Sales Training London: Sales Training ABC of Closing
Sales Training London: Sales Training ABC of Closing
I discovered the arcane Porcupine Close, Sharp Angle Close, Ben Franklin Close and at least 120 others. I was on top of the world. I was equipped and had become a trained killer. Watch out world!
I was in my first "proper" job out of university selling phone based advertising (this was the precursor to Talking Pages) for a small start up called Key Connect (0800 101102 was their number - they were right the very expensive number was memorable). Sadly it was doomed to failure with the management team, the sales team and especially me. I bought the training guff I received (2 days of learning closes and the presentation by rote), I had my Tommy Hopkins closing skills honed to near perfection and I was naturally talented on the phone so I could get in front of (some) decision makers.
I remember pitching this grumpy man with a beard, I think his name was Jim Somethingorother. ANyway he had a reputation for being a tough nut. Was I phased? Not one bit, I had a great service to sell, I BELIEVED, and I knew how to close. The pitch had gone well, I did a few trial closes ("If I could show you a way......", "So what I'm hearing you ask me is.....", "Well Jim, if I could do that you'd sign up today?" and it was time to move in for the kill.
I could see his defences cracking and so I whipped out a blank sheet of A4 paper, drew a T-bar across and down it. I wrote "Pros" on the left and "Cons" on the right above the line, and asked him to tell me all the things he liked about the concept. He started to speak and then smiled, which turned to a frown and stopped. The pregnant pause made me think he was about to give in, when he hit me. He hit me with "Marcus, are you doing the Ben Franklin close on me?"
I was. I blushed. Deep red. And I stammered "Y...y...y...you know it? Er? Um? I find it very useful whenever I'm making important decisions. Don't you?"
To which he replied, "No, get out of my office. This stuff is so old Noah used it." It may have been old hat to him, but to me it was the latest thing in closing. I'd only bought the book a week before.
A few lessons learned in this and subsequent calls with a bruised ego......
1. Buyers have been hit with almost every close known to man, so they've developed a system to beat your system
2. Buyers hate to be sold, they prefer to buy
3. Whoever has the stronger system wins
4. The close needs to happen at the beginning of the sales process not at the end
5. Positive "buying signals" from a positive prospect are generally worthless since they are the hardest prospects to get to buy anything
6. Pitting my green gills against savvy buyers, no clever sales trickery would get them to buy
7. Most sales techniques are so old they are obvious and seen from a mile away
8. Enthusiasm and blind faith in you and your product is no match for a powerful, repeatable system that works
9. Tommy Hopkins published the book in 1980 based on his success as a real estate salesman in the 1970s. Lesson: Don't use old material that the prospects are familiar with and know better than you!
It took me 16 years to realise this. Please don't take as long as I did. I costs you money and time, weekends and self-respect. These lessons can be learned quickly, but for me, doing something about it was the problem. Since then I've learned how to close without closing, turn negative prospects into major, profitable buyers and how to use the power of negative selling to disarm and get prospects to close themselves.
The ABC of closing is AVOID BLATANT CLOSING. I have a client who produced a 140 page booklet on closes and how to handle stalls and objections. The section I teach on that is about 5 lines lines long and my close rate is in the 90%+ range. Find or develop your own system that avoids tired closes and puts the buyer in a position where they feel they're being sold, let them discover they want your service and make them buy.
My guess is few of you can relate to this story because you aren't as slow or dense as me. But for those of you who try so hard (and I know you're out there), ease up, back off and retreat a little when you smell the blood of a sale. Learn how to let the prospect close themselves.
Happy selling!
(C)Copyright Sandler Sales Inc 2006
Regards
Sales Training London Sales Training ABC of Closing - To learn more about this author, visit Marcus Cauchi's Website.
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When I first started in sales nearly 20 years ago, I bought a book by Tom Hopkins. I'm a little older now so forgive me if my memory isn't quite up to speed, I recall it was called "The Art of Closing" or the "The Art of Closing Sales". I read it with all the eagerness of youth and the naivity that went with it.
I discovered the arcane Porcupine Close, Sharp Angle Close, Ben Franklin Close and at least 120 others. I was on top of the world. I was equipped and had become a trained killer. Watch out world!
I was in my first "proper" job out of university selling phone based advertising (this was the precursor to Talking Pages) for a small start up called Key Connect (0800 101102 was their number - they were right the very expensive number was memorable). Sadly it was doomed to failure with the management team, the sales team and especially me. I bought the training guff I received (2 days of learning closes and the presentation by rote), I had my Tommy Hopkins closing skills honed to near perfection and I was naturally talented on the phone so I could get in front of (some) decision makers.
I remember pitching this grumpy man with a beard, I think his name was Jim Somethingorother. ANyway he had a reputation for being a tough nut. Was I phased? Not one bit, I had a great service to sell, I BELIEVED, and I knew how to close. The pitch had gone well, I did a few trial closes ("If I could show you a way......", "So what I'm hearing you ask me is.....", "Well Jim, if I could do that you'd sign up today?" and it was time to move in for the kill.
I could see his defences cracking and so I whipped out a blank sheet of A4 paper, drew a T-bar across and down it. I wrote "Pros" on the left and "Cons" on the right above the line, and asked him to tell me all the things he liked about the concept. He started to speak and then smiled, which turned to a frown and stopped. The pregnant pause made me think he was about to give in, when he hit me. He hit me with "Marcus, are you doing the Ben Franklin close on me?"
I was. I blushed. Deep red. And I stammered "Y...y...y...you know it? Er? Um? I find it very useful whenever I'm making important decisions. Don't you?"
To which he replied, "No, get out of my office. This stuff is so old Noah used it." It may have been old hat to him, but to me it was the latest thing in closing. I'd only bought the book a week before.
A few lessons learned in this and subsequent calls with a bruised ego......
1. Buyers have been hit with almost every close known to man, so they've developed a system to beat your system
2. Buyers hate to be sold, they prefer to buy
3. Whoever has the stronger system wins
4. The close needs to happen at the beginning of the sales process not at the end
5. Positive "buying signals" from a positive prospect are generally worthless since they are the hardest prospects to get to buy anything
6. Pitting my green gills against savvy buyers, no clever sales trickery would get them to buy
7. Most sales techniques are so old they are obvious and seen from a mile away
8. Enthusiasm and blind faith in you and your product is no match for a powerful, repeatable system that works
9. Tommy Hopkins published the book in 1980 based on his success as a real estate salesman in the 1970s. Lesson: Don't use old material that the prospects are familiar with and know better than you!
It took me 16 years to realise this. Please don't take as long as I did. I costs you money and time, weekends and self-respect. These lessons can be learned quickly, but for me, doing something about it was the problem. Since then I've learned how to close without closing, turn negative prospects into major, profitable buyers and how to use the power of negative selling to disarm and get prospects to close themselves.
The ABC of closing is AVOID BLATANT CLOSING. I have a client who produced a 140 page booklet on closes and how to handle stalls and objections. The section I teach on that is about 5 lines lines long and my close rate is in the 90%+ range. Find or develop your own system that avoids tired closes and puts the buyer in a position where they feel they're being sold, let them discover they want your service and make them buy.
My guess is few of you can relate to this story because you aren't as slow or dense as me. But for those of you who try so hard (and I know you're out there), ease up, back off and retreat a little when you smell the blood of a sale. Learn how to let the prospect close themselves.
Happy selling!
(C)Copyright Sandler Sales Inc 2006
Regards
Sales Training London Sales Training ABC of Closing - To learn more about this author, visit Marcus Cauchi's Website.
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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