Flooring Sales Tip: Closing Techniques That Work Part III

“Most sales have been won or loss long before we ask for the commitment.  Trying to make up for a poor sales presentation by coming up with a magical close is like nailing Jell-O to the wall.  It doesn’t stick and it makes a mess.”  -- J Oliver Crom and Michael Crom -- “The Sales Advantage”

Buddy Wisdom is the author of Selling Retail Floorcovering - A Humanistic Approach (2015 Edition) See link below.

https://www.lulu.com/shop/buddy-wisdom/selling-retail-floorcovering-a-humanistic-appropach-a-complete-10yr-write-over/paperback/product-22165170.html

Again, closing techniques are one of the most popular topics in the selling business.  While I am enthusiastic about the effectiveness of these articles, please be aware, many, in fact most selling situations do not require a closing technique beyond asking for the order.  Sometimes conditions just unravel to a point that she may actually ask you to move things along.

Furthermore, if you are overly focusing on the close, then you are stuck in your own head.  And, if you’re stuck in your own head, then you are making the sales process about you and not the prospect.  As a result, you can’t be focusing on the prospect and how you can best fill his or her needs.

 The First Quality Close

This close is used during price negotiating when a customer asks to match or beat a price that is too close to cost for a reasonable profit.  Therefore, this close should be somewhat rarely used by its nature.  When this happens, either the price was offered as a mistake, the customer is somehow being offered a truly wholesale offer, the customer is deflating a quote (lying), or the customer is unknowing being sold second quality merchandise.

Here is an honest response to such an offer:  “Ms. Customer I cannot sell you that merchandise at that price with first quality goods.”  Watch and listen for her response, “What do you mean?”Etc.

I simply repeat myself, “I cannot offer you first quality merchandise at that price.  I can check stock for a roll of seconds in your color.  Sometimes they are available, but naturally no one can warrant them.”

If her price statement is a ploy, she can save face by giving me the order at the reasonable price currently under discussion and perhaps thank you for your honesty.

Reduction to Ridiculous Close (Stalls) 

It would be ridiculous to leave the “Reduction to the Ridiculous” close out of an article on closing.  Stalls need closing as well.  Here, it appears, is what seems to be the “Death of a Salesman” statement: “Let me think about it.” “Thanks for your time; I may be back.”  We’ve all heard it, the famous last remarks as she leaves your store after returning samples or otherwise.  She may just say, “I might be back.”  If all relevant issues have been addressed and nothing is seemingly in the way of the sale, always trials close her first.  “Would you like to set up a measure so we can get this moving forward?” “May I ask what questions I’ve left unanswered?”

This type of probing gets the prospect to open up and to help you determine if the stall is real or otherwise.  “Is there anything you need that has not been covered?”  Listen carefully to her response. You are searching to open possibilities.

The only thing we can do in this situation is offer some type of review.

“Ms. Customer have you found absolutely everything exactly as you hoped to?”  “Are you sure nothing is missing?”  Then, the closing question, “Well, I have enjoyed working with you.  May I ask what is holding you back?”  (Silence).  Your prospect is being guarded and cautious so the last thing you want to do be is too pushy; not yet anyway.  Your job is to help your prospect with the decision.  You are searching for possibilities. So:

1. Listen. (Hear her out)

Concentrate on what she is saying as well as what she isn’t saying.  Customers often speak in code that must be deciphered. 

1. Cushion. (Empathystatement.)  So start by saying, or “I appreciate you wanting to hold off.  Sometimes when I am a making an important decision, I like to think about it as well.”  [Cushioning is merely recognizing what the customer is stating is significant. When you cushion, you “soften” or delay her statement.   This will get you and your prospect on the same page and help you address their sales objection.] 
2. 3. Bridge. (More empathy) “But before you leave, let’s review what we have discussed because I want to be sure we have covered everything that may be important to” 

 Summary Review.

• “Is the exact coloryou need to meet your décor?”  (Be Silent, and if the color isn’t exact, you need to create more choices, or your competition will!) Or
• “Do you feel that the texture and styleis right for your home?”  (Be silent and wait for her answer.)  Or
• “Are you convinced the product will perform based on your budget and the qualityyou selected?”  (Silence.)

It is essential that you be quiet after each question! It is your most powerful weapon.  You have thrown the ball in her court and she must hit it back.  Get agreement, on each question, and support her choices with dialog.

 Ask for the order.

1. • “Well if everything is just the way you want, let’s go ahead and write this up in order to preserve the sale price.

  Or:

• “Well let’s do it!  Or “Let’s at least get started.”  When could we measure?

Or:

• “I am sure you are excited about getting this new floor in your home! Let’s check stock and we can get it ordered and set up a tentative installation date for our installers.”

Or:

• “Well everything seems to be in order. What are we waiting for, let’s get this process moving.

 Suppose she remains committed to the stall:  “I still want to hold off.”  All is not lost.  We must review every possible concern.  She is still hesitating about something and we must uncover the true objection because “be backs” too often don’t come back mainly because a more skilled salesperson solved all of her concerns and finalized the sale.

 Cushion and bridge again.

          “I understand exactly how you feel.  I would want to be sure as well.  Obviously, you would not take the time to think it over unless you were seriously interested, but somehow, I suspect I have missed something (or just to clarify my thinking…”)

 Continue your reviewof competition, store reputation and finally price.

• “Mrs. Jones, did you see something somewhere else that you preferred?” (Silence.)
• “Do you have any concerns about our store reputationor the quality of our installations?”  (Silence.)
• (Softly, some people are sensitive here.)  “Mrs. Jones is it the money?  Did you have a different budget in mind?”  (Silence.)
• “What else would you like to cover?”
• Or finally, (and this is optional) “What is concerning you the most?” (If you use this, make sure that you use it as your very last question or you will likely to receive this response: “Oh, just the whole thing.”  And, you can’t handle “the whole thing.”  Use this last if you use it at all.  It is not the short cut it seems to be, but it may reveal resistance not otherwise uncovered.

1. Ask for the order again.  (If there is no resistance or objections.)

“Well it seems like everything is in perfect order.  “Let me set up a free measure; come sit down.”  “Are you sure you don’t just want to go ahead get this done so you won’t have to come back!”  (Don’t speak until she does; now is the time to push.)

Ok, suppose she still says no.  It’s going to happen.  You might reply: “We have covered all the basics that I can think of, I am just confused about what is concerning you?  (Remain silent and wait for a genuine objection!)

Avoid directly challenging a stall in the beginning.  Since the customer offered no specific reason for hesitating, don’t force her to come up with one by saying something like “What’s there to think about?”  When you challenging a  stall, you create conflict.

Granted, this technique takes practice; so don’t seem frantic or desperate.

Deposits

A few words about deposits. Upon ordering, it is generally necessary to receive a deposit. Half Down is often required on the installed total.  This equal amount gives both the customer and the vendor equal leverage if things go a foul.  Moreover, things will sometimes go wrong despite best efforts if you stay in business long enough – installation or supplier delays etc.  With ? down one could potentially break away from a contract after completion without a major loss if conditions were such that the customer roguishly refused to pay the balance.

I once had a customer who refused to pay a deposit, then after the completion of the installation, declared bankruptcy.  It was financed and no one got payed; so I was stuck with the whole bill.

Another time, using better judgement, I had a customer who refused to pay a deposit.  I explained that without a retainer, a client could back-out of an order when we had substantial monies invested.  My customer was unbending and I was also.  I asked the customer, “So you want us to make a commitment to you.”  He said, “Yes.”  Then I asked him, “How are you making a commitment to us?” He had no answer.  No order is sold without a deposit.

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There is a misnomer that closing techniques are the real secret to successful selling.  Research indicates otherwise.  There is no single secret to selling.  If you have accurately addressed matters concerning appropriate color, style, quality, store reputation, price and in that process, properly greeted, qualified and accordingly presented the correct product based on the needs of the customer while handling and precluding objections, all along building rapport; closing should be natural if you simply ask for the order. That may seem like a lot to accomplish, but it is just normal dialog with any sale.

With all “closes,” (and for that matter most selling techniques), your own personality, credibility, and judgment relating to the principles and methods of selling within these articles, will be the influential factor as to when, where and if you use these closing approaches.  However, because research is the foundation of my writing, you can assure yourself that these selected closes have no doubt worked for countless others.  To an extent, some of these closes, I emphasis, may need alteration or adaptation to fit your particular sales situation.  Still, by design, these closes are intentionally adapted and developed to fit the needs of the retail flooring market.

One final thought on closing: When I began, many years ago to study professional selling techniques, there seemed to be only the Five-Step Rules concept possibly originated in the days of Dale Carnegie (5 Great Rules of Selling) by Percy H. Whiting of: Attention, Interest, Conviction, Desire, and Close.  To this day, many seminars later, I have never fully grasped the execution of any of those concepts except closing.  (I am not saying these steps are not without merit – just possibly outdated.)  I finally realized that closing was a situation of doing all the refined selling steps enumerated in these articles and then simply asking for the order, usually more than once, at the correct timing.  I defy any great closer to allow someone to butcher all the human skills leading to a sale and then step in and “close.”

Buddy Wisdom, Sales Author

Email [email protected]