Secrets Of Closing A Sale
Getting prospects to buy can be tricky. Having as many tools in your arsenal to get prospect to ink an agreement to purchase is always a good thing. Here are four secrets of closing a sale that I have experienced to work very well in my sales efforts.
1. Compare And Contrast
When attempting to close the sale it is always a good idea to give the buyer options. If their is only one option a buyer feels forced, if their are multiple options they feel it was their choice. By having multiple options it can also make what you are selling seem more appealing. For example if you know that you can get a web hosting plan for $7.99 or pay $5.19 a month if you sign up for 3 years, you will be much more interested in considering purchasing a 3 year contract. You may also be interested in paying $14.99 per month if that plan allows you to host as many websites and provides unlimited storage space. So for only double the cost, you can have as many more websites and data on your hosting plan as you want.
A great example of this is GoDaddy. On their website they give you multiple package options and multiple contract length options. With each different option they also show the savings of signing up for longer term contracts. To see what I am referring to, go to their web hosting page.
Another great way to compare and contrast is to compare your offering to that of your competitors showing what benefits or savings their are by purchasing from you.
2. Give A Reason
Asking a buyer to commit is a step in the right direction, but getting a "Yes" response to a request can be hard. One thing I have done which has helped me get commitment more often is giving a reason for what I am asking. For example I will say something like "Please get back to me by Wednesday of next week so that I will be able to place your order in time to meet your deadline" or "Please get back to me by Wednesday so that I can give you the special pricing of this limited time offer."
After watching a webinar recently I found out that a study was conducted on how giving a reason affects people's willingness to grant a request. In this study it was found that giving a reason increased agreement from 60%-94%. Even more interesting was that if an unrelated or illogical reason was provided this still increased agreement to 93%.
If you want to increase your chances of getting commitment from a buyer, give a reason......even if you don't think it is a highly convincing reason...any reason will increase your chances of getting the commitment.
3. Give Them A Decoy
Another interesting tactic to entice someone to buy is to give them a decoy. The best way to describe this tactic is probably to give an example. The electronics industry often uses this approach. An example might be a store that promotes two computers in its flyer. Two computer would be very similar. One would be slightly less expensive (maybe $50.00 or have a $50 mail in rebate) and also include some additional items of value (like maybe some additional software or an upgraded mouse and keyboard) in a special bundle package. Now no one in their right mind would buy the option that is slightly cheaper and includes additional items. To make things even more enticing the retailer could put each computer package on sale for an additional $100 off, for a total of $100 and $150 off respectively. The seller really does not intend to sell any of the first package but instead creates this false package to make the package he wants to sell look more attractive. The same can be done with your products or services.
For example for my internet service company I could position an offer without unlimited GB usage and one with unlimited GB usage for the same price. I would position this as limited time offer but give them the choice of which plan they would like to go with.
4. Show Scarcity And/Or That There Is A Time Bound
The feeling of losing something is not a good feeling. This feeling fortunately or unfortunately can be a very powerful tool to drive people to purchase. There are two ways to create that feeling of fear that can drive people to purchase...scarcity and time. If you can position things so that your product or service is scarce people will be compelled to buy now before they can't get what you are selling. I think the video game industry has perfected this. Anytime a new play station or Xbox comes out they produce limited quantities so that they run out quickly. This then causes people to go crazy to try and quickly get their hands on one before they run out. I am sure you know what I am talking about if you have done any Christmas shopping the last few years. Everyone knows there will be more produced but they don't want to wait, they want the game system now. In this situation there is very little thinking about IF they want to buy. That thought is quickly passed over by the average consumer and their thoughts are more focused on making sure they get the new Xbox or Play Station. There is very little shopping for the best price at various retailers. Instead buyers buy immediately when they find the item in stock, irregardless of the price. You can get buyers to act in this manner as well for your product or service if you can make them believe it is scare. If you sell a service an idea might be to let your prospects know you only take on a limited number of clients.
The other tactic to create a sense of urgency is by making the offer time bound. For example if you are selling apples for $2 a bushel year round people will be much less excited to buy than if you are selling apples for $2 a bushel for this week only. See the difference? The same can be done with any product of service. If you typically send quotes to prospects a great way to use this tactic is to put an "effective until" date on the quote. Then in your email make special note to the prospect that they need to act before the specified date to obtain the special quoted price. To take this method one step further you could also include a higher price that would be honored if the prospect decides to buy after the specified date.
5. Let Your Prospect Select To Save
Another tip....give your prospects an option to save. Everyone likes to feel like they are saving money. If you are selling hard goods offer them two prices....one to buy one unit and one to buy 2 units with a 5% savings. If you are selling something online include a check box to something like "Save 50%" which takes them to a page where is shows them how they can save 50%. If people feel they are getting a great deal it is hard for them not to pull out their wallet. Everyone loves a good deal.
Other Related Article You Might Be Interested In
2. Dale Carnegie How To Win Friends
3. The Best Way To Close A Sale
My name is Chris R. Keller. I work at Profitworks Small Business Services helping various B2B small businesses in Waterloo and Kitchener Ontario generate new customers. If you are interested in generating new customers for your B2B small businesses enter your email in the box provided below and click the "Send Me Free Updates" button.
I hope this article on the secrets of closing a sale was a interesting to you. Thanks for reading.
