This One Question Can Help You Close More Deals

I was recently asked, "How do I close the sale after getting a verbal yes?" 

Typically when deals don't close, something was missed in the open.

The Arc of the Sale

The arc of the sale is made up of four mini conversations that must happen in sequential order. If you bump into "no's" or red flags, don't progress to the next conversation.  

1: The Product Fit Conversation

Check these boxes:

• You've determined that you can help your prospect do something better.
• Your prospect (not you) acknowledged your product or service can help them achieve their desired result. (If not, stop here and figure out where the gap is.)

To get buy-in say something like:

"John, do you think this would help you with {their desired outcome}?"

Then follow up with:

"Why?"

"Why not just do this in house or wait?"

2: The Decision Conversation

Next, check these boxes:

• Your prospect can make a decision or you have line of site to the person who can decide.
• Your prospect has agreed to a "decision making" date and the meeting is on their calendar.

3: The Investment Conversation

Check this box:

• You've made concessions and have buy-in on the investment required from the person who can decide.  

For more on how to negotiate concessions when prospects push back on price see this post.

4: The Process Conversation

To increase your chances of closing, you need buy-in from your prospect as to when the contract will be signed. 

The key phrase here is "buy-in from the prospect". When your prospect gives you the signature date, they'll try to live up to it because people strive to be consistent with things they have previously said. (Known in psychology circles as the principle of consistency.)

To get a signature date here's how the conversation might sound:

Salesperson: "Tell me about the process to make things official. Or do we just shake on it? " (Pro tip: use humor to diffuse sales pressure.)

Prospect: "First we need to A. Then B. And finally C.

The One Question

Salesperson: "John, assuming that you're comfortable with the business terms and concessions we've made to get the price where you need it be when can you commit to getting this signed?"

Prospect: "Sometime in the next three weeks."

Salesperson: "So that would be . . . "

Prospect: "November 13th."

Giving the Signature Date Some Teeth

To give the date teeth and accelerate your deal through legal/procurement, put the signature date as a contingency in the contract based on the concessions you made when negotiating. For example have legal draft language like this, "This contract is contingent of having a fully executed agreement by November 13th, 2017."

Having the signature date in the contract will create a sense of urgency and prioritize your contract over other vendors. If the date slips a day or two, no big deal. But if it lags too much, you're in a position to void the contract (since the concessions you made are contingent of the signature date).

Since your prospect (and possibly other people in the organization) have "buy-in" on the previous conversations and have invested considerable time, they will be invested in getting the paperwork signed prior to the date.

Chances are if you have to walk away, you missed a step in the previous conversations. (A great time for self reflection.) But do notify your prospect that the contract is void if the date materially slips. (Hat tip to Mitch Morando for this tip)

If you use the approach you'll have more predicable close rates and avoid gunking up your pipeline with stalled deals.

One last thing . . .

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