourself a deal.” The remaining 97% wait for you to ASK them to buy.

So, this one question generated a new sale – but the question was asked three times!

See 10 different ways to ask for the order – and 29 different answers to objections in the e-book How to Win the Sale and Keep The Customer.

About The Author

Lily’s Secret to Selling Without Rejection

Ann Barr — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:28:30 +0000

Lily Ellerton was one of the most successful telesales people I have ever worked with. Each month she was either number one on the sales chart or number two.

How did she do it? By pro-actively making dozens of outbound calls each day, being positive and persistent and . . . something else.

If you are not in the habit of doing what Lily does, just try it for a week and see what happens. It is a soft sell approach; different than a hard sell, and extremely effective. Lily’s secret? A trial close.

Four Benefits with a Trial Close

From How to Win The Sale and Keep The Customer

By trial closing,

1. You are getting feedback from the customer without actually asking for the order.

2. You are taking pressure out of the sales situation because: You are not asking the customer to make a decision.

3. You are only asking your customer for his/her opinion.

4. An opinion is easier to give than a decision.

Low-Risk Strategy

At first it may feel uncomfortable to ask the prospect how s/he feels about your product or service. But remember: you run little risk of rejection with trial closing. The trial close can be used any time during the selling process to test the waters. The purpose of the trial close strategy is to help you know when to ask for the order.

If you follow Lily’s example, you can:

1.) Find out what is most important to your prospects, and

2.) Get feedback from your customers on how they feel about your sales presentation, and

3.) Increase sales without high-pressure sales tactics.

Exactly what the word implies, a trial close is a test to see how near the prospect is to buying. And it may be used any time prior to the close. Without the risk of a final “NO,” (and rejection), a trial close is like a report card that tells you how the prospect is accepting your presentation.

Examples

“How does that sound to you?”

“Am I going in the right direction?”

“What do you think about this, so far?”

By asking these – and similar – questions, you are giving the customer the opportunity to let you know how she or he feels about your company, products, services and/or benefits, based on your presentation. Sometimes the answers you get are so strong that you won’t have to close at all – you’ll do what Lily Ellerton does – just write the order!

About The Author

Why Didn’t They Buy?

Ann Barr — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 01:55:31 +0000

Everyone, from time to time, has a prospect like this – the prospect who sounds like s/he really wants to buy your product. You have gone through all the right steps:

1.   You have had several conversations with the prospect.

2.   You mailed a catalog and price list with all the information the prospect requested.

3.   You followed up with a telephone call and you’ve given a great presentation using facts, features and benefits. They listened attentively.

4.   You have responded to all objections.

They have a need for your products/services. So what’s holding them up from buying?

What’s Stopping Them?

You are ready to celebrate – you feel you’ve made the sale. The prospect is just inches away from placing the order. Your hands are on the keyboard, ready to input the order. Or your pen is in your hand waiting to write up the sale.

There is a silence. No order. What do you do?

First: Get Agreement

To make sure they really are close to ordering, start with a statement to review the specifics of the order: “Let’s see what we agree on.”

If you really have something of value that will help them, get agreement on that point: “Kevin, let’s take inventory of where we are so far. We’ve agreed that this is the printer that’s going to help you get those projects done more quickly, and under budget, right?”

If you can’t get that agreement, stop. This person isn’t sold yet. If they do agree, then proceed:

“Ok, let’s talk about what needs to happen next. You mentioned that your CEO needs to sign off on it. Will you be recommending that you go with us?”

After you get agreement on the main points, move on to closing questions.

Four Closing Questions

To find out – really – how close the prospect is to ordering, and to move the process along, try one of these questions:

“What do you need from me to move forward?”

“What do we still have to do?”

“What do you consider to be the next steps?”

“Shall we process your order today?”

Your Critical Next Step

After asking one of these questions, don’t say a word until the prospect answers you! And then: listen carefully to the answer – you’ll learn what you need to do or say to move the sale along. There is a tendency on the part of some sales people to feel uncomfortable with silence and to begin talking before the prospect answers the question. This is a big mistake because the prospect doesn’t get a chance to say what’s really on her/his mind and the sale may be lost. If you haven’t practiced using silence – and then listening to the prospect, start today. There is an old adage: “No sales person ever listened his way out of a sale.”