A sales leader managing $250 million in annual revenue shares five rules for closing deals: stay in control of the conversation, turn unknowns into clarifying questions, reframe objections to find real concerns, use third-party stories to deliver hard truths, and ask curious questions to buy time and keep rapport.
I have over 100+ salespeople who work for me across our portfolio that does over $250 million a year. These are 5 rules for closing that I teach them. Number 1, the person asking the question is always in control, and you want that to be you. Number 2, be like smoke. If you don't know how to answer it, just ask a question about their question. Number 3, tell them what their question means. They might say, I need to think about it, and you might say, that's amazing, that's what some of our best customers have asked. What's your main concern? And so instead of taking a step back, They actually take a step forward in the sale. Rule number 4: Use straw men for harsh truth. If you have a hard truth that you want to ask or a question that can seem kind of cutting, you don't want to ask it to them. You want to tell them a story of someone just like them that you asked the question to, and then you have a third party in the sale who can then be the person you deliver the hard truth to, and then they just bear witness. 5: Retain childlike curiosity at all times. And so if you say, huh, that's interesting, or huh, that's a really good question, that then keeps you in the sale. It keeps rapport, and then it buys you time so you can think about what you're going to say next. Always.
