When to Ask for the Order

    • 1373 posts
    August 21, 2011 8:48 PM PDT

    by Paul Weyland, reprinted with permission from Radio & Television Business Report | The Voice Of The Broadcasting Industry (rbr.com)

     

    A new salesperson called me the other day with a great question. “When exactly during the selling process do you come right out and ask for the order?” Here’s what I told him. You’re always closing. Close early and close often. You’re closing as you ask the client for an appointment. You’re closing as you do your presentation. You’re closing while you answer objections. And, you’re still closing, even when a client says “NO”. Closing is simply the art of using subtle methods to look for buying signals (interest or lack of interest in your proposal), draw out any and all objections and leave with an order.

    Failure to close a sale is like cooking an excellent meal and then never bothering to taste it.  It’s like going to watch a glorious sunset and then looking east instead of west.  What’s the point of doing all of the work and then not reaping the reward?  Selling is the modification of the behavior of another person.  It is your job to guide the prospect to a mutually beneficial conclusion.  The onus to close is entirely on you.  Rarely does the client close himself. 

    To paraphrase Ben Affleck in the movie Boiler Room, “There is no such thing as a no-sale call. A sale is made on every call you make. Either you sell the client on buying or he sells you a reason he can't. Either way a sale is made, the only question is who is going to close? You, or him?”  Speaking of movies, remember Alec Baldwin as the sales VP from Corporate in the film Glengarry Glen Ross?  His advice to Jack Lemmon and the other cast members was, “ABC.  Always Be Closing.”  Good advice. You too, should Always Be Closing.

    Here are some of my favorite closing techniques.  They are all just templates to help flush out objections and guide your client toward your common goal, a great marriage between his company and yours.  Customize the close for your personality style and the personality of the person you are dealing with.  Make closing easy and natural for both you and the client.  Each selling situation is different, so mix and match.  As we’ll see, mixing several closing techniques is usually best.

    • DIRECT CLOSE - Just ask for the business.  “Let’s do it.”  Nike uses the slogan, “Just Do It.”  After finishing your presentation you would simply say, “Hey…let’s do it,” and then wait for any objections.

    • SUMMARY CLOSE - Once you’ve finished your presentation and you realize you haven’t gotten any client objections, go through your proposal again point-by-point.  If you get an objection, stop and deal with it, then continue your summary until you have finished.  Then say, “Let’s do it.”

    • ASSUMPTIVE CLOSE – I love this close. From the beginning of the presentation you simply assume that the client has already decided to buy.  You start with, “Here’s what we’re going to do.”  If there is an objection, for example if your client says, “Whoa…wait just a minute.  We’re not doing anything yet,” apologize for being over-eager, identify the objection, handle it and then use the summary or direct close.

    • SRO CLOSE - Standing Room Only.  Creates a sense of urgency.  “I recommend that if we want to own Mondays and Tuesdays, let’s lock this schedule in now so that we don’t run into inventory problems down the road.”  You’ll notice that I used the words, “Let’s lock this schedule in now.”  This expression helps convey a sense of urgency to the client.  If you publish avails, it is helpful to bring them with you when you visit the client so that he can see for himself that your inventory is getting “tight.”

    • MINOR POINT CLOSE - Close the client on minor elements of the proposal.  “Do you want to start on Tuesday or Saturday?”  Or, “I like both spots, but I like the way spot #2 begins.  Which one sounds most logical to you?”

    • MAKE ME AN OFFER CLOSE - This is a last-resort close designed for the client who says your proposal is “too expensive.”  It helps keep the client from saying no and allows you a continuing dialog, so that you can defend your proposal.  “Well, if this is too expensive, what do you think it is worth?”  Obviously, you won’t sell the schedule for what the client “thinks” it is worth, but this technique helps you establish that at least the client perceives some value in your proposition.  Clearly in the client’s mind you have not finished conveying the value of your of your audience over price.  Go over ROI again until the client perceives value over price.  

    • THE PEN CLOSE - This close is used frequently by people in the automotive and the insurance businesses.  It’s an intriguing psychological exercise and I’ve seen it work many times.  Once you’ve made your presentation you say, “Let’s do it,” You then place the contract and a pen in front of the client.  If the client has no objections they typically say something like, “Well, I guess this is where I sign,” and they sign your agreement.  Other times the client will pick up the pen and start twirling and playing with it in their hands.  This action indicates that the client is still “in the game” but still has some questions or objections.  As you systematically handle remaining questions or objections, the client will sign the contract.

    I use multiple closes.  For example, I might start with the ASSUMPTIVE close, telling the client immediately, “Look, here’s what we’re going to do.”  If you don’t hear an objection after you’ve gone over your proposal, use the DIRECT close and say, “Hey, let’s do it.”  If the client continues to waiver and say nothing, use the SUMMARY close.  Go back over your presentation point by point until the objection pops out. When it finally does,  deal with it and go back to the direct close, “Let’s do it.”

    Objections are a good thing.  That means that your prospect is interested enough in your proposal that they have questions.  Or, they have an opinion about it.  Perhaps their opinion is based on ignorance about advertising or marketing or your station.  It’s your job to flush these things out so that you can educate your client properly.  Remember that educated clients buy more than uneducated clients.

    Look at good retail salespeople and the natural way they guide your behavior through the entire process.  “Can I take that to the counter for you?”  “Why don’t you try that on?”  “Can I wrap that up for you?”  “Would you like to wear that out?”  All of these suggestions are designed to help draw out objections and close retail customers. As we discussed, good broadcast salespeople use similar closing techniques throughout the process.

    Don’t ask for chicken poop when asking for real money is so easy. Instead of proposing a local direct schedule for just a week or a month, suggest a schedule that runs every week of the year.  Why wouldn’t you?  What’s the worst thing that could happen to you if you asked a client for a long-term commitment?  According to a recently released report, this year only TWO broadcast salespeople in the U.S. were tortured and killed because they asked a local direct client to sign a long-term contract. See? The odds are in your favor.

    It’s your job to educate your client, ferret out objections and then ask for the order.  Remember to start closing early and close often. If you don’t, all of your hard work was for nothing.  Use several closing techniques, draw out all objections and go from NO to No to no to maybe to YES! 

    --Paul Weyland is a local direct broadcast sales consultant, author, trainer and mentor. Ask Paul about coming to your market or to your broadcast association. Buy Paul’s book, Successful Local Broadcast Sales online or at a bookstore. Contact Paul at (512) 236 1222 or go to Increase Sales Marketing & Advertising Secrets | Sales Training (paulweyland.com).


    This post was edited by Rebecca Hunt at February 17, 2024 1:36 PM PST