Building Blocks of Closing The Sale

Yesterday I told you one of my favorite stories about my stepfather, Jim Fariss.  And we began a discussion of who actually closes the sale.

Today, we will continue the focus on who closes the sale.  Then in tomorrow’s article, we will talk about how the sale is closed.

The sales profession has evolved over the years.  Buyers have the ability to be completely versed in your product or service before you ever walk into the door because of the unlimited amount of information available to them at their fingertips. I think that is a very good thing for all parties.  However, the greater level of buyer sophistication requires the same in a sales person.

Gone are the days when “closing the sale” was something that a sales person learned to do as a technique.  Don’t get me wrong… a sales person who cannot effectively lead a prospect into taking action and buying their product or service is going to find themselves waiting tables and asking, “Would you like fries with that?”  That is still very much one of the building blocks of sales.  My point is that “great closing techniques” are no longer enough.

More often than not – the sale is closed by building a consensus among multiple parties.

In short, you have to build consensus between the decision “influencers”, decision makers and your company.

It is sometimes easy to determine all of the parties involved.  At other times, it is not so apparent.  But if you fail to determine exactly who the stakeholders are – you may find yourself failing to move the sales process forward to a positive conclusion.

“you have to build consensus between the decision “influencers”, decision makers and your company”

The reason is simple.  When all stakeholders are identified, become a part of the process, and then become convinced that your solution is the correct one for them personally –  you will find that the group actually closes the sale.  If not, the missing stakeholders will voice doubts and unanswered questions which will stall the process.

Once you have a seat at the table – you basically facilitate the process and direct the next actions.

We will talk about the specifics of how you earn your seat at the table tomorrow.

QUESTION:

How do you know who will be a stakeholder in the buying decision?