My Favorite Close is “What Do You Think?”

I received my first formal B2B sales training in 1977. Three weeks total at our headquarters office in New Jersey. It was a modified version of the Xerox Professional Selling Skills (Xerox PSS) program although we did not sell copiers at that time. Five years later we were.

As you might guess, given the decade, it was heavy doses of handling objections and closing the deal. I know more closes than Carter has pills including the deadly “Folding Origami Paper Close” and … I use none of them. Nada, zip, zilch.

“Closes”, by nature, have always seemed to be adversarial to me. Back then, the buyer-seller relationship was largely confrontational. Someone wins and someone loses. It was a test of wills. Mortal combat. A blood sport.

The problem for me was that I never sold that way. I much preferred a much more nuanced, and less aggressive, approach. I don’t know where I first heard this but it is my personal mantra …

“The close is the natural result of a sale done right!”

It’s not the end of the deal. It’s everything that happened during the deal. If I have followed my buyer-centric sales process correctly and I have built a relationship with that client and my services match their needs … “So, what do you think?”. That’s about it.

Mind you, and to be fair, I am always closing. ABC (always be closing). It’s just that I am not doing it overtly. I like to use trial closes throughout the sales process. If you are not familiar with these … a close requests an action. “Please sign here and press hard.”. A trial close asks an opinion. “How does that look?

The beauty of trial closes is that they ensure that you and the buyer are continuously on the right path. It also keeps them involved. Conversely, if you wait until the end and ask for the deal … who knows whether or not you and your buyer on the same page let alone reading the same book. Can you say … stall?

Short post today. My gift to both of us:)

If you would like to explore whether or not Nimble CRM might be right for you, please book a free 30-minute Zoom consultation with me by going to www.calendly.com/craigmjamieson . Thank you!

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Craig M. Jamieson

Managing Member at Adaptive Business Services

Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. Adaptive Business Services provides solutions related to the sales professional. We are a Nimble CRM Solution Partner. Craig also conducts training and workshops primarily in social selling and communication skills. Craig is also the author of "The Small Business' Guide to Social CRM", now available on Amazon!