"Closing Techniques" Are Dead, Here's Why

My dad used to tell the story about what it was like growing up with his gruff dad. When he and his brothers and sisters were traveling in the back seat and asked one too many times, "Are we there yet?" a spit of chewing tobacco would exit their dad's mouth and fly back through the window and across their faces.

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Ptuh

They knew being too focused on the end result was a messy and painful experience.

I thought about that recently when I read about a company's retail sales training was "ABC: Always Be Closing."

Made famous by an overzealous sales trainer played by Alec Baldwin in the movie Glengarry Glen Ross, I can't imagine any company in 2014 saying that is their motto...much less a retailer.

Do you want to take it home? Do you want to take it home? Do you want to take it home? Ptuh

Concentrating on old selling techniques is just like those kids. Do something for me! For me! For me!

That’s because customers have changed.

Let’s step back...

For most of retail history, the manufacturer created a product and their sales representatives sold the product to retailers by giving them all the technical aspects of their product line.

The retailer would train their employees on all the product features so when the ignorant customer - and I mean that in a good way - came into the shop, the salesperson would tick off all the reasons to buy that particular product. Those on the fence would be subjected to a variety of closing techniques...

“So Mrs. Prospect, you say it is too much. How much too much is it for you?” Answer: $1000. “One thousand dollars. And how long do you think you’ll use the product?” Answer: Ten years. “So that’s really only about $100 a year or about $8 a month or about twenty-five cents a day. Isn’t your happiness worth 25 cents a day?”

It's like an arm wrestle with the customer losing.

I hate that crap.

And some retailers are still training such techniques.

Let me tell you something, it’s 2014.

While I’ll give you that this could work in a few cases, it won’t work in many.

Why?

Selling has changed because buyers have changed; technology has changed everything.

According to several studies, as much as 70-80% of the buyer’s discovery journey has been completed before they reach your doors. Customers frequently have more product information on the specific item they are looking for than your employees could possibly be expected to know about every item in your store.

Product information is no longer the reason shoppers are coming into your store. They think they know exactly what they are looking for and are looking to be affirmed in their choice.

They are unaware that there might be a better option, a better choice - specifically for them - that they may not have discovered in their search. That's the only role your employees should focus on and where they can alter your sales.

The modern retailer now must understand that the employee role is more of a catalyst, one who adds to the journey of the customer and ultimately ends in a sale.

We absolutely still train to close the sale, we just don't try to force it with cliches after we've vomited feature after feature on the shopper.

So if you’ve hung your hat on product knowledge all these years as the main advantage that your store has over a competitor - that’s gone.

The only way to sell to this new customer is to develop the soft skills to engage - truly engage - a customer with an open heart.

You want to close a sale? You need to develop the skills to first get a customer to let you into their world so you can understand what they are trying to fix, solve or replace.

That’s because no one comes into a store and says, “The sky’s the limit!”

You have to earn their trust, develop it, and not lose it at the very end with some 60’s era closing technique.

As long as it is your intent to get the customer to buy from you today, everything should lead naturally to a close.

In Sum

Customers are looking to upgrade their lives with their purchase from your retail store.

Don’t look backwards for closing techniques.

Learn to be a natural, trusted advisor who sells side-by-side in partnership with your customer.

Is online retail sales training right for my stores?

Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor?, has helped thousands of businesses in hospitality, manufacturing, service, restaurant and retail since 1994. His clients have ranged from multi-national luxury brands to small business mom and pops. With over thirty years experience beginning in the trenches of retail and extending to senior management positions, Phibbs has been a corporate officer, franchisor and entrepreneur. His speaking presentations are designed to provide practical information in a fun and re-memorable format.