The Art Of Closing | 7 Figure Annuity Sales Podcast | Ep. 274

I think it's important that we talk about the art of closing. And it's something I think that is greatly overlooked, especially with agents, whether they've been doing it for, you know, a week or they've been doing it for 10 years. Closing a deal has nothing to do with sales. Absolutely nothing. And when somebody calls me a salesperson, it's almost an insult to me because it's like, I'm not a salesperson. I am an expert at finding a solution to your problem. And there's all sorts of ways that I know to indicate that I found the right solution to that person's problem. And you've taken some observations or. And, you know, what did you come up with through the years of us talking? What have you found?

So I think, number one, you do a good job of reading body language. Okay. And analyzing the questions and objections that maybe they have at the end of the appointment to get a gauge for. Where are they at as far as comfort with what it's doing for them, their understanding of what it does for them? Do they seem like they see the benefit and the value of it? Right. All those things. And then from that understanding, you'll usually, to my knowledge, you approach it from this idea of, okay, so we've got a couple of options. Either I can leave this with you and you can do your own research and due diligence. I'll come back next week. Or. And I love how you end with kind of the. The preference. Right. It's like if they understand it, there's no reason why it shouldn't be a one sit close. So you go. Or.

You know, we can, if it makes sense to you and you like what it does for you, we can move forward today. Now you kind of give them that option. It seems to me in the first appointment, which I like, because you're. You're able to position that first appointment to be a one sit close. If they do actually understand it, they see the benefit of it. But it's not this thing that you're necessarily pushing for, so they don't feel intimidated by the ask. But then when you get to the second appointment, it seems like your close progression is a little bit different. Right. So you obviously, the second appointments about answering questions and actually filling out the application. Great. So you know, what questions you have for me, they'll ask their questions, you'll answer the questions, and then typically it's, does this make sense to you? Okay, so you understand it. Great. Okay. And do you, do you like what it's doing for you? Do you like what it does for you? Yes. Okay, so you're getting two easy yes confirmation statements and then you segue into okay, so are you ready to move forward? And that's the, that's the close, right? I mean, it's just that, it's just that simple.

Because once again, when I'm talking with someone, I mean, my time is valuable. I get that. So not only am I trying to find out what the problem is, what the solution is, having the right product for it. You know, I just said this to a client last week because they're like, well, I'm not sure. And I said, hey, I'm not going to beg you to protect your own money. This is your decision. This affects your retirement way more than it affects mine. And honestly, I don't care if it's a $5 million deal or it's $100,000 deal. I feel the same about it. And people who know me and know me well, if I have a million dollar deal, I'm no more excited than $100,000 deal. I just don't get an emotionally attached to zeros. I don't get it is the impact on that client. As a matter of fact, I can honestly say there's been times where I haven't been able to do $100,000 deal that impacted me more emotionally than someone who had 5 million and they didn't do it. You know, I mean, it's just because I know that that hundred thousand is a much greater risk if they lose it of just financial ruin. Where if you have someone who has 5 million and they lose half of it, they still have $2.5 million. And generally the people that have 5 million are pretty good with their money and they're not going to be greatly impacted if they lost half of it. Where the person has 100,000 will be greatly impacted if they lose half.

Yeah, absolutely.

So that's where the body language comes into play though, because I'm watching them and, and I can see the physical stress that a lot of these people are under. You know, I can see it in the way they tilt their head, the way they squint, the way they cringe when you start talking about, you know, certain market things. I mean, body language is so important. Often the body language is way more than the actual words that come out of the person's mouth. Especially when you're watching like the guy talk and you watch the wife cringe. You could tell just from her body language what's important to her.

Yeah, absolutely. And it's unfortunate, but there are times when what's important to the spouses is not necessarily in alignment.

And I usually can address that pretty well.

How do you address that?

Well, it's simple. I say, you know what, you may be willing to take the risk, you may be willing to pull the slot machine arm, but she's not. And the reality is if you pass away, not only does a lower of the two Social Security's goes away, now she's got to figure out how am I going to take care of this money when you haven't let her be in that side of it. And I get it. In my family, I take care of the finances. I'm the one that knows where everything is. I the one that knows what investments. Now my wife is not clueless about that, but I have it all laid out like in this folder. That's where everything is right now. You're not only not telling her what's going on, she has no clue what she's in. And she has no guarantees whatsoever about any sort of income when you're gone. And that usually turns them around.

I like it. I like it. So they turn around and then you're right back into your normal, your normal close progression. So does this make sense to you? And when you say that.

Yeah, so, yeah, I mean, remember, I don't, I wouldn't say close progression. I would say it's where they fully understand the solution to the problem and how it benefits them. I know technically it's called a close, but I mean, if I said close, I have, you know, there's. If you go back to the 90s and they still talk about this a lot, but in the 90s they hit this thing called trial closes a lot. A trial close is when you say something that gets them to nod their head yes or no. So if they say, do you understand how it's working? No, I don't really. Okay. That's a trial close. They don't understand. Explain more. Do you understand how this. Oh yeah. Does this make sense to you? Oh yeah. Those are all trial closes. And they would say the average attempt for successful sale is seven nods of the head. Yes. Generally gets them into a they're ready to buy mode. But you know, there's been plenty of people that I've gotten seven or ten nods. Yes. But there was still one that they weren't sure about and that was not time for the close. It would be. Let me explain some more how this works, because I don't just want seven nods. Yes, I want them understanding fully how this benefits them. Not exactly how the product was in every little detail, but do you understand how this benefits you? Does this make sense? And is this something you want to do? That's what it comes down to.

So those right there.

Will you say those three questions one more time that you just asked?

Do you understand how this works? It was on the floor. Yeah. Do you understand how this works? Does this make sense to you? And is this something you want to do? Perfect.

So do you understand how this works?

If this is what I love about that, call it a whatever, you know, close progression. I don't. That's just what makes sense.

You could say that. You could say it was a close, but I. I just want people because I try and get away from. I'm a salesperson. Right. I'm. I'm. I'm a benefits. I explain the benefits and does it benefit them?

Right. So do you understand how this works? You're looking for a yes there because we want them to understand how this works. And if you get a yes, then boom, Confirmation statement. But also it does give them the opportunity to say no, in which case, now you understand what needs more time and emphasis and explanation.

Right.

Let's say they say yes. You go on to the next one. So you understand how this works? Great. Does this make sense? Right. So make sense.

So do you understand? It is. Exactly. So what would you. If I say, do you understand this? And does this make sense? What's the difference between those two questions?

Okay. So to me, the. Do you understand this is referring to the actual way the product functions. Like the integral moving pieces, all that type of stuff.

Exactly.

And then does this make sense? Is the way that that product solution actually fits within my needs and plan?

Exactly.

That's how I understand it.

Good job. I'll give you a stick money.

Boom. I'll take it.

So then you get into that. Now it's an opportunity for another confirmation statement. Again, we're looking for a yes, but if they say no, now we know where we need to apply a little bit more emphasis, a little bit more explanation, all that stuff. And then. What was the third one again? I forgot it already.

So is this something you want to do?

Is this something you want to do? Right. And it's. It's a yes or no. Realistically, if they've watched, it's supposed to.

Be according to the sales book, sales handbook. You're not supposed to answer. Ask yes or no questions. You're supposed to give an option. Yeah. Yes questions and Two options. That's a salesperson.

Right, Right. But if the first two are yeses, they should operate as confirmation statements. There is now a pattern of saying yes. You get to the third. Is this something you want to do? If they.

That's more comfort.

Exactly.

That's about comfort.

It is, it is. But if they do understand how it works and it makes sense to them, then rarely would the third question, is this something you want to do? Rarely. Would that be a no?

Well, even if they said yes, it makes sense to something I want to do. Does that mean they're going to do it?

Not necessarily.

Because they still may need time to talk about it or think about it, and I'm totally fine with that, too.

But if they say yes to all three of those things, you can say, okay, so this is what we do. This is how we move forward. Right. And you actually. Yeah.

So then. Yeah, so then I'll go. So we have two options. I say, you know what? We can. I can start filling out the application now, can get everything started, or I can leave all this information and we can meet again and we can go over questions. And that's where it comes into the, you know, 85, 15, you know, 15% of the time they're like, yeah, I want to do this right now. And then 85% of the time, I'm like, no, let's go ahead and meet in a week and go over questions. And, you know, once again, this is not my money. It's their money. It's their decision. They have the right to say they want to wait. And we can go over questions.

Do you have ever have anybody to the third question. Is this something you want to do? Not give you a yes or a no answer, but say, well, I feel like I need some time to think about it, or, you know, they kind of dance around it rather than actually just telling you exactly what they're thinking.

Yeah. Yep. And that generally means they still don't understand.

Even though they said yes.

Just. Yeah. Even though they say yes, that doesn't mean they feel yes. So they go, yeah. They're like, yeah. And they tilt their head to the left. And I know this is weird, but it's facts. I mean, I've watched a lot of videos on how you get information out of clients, or it's actually people in general. You know, I think it's. If you look up to the left, you're. You're lying, or if the right. You're really contemplating. And these are subconscious things. These are not things that Are. Are really well known. It's just your subconscious picks that up. And so, you know, when you're. When you. If I have. Somebody told me. Yeah. And they tilt their head, that generally means they still don't. Kind of like a puppy. Right? A dog does that. Right. I mean, they're like, huh. You know, that's just. It's a natural thing. And it's. It. So if they tilt their head, I'm like, on. Wait. They still don't fully understand something.

There's some.

So let's go back. Yeah, interesting. That's why body language is so important. And there's. I've been to seminars and things where they had body language experts. And honestly, I picked up a lot more subconsciously than I did consciously because I read the body language. For example, if I got someone sitting like this, that's body language. That they're pretty guarded. So how do you get them to lean forward? You put a piece of paper in front of me. You go, see right here. And they lean. They have to lean forward to see that. And generally, once I get them to lean forward, they don't lean back.

Interesting. Yeah, that's. There's a. That nugget alone is worth the whole 15 minute podcast.

It is. I mean, you've. You've got to understand.

What gets people out of their comfort zone, you know, And a lot of times, because people don't like salespeople, they're guarded. This means I'm guarded. I don't trust anything you're saying, you know, but once you lean them forward and then you get them engaged, then they don't lean back. If they lean back, then, you know, you probably didn't. They have no confidence in you. And so that means you could pull them forward, give them the answer. If they lean back, that generally means they don't. Still don't believe you know what you're doing.

Interesting.

Yeah.

That's a good takeaway. Good takeaway.

Yeah.

Awesome. Well, that's the art of closing.

Good deal. Well, there's. Yeah, that's chapter one. There's a lot.

That's a. Yeah. Summarized version.

Chapter one of a hundred chapter book, but. Well, I hope this was good for y'.

All.

You have a great day, and happy selling.

Sam.