Let’s face it—you can have a pipeline packed with promising leads, a world-class nurturing sequence, and the best tech on your side, but if you can’t actually seal the deal, all of your efforts will be in vain.
In theory, closing is simple. Show up, present your pitch, answer your prospect’s questions, and ask for the sale. But in practice, it’s not so easy. There are miscommunications, hesitations, objections, and other obstacles that can derail your deal if closing isn’t your strong suit.
Whether you’re struggling to get your deal across the finish line or just looking for some inspiration for your next one, we can help. Start with our tried-and-true closing techniques, dabble in some closing questions then dig into these sales closing tips to bring it home.
8 Sales Closing Tips
1. Focus on the customer, not the deal
2. Know your product, sell its relevance
4. Dig deep
5. Stop pitching, start a conversation
7. Be an expert
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1. Focus on the customer, not the deal
As a sales rep, your goal is to get your prospect on board in order to win more business, right?
Wrong.
Well, technically it’s right, but if you want a better chance of closing, that’s not how you should look at it. When you focus on the deal, you put your own interests first, which can push the customer away.
What you should do instead, is focus on the customer. Think about their needs, their interests, and their goals, and how you can accommodate them. By putting the customer first, you can provide value right from the start of the interaction, and make them more likely to want to sign.
2. Know your product, sell its relevance
Part of being a good sales rep is being able to accurately (and convincingly) describe your product or service. But descriptions and details don’t always stick, especially if there’s no context.
In order to really highlight the value that your offering provides, tell (or better yet, show) your prospect exactly how it will help them. A well-crafted proposal can help you translate features and functions into specific examples of how they can be used and the direct benefits they can provide. It’s the perfect place to sell value, summarize the pain points that you uncovered during discovery, and speak to decision-makers who haven’t been involved in the deal.
3. Offer a free managed trial
While this sales closing tip isn’t feasible for all products, it’s especially successful for subscription-based models like SaaS.
By handing your prospect a free managed trial of your product, you give them an opportunity to experience everything you’ve talked about in your pitch. Unlike an unlimited free trial, which could backfire if your product is too robust for them to experience in a short time frame, a managed trial allows you to bring key features and benefits to life, giving them a chance to see how it works from the inside. Plus, it can draw attention to other details that you didn’t have a chance to mention, like your user-friendly interface, hands-on customer support, or new potential use cases.
4. Dig deep
Most prospects are happy to talk about their company’s needs, challenges, and goals when asked, but it’s likely that their initial answers will only scrape the surface. If you really want to close a prospect, you need to understand what's going on at a much deeper level.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions, or to follow up with even more questions if you feel that there is more underneath that isn’t being addressed—it’s possible that your prospect doesn’t fully grasp the roots of their challenges themselves. If you’re able to show that you understand them better than anyone else, you’ll have a much easier time getting them on board.
5. Stop pitching, start a conversation
Your interactions with prospects shouldn’t be one-sided. While it’s important to tell them about your company and your product, they can probably find that information on your website. You can make much better use of the time by having a conversation with your prospect.
Ask them what their challenges are, what they’re hoping to achieve, what other options they’re considering, and so on. By engaging in a meaningful dialogue, you’ll be able to demonstrate your insight and ability to address their needs.
6. Create small yes’s
Psychology is a core part of sales. From the clothing you wear to the language you use, little details can have a big effect on the outcome of your deals. This goes for your prospects' behaviour, too. Research has proven that people are more likely to say "yes" to bigger questions if they follow a series of smaller ones. If you can identify 3 or 4 smaller questions that lead up towards the big one (“are you ready to get started?”), you can build momentum and create a positive atmosphere that is proven to close.
In our recent webinar with John Barrows, he explains that sales is nothing but one close after another, leading up to the big close at the end, “You're closing multiple things throughout the entire process—closing for a referral to another department, closing for when to bring in procurement early, etc. With this approach, the close doesn't just happen, but there's a natural point where it just makes sense. In enterprise sales, there isn’t just a single moment when you close, there are a lot of them. It's all about momentum.”
7. Be an expert
Since the vast majority of customers conduct research online before buying, it’s safe to assume that your prospect did, too. So in order to impress them, you need to be extra prepared. By becoming an expert on their industry, you’ll be able to provide even more value and offer personalized answers that they wouldn’t find elsewhere. Plus, the better you understand their challenges, the better you’ll be able to explain how your offering can help solve them.
At the end of the day, authenticity is key. Your goal is to become a trusted resource for your customer, so you should listen closely to their challenges, concerns, and questions, then respond accordingly.
8. Ask for the sale
While it might seem obvious, it’s crucial that you actually ask for the sale. After a lengthy sales cycle and a promising back-and-forth addressing your prospects’ questions and concerns, you might think that the big question is implied. It’s not.
If you really want to seal the deal, you’ll need to be blunt. Feel free to phrase it however you want, but just make sure to ask your prospect if they want to move forward with your deal.
If you don’t, you risk the prospect losing all of that momentum you just spent weeks building, or worse—getting scooped up by one of your competitors.
Final thoughts
Closing is tough, and it’s not getting any easier. But armed with the right knowledge and resources, you can improve your chances of sealing the deal. We hope these sales closing tips help you get the ball rolling, but at the end of the day, if there’s one thing you take away from this, it’s that you should focus on the customer, not on the deal. After all, if you can demonstrate that you’re the best suited to address their needs, you’ll have no problem getting them on board.
