Closing Starts at the Beginning

Not every process involves steps executed sequentially. In baseball, for instance, a field manager doesn’t just start thinking in the ninth inning about how the team is going to successfully wrap-up the game, right? That’s because winning isn’t a step: it’s the goal.

The right mindset about closing a sale is no different. And yet there is an all-too-common mistake that I keep seeing among sellers and those who manage them. They’re stuck thinking sequentially rather than strategically about closing every deal.

As a seasoned sales trainer, here’s where I see the telltale sign of trouble: the sales team consistently struggles to achieve a consistent closing ratio…and don’t know why. Many even can’t even say with certainty how long it will be before a deal that’s in front of them will close!

That happens because their thinking is backwards. Closing a sale doesn’t just happen at the end of your process…it starts at the beginning, and is something you manage at every step going forward.

Here are the activities you and your sales team must start doing early—with prospects and existing clients alike—to ensure a successful closing remains your unwavering goal, and not just some step in a process or sales cycle.

GET BETTER AT SCOUTING

You must improve the way you understand the needs of your prospect or customer as quickly and as early as possible. Scouting is how we discover these things: gaining a better understanding of the sales landscape under our feet. You must ask meaningful questions and examine carefully the assumptions that both the seller and buyer make about why that deal is on the table in the first place. The better you qualify a deal, the better your chances become of closing it predictably and skillfully.

GET BETER AT DEFINING VALUE

Start selling the results that your product or service can bring your customer. That means you must identify your core value you offer to them. Is your product or service easier, faster and better? Be ready to prove it with meaningful facts. Also, look critically at how you are differentiating your offer from that of the competition. And then ask: “why should my customer care?” What matters to them is what sells…and is what closes successfully.

KNOW WHO IS DRIVING THE DEAL

It’s a mistake to assume that the person who called you when they made the decision to buy is the same person responsible for deciding they needed your solution in the first place. I’ve found that to be the case consistently in the technology sector, but it is just as applicable in other sectors, too. Decision making in your customer’s organization will remain a seemingly imperceptible ghost network unless you shine a light in there. An underperforming seller (who, not coincidentally, also struggles with their closing ratios) simply assumes their relationship with a buyer extends only to the person who reached out asking for a quote. Smart sellers know that the only way to fully understand who is behind the need is by asking questions specifically about where the request for a solution came from. The more they dig, by asking “Who is driving this decision?” the deeper their comprehension becomes about who and what is behind the need for your solution.

GET ANSWERS TO ALL FOUNDATIONAL QUESTIONS

Master this at the front-end of your sales cycle by remembering your 5 Ws and 1 H: Who, What Where, When, Why and How.

For every prospect and existing customer, you must ask:

• Who is behind making the decision to seek your solution to address their business problem?
• What is their evaluation process and is their budget in place to buy now?
• Where do they want to go with your solution that is different from the past?
• When do they want to move forward with the deal you are proposing?
• Why is this solution the right one for them?
• How do they define a successful solution and how is choosing your solution an important change for them?

The answers you get to these questions will define how you start thinking about your closing strategy at the start of your selling cycle—not at the end.

CLOSING BECOMES AN OUTCOME

Always be selling to close. And never take a successful closing for granted. With greater understanding coming from taking the time to scout properly, to articulate value, to understand the real network of decision makers driving your deal, and to ask smarter questions, you’ll get better outcomes for your efforts. That includes getting a lock-in on the amount of business that’s ready to close in your pipeline, as well as how soon that will happen. Here’s to new beginnings!