Crisp Make Or Break Close - With Rapid Exit
It’s rare that I find noteworthy selling skill from Inc Magazine. Or for that matter from its soul brother, Fast Company. And forget the franchise-heavy, self-help mobbed Entrepreneur Mag. They’re falling into the twin traps of insular Americana and buzzfeed-listicle-faux-deepism too often these days. Am I alone in yearning for both more universally inclusive and longform treatment from the (“global”) business press?
I have time for the other end of the scale. Where a pretty much solitary winning piece of best practice emerges. Which happily arose this week. Courtesy of this American entrepreneur’s switch from biscuits to crisps. Here’s the key core of her experience. Making the pitch of her life, upon which you infer everything hinged;
At the end of the meeting, the buyer asked if there was anything else I wanted to talk about.
Everything was on the line, so I just said what I needed most:
‘It would be fantastic if you could tell me right now your answer.’
He was quiet for a minute, but then he looked at me and said yes.
I knew better than to push it any further, so I got out of there as quickly as I could.
A great real-life example of a successful close-then-go.
As I was correctly taught at the outset of my career, ‘when you’ve sold, shut up’. Drummed home with, ‘once they sign, run out the building as fast as possible’. You get the picture.
As a guide to how to end a meeting, this lady’s example stands up on its own.
In the field, don’t let variations send you off course.
The buyer is typically disinclined to ask you for any final checks or desires. So be prepared to broach that ‘one last/quick thing’ yourself. In time honoured Columbo and Morse fashion (aka the hat-stand close) this is often your best shot at extracting truth.
When answering, your prospect is also likely to give a standard objection; “I’ll think about it”.
The text book sales response being along the lines of “of course…what is it you’ll be thinking about in particular?” Trying to home in on specifics still hanging in their air.