Sales

How To Close Before You Ask for the Order! Tips from Ben Gay III

When you think of closing a sale, what comes to mind? 

Word battles? Mud wrestling? In the martial arts, Sparring matches are won within the first 30 seconds of the round. If you wait to the end to win, you usually lose. In the same way, most sales are made or lost in the first 10 to 15 seconds. Sales legend Ben Gay III shares the following story to illustrate this concept.

Early in his career, Ben consulted with companies and wrote scripts for them. In one instance,  he went in the field to test some sales scripts he had written for a well know funeral company. To handle the particulars of the sale once the customer agreed to move forward, Ben brought a young employee with him to take care of the paperwork. As they were headed out the door, the company asked Ben to train the young man. “Of course,” Ben replied. “You’re paying me, I’ll do whatever you want me to do”.  They called on five customers that day.

After closing 4 of the sales that day, On the way back to the office, the young man said , “Mr. Gay, I really appreciate you taking me around today. I would have learned so much more if your sales hadn’t all been so laid back.”

So he pulled over to the curb, and politely explained to him that he was closing the sale! “In a couple of cases, I had closed the sale before he figured out where he was going to sit in the living room!” Ben shares.  The young clerk thought that Ben waited until the end for the mud wrestling to begin. By then it’s too late. . You can wrestle your customers for the sale, but according to Ben, you have messed up the presentationeason to do it. I’m closing.

You close in the way you walk, the way you conduct yourself, the way you look in them in the eye and greet them when they open the door. You’re closing on the phone when you say “Hello! . This is so and So, how may I help you?”  You are closing throughout by asking questions and  listening to the responses.

Three things to remember:

  1. Closing starts within the first 10 to 15 seconds of the presentation.
  2. Remember that everything you do is influencing your customer.
  3. Ask questions and listen to what the customer says.

No tricks or magic words. No mud wrestling or manipulative phrases. Just honest relationship building from the start. That is how you close before you ask for the order!

Want to know more? Then join me and my co-host Stephanie Scheller on Black Belt Selling as we welcome back, Ben Gay III to our studio. Click here for more information.

You can join us in our Facebook Group, Black Belt Selling. Here’s the link to request to join!

Your sales coach,

Anna Scheller